Snook, redfish, seatrout, mangrove snapper - a few species caught aboard the Reelin & Chillin this past month. Bait used was mostly green backs caught in the surf just off North Lido Beach. Chumming the green backs brought great results on several trips with snook and redfish topping the list.
A Fish Tail aboard the Reelin & Chillin
With out a doubt I did have a few really great trips, however on a six hour trip with Peter Paris, and Joe Dovener the three of us had a bang up time. Things started a little slow until I cast a green back to a sandy white spot near Long Bar. The bait was out for only a couple of seconds before a nice twenty-nine inch snook picked it up. A fantastic fight considering I had only eight pound test line. Then things slowed a little until we went to a location south of the Siesta Key Bridge. We started chumming green backs and bam another snook just at twenty-nine inches hit my bait again. It's very rare for this Captain to catch two slot snook on the same day. I can catch plenty of snook, however the five inch slot limit really makes it hard to put one on the table. Well it seemed as the fishing was over for me, however Peter and Joe tore into the jack crevalle and redfish. All the reds were in the slot, and I believe these two anglers caught around six or eight. For some reason I couldn't get on a red, but hey - it's just as much fun for me seeing these two anglers having a blast as it is to catch them myself (almost).
I did a few trips to the near-shore reefs for mangrove snapper. We had no problem catching our limit of five per person. The first couple trips I used green backs for bait and the snapper loved them. Strange thing is on the last trip a few days ago they wouldn't touch a green back. Lucky for me I had several dozen live shrimp that produced our limit of snapper. These offshore mangrove snapper are a blast to catch on light tackle. They range anywhere from two to four pounds on the average, and are tasty on the table.
Chumming Live Bait - Wake em Up
First let me explain the bait:
Scaled sardine: Silver body with darker back gray, blue, or green. Body is thicker/heaver than the thread thin, making for better casting distance. The eye is twice the size as the thread thins. Scales do not easily fall off, and with a good running live well they will last all day. Easy to keep on the hook, and stays alive for quite awhile.
Thread Thin: At first glance it looks like the scaled sardine, however when compared it's easy to tell the difference. They have the silver body, however it's much thinner. It's belly is deeply curved compared to the scaled sardine. Part of the dorsal fin has what looks like a long piece of thread towards the rear, hence the name. The scales shed easily, and despite a good running live well they don't last long especially in the warmer months. Easy to throw off the hook, and dies fairly quick.
Crazy thing about these two types of bait fish is they have several names like whitebait, greenies, greenbacks - I'm not sure why, I think it's just the neighborhood you come from. After netting a few times and comparing the two you will soon know the difference, and just give them any name you come up with.
Chumming:
The reason for chumming: Fish are lazy - one bait cast close to a lazy fish may not do much, however if there are a dozen or so baits flopping around the surface the fish are likely to get excited and start feeding. Chumming live baits can be against a mangrove shoreline, into a hole, or even on your favorite grass flat.
What to use: My preferred chumming tool is a hollow whiffle ball bat that has the top cut off at an angle. A wood or rubber stopper stuffed inside towards the handle will keep bait from getting stuck down inside the handle. I grab five or ten green backs - give them a little squeeze - put them in the bat and throw them into the fishing hole. If it happens the way you want, it won't be long before you see fish snapping the surface munching down on these baits.
As a norm you have to keep chumming every few minutes or so to keep the action going. It seems that you throw a few out, you get a fish - throw a few more out you get another fish. Just keep the chumming going and you'll keep the fish active. Give it a try - you'll be glad you did.
Tight Lines & Good Times,
Capt. Terry Frankford
Reelin & Chillin Charters Inc.
941-228-7802
terry.frankford@verizon.net
www.charterfishingsarasota.com
Peter Paris and Joe Dovener with a couple nice snook
No comments:
Post a Comment