Volume 9, Issue 8

Page 7

Bait & Lures:

•      Live bait is most productive. Pig fish or pin fish are basically the same small fish are excellent for snook and trout. You can net them, sabiki them or buy them at the Snook Nook. I prefer to buy them at the Snook Nook along with a cold six-pack of Budweiser. Live shrimp are excellent bait as well as live mullet. Be sure and set the hook just below the flesh line of the bait because you are going to tear it out and into the predator’s mouth with a strong jerk and the hook must come free.

•      Traditional snook and trout lures work from low bridges, mirralures, bombers, and big feathers.

Equipment:

•      Bridge fishing is a bit like the old style commercial tuna fishing. You need to hit the snook hard and get them in a hurry or they will wrap you around the pilings. It’s pure tug of war. You should have a stiff rod; at least forty pound test line (#40 test line) and a reel with a strong drag.

•      You should have four feet (4’) of monochromatic leader a stiff shank 4 ought hook (if it is very big snook season, go to a larger hook) and tie line to line or use a swivel. You can purchase a “snook rig” that has these specs at the Snook Nook. The Snook Nook is open 5:30 AM to 8:00 PM.

•      You cannot use a circle hook for bridge fishing because you must set the hook immediately after the strike, unlike what you can do in open water

 

Paul Daly “Fish Em Up”

 

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extraction (right, Ray?).  A number of reasons account for this problem.  A baitfish “flop” (remember, there may be up to 6 baits flopping and pulling the same line), or a wave can catch you by surprise,  or one baitfish may have 2 or more hooks in it.

But the most common reason may be RUSHING TOO MUCH.  It takes some time to remove the baits from the hooks without damaging the bait.  While removing the hooks, the school moves on and the removal efforts become more frenetic.  Everyone knows that the schools can just as easily disappear.  So in the rush of removal, it’s easy to get careless.

 

THE ANSWER: SLOW DOWN!!!  No amount of baitfish is worth a razor sharp little hook deeply implanted in your skin.  Develop a method for Sabiki hook removal from baits, and follow it EVERY TIME.  For example, when the rig is hoisted onto the deck, try to lay the line of baits down as straight as possible.  If 2 people are working on removal, this makes it much less likely that the person holding the rig will “catch” his partner.  Then proceed with removal from top to bottom or vice versa.  Pin each fish lightly to the deck with your weaker hand (rather than trying to grab a flopping fish being suspended in air).  Then determine if you need to hold the whole fish for better control.  Remove the hook with your strong hand and proceed up (or down) to the next bait.  Constantly  be aware of where all hooks are located.  DON’T RUSH.  DON’T GET ANXIOUS.