Baitfish Basics

Why Natural Bait?

Like the song says, there’s nothing like the real thing, baby. I’m an avid fan of artificial lures – mainly flies and plugs – but it’s impossible to argue that, day in and day out, live bait in its many forms catches more fish than artificials.

It’s relatively easy to acquire, gets the attention of hungry snook, and is the best way to prospect for fish in new water.

And added bonus: fishing live bait is the best way for a novice angler to learn the sport, as it dramatically increases the odds of at least hooking something that will pull back, even for folks who don’t know how to crank a reel.

There are two ways to acquire natural bait: buy it or get it yourself. If you opt to buy it, your choices will be limited.

Most bait shops and marinas carry shrimp, and many will sell crabs. Shrimp, especially, can be a great snook bait when used around bridges, lights, and shorelines.

However, the selection of baitfish is often meager or non-existent, which ain’t good news. If you aim to catch snook fairly consistently on live bait – especially larger ones – you need to use baitfish.

And by “baitfish” I mean any of a number of proven snook favorites, including finger (juvenile) mullet, thread herring, pinfish, or sardines. Many types of small fish will catch snook – including ladyfish, mud minnows, sailor’s choice, and a host of other species .

But of those many choices, threadfin herring (or threads) and the scaled sardines (often called pilchards or “whitebait”) are the best bet, by far. Whitebait, in fact, is so productive that many longtime bait fishermen simply won’t settle for anything less, spending hours looking for bait rather than settling for another option.

That means you need to go with Option B: catching your own. Specifically, you need to purchase a cast net, learn how to throw it, learn where to throw it, and then learn how to keep your bait alive and lively.

If I were to try and address each of those steps in great detail, I could go on for pages on end. Instead, I’ll touch on some useful high points.

How to Catch Bait

Live bait can be caught by several means, but using a cast net is by far the most effective method. There is no single net that can be described as the “best live bait net.”

The net you need is dependent on the bait you’ll be targeting, the depth of the water they frequent, and a number of other factors.

That said, it’s safe to say that a six to the eight-foot net with a 3/8 inch mesh will catch plenty of bait in shallow water, and will serve you well if you fish beaches or flats most of the time.

Smaller nets are easier to throw, but they also sink slowly – allowing fish to escape from under them – and their small mesh can trap baitfish so that the net is hard to clean out after each toss.

If you really plan on catching large amounts of bait, a larger net is the way to go. I use a 3/8 inch mesh, but some of my live baiting buddies swear by 10-foot nets with 1/4 inch mesh, saying they sink quickly, spread nicely, and trap less small baitfish, meaning you end up with the right size baits on each successful throw.

Before you buy, I’d suggest contacting a custom net maker such as Betts of Calusa. They’ll recommend the best choice and provide you with instructions for throwing the net effectively.

RootWhere to Find Bait

To catch bait, think like a baitfish. That is, imagine that you’re small fish trying to move in and out with the tide without becoming the meal of a large predator.

What would you do? Well, you’d do your best to avoid larger predatory fish, either by hiding in the shallows, tucking into spaces near structure, or balling up in great schools and counting on the odds.

As an angler, that tells you to look for the big, easy-to-find schools first, and then to check out spots that offer some sort of protection from predators, including beachfront, grass flats, shorelines, and the like – especially areas with grassy bottoms or eddies adjacent to moving water.

To consistently find bait, polarized glasses are a must, as the slightest flash or movement is often the best clue you’ll get that baitfish are close by.

Finding spots that consistently hold bait is a process of elimination, but areas that are productive once will often hold fish on ensuing trips.

Once you find a likely area, move slowly along its length looking for bright flashes, dimples on the surface or actual baitfish flipping on top.

And be sure to watch for birds. Pelicans, especially, can point the way to bait, if you know what to look for.

If they’re making long, straight dives, they’re after very large baitfish – ones you probably won’t want to use.

Short, flopping dives – followed by a slow process in which they strain excess water from their bills before swallowing – usually means they’re eating glass minnows, which are far too small to put on a hook.

But slicing dives from an intermediate height – followed by a relatively quick chugging of their meal – often signals whitebait. And that’s where you want to move in quietly and toss your net.

Take your time, make mental notes (or actually circle areas on a chart) and you’ll soon have a good list of productive spots.

How to Use Bait

Once you’ve learned how to find and catch bait, it’s essential that you have a good livewell that circulates plenty of water to keep them lively.

The livelier they are, the more likely a snook is going to smack them. In fact, the best live bait fishermen I know won’t put up with a less-than-hyper bait, switching to a fresh offering on a seemingly constant basis.

For this reason, they require a lot of them – and that requires a big, gushing livewell. Too little water or circulation, and all of your efforts will be for naught as fish – even more durable species such as pinfish and mullet – will die quickly.

(It should be noted that mullets require a round Livewell to stay alive longer, as they’ll swim into the sides of a squared-off Livewell, injuring themselves).

Again, whitebait is the preferred bait, because snook love them. And though they are fairly durable once on a hook, they’ll die in droves without plenty of oxygen.

Assuming you have nice, lively baits, the next step is to use the proper tackle. When using bait, it’s important to use long, limber rods – especially in open water.

Spinning outfits are preferable, though baitcasting outfits are OK if you’ll be fishing at anchor and drifting your offering with the tide. Live bait works best when “free-lined”, or when not accompanied by a heavyweight.

Without a weight to drag them down, they stay active much longer and retain their natural action.

If you must use a weight, try a small egg weight placed above a swivel, or use small split-shot weights – just enough to allow you to place casts to your chosen spot. Average size whitebait isn’t very heavy or aerodynamic, so to sling one any distance at all, lighter tackle in the 8-12 lb. class is a must.

Snook are notorious for shredding light lines, so be sure to use a three-foot section of leader line – 20 lb. test for smaller baits, and 30 lb. test for larger offerings.

In deep or moving water where weight must be used, a sliding sinker rig – created by using the smallest egg sinker possible tied above a swivel – is ideal.

This rig allows the bait to be cast a fair distance, but to swim unencumbered since the line slips through the sliding egg weight once it sinks.

As for the business end, many folks tend to use hooks that are far too big, wearing out their bait in short order and betraying their intentions to a wary quarry.

For small mullet, whitebait, pilchards, and the like (3-4″), a No. 4, short shank hook is perfect, and a No. 6 will work just fine. If you happen to catch heavier, larger baits, bigger hooks will naturally be required.