25
Sep
Since my childhood I have heard many anglers saying never pick a ladyfish for a meal. The smell attracts them from yards away.
No one you ever talk to has ever actually tried it but everyone says so.
Do ladyfish make good bait. In this video I wanted to test using ladyfish as cut bait to catch redfish. Fishing with cut bait is a popular technique to catch redfish around the Tampa B. Its one of those fish that are a blast to catch but you always hear that they are inedible.
No one you ever talk to has ever actually tried it but everyone says so. I have heard that they are mushy strong tasting oily and full of bones. About all they get used.
On June 25 2020. Fishing Tips Live Bait Fishing Tips Redfish Fishing Tips Weekly Newsletter. Comments 25 Its cut bait time.
Predator fish such as redfish black drum snook and even tarpon cant resist a stinky chunk of ladyfish or mullet sitting on the bottom. The smell attracts them from yards away. It is also good bait to catch swordfish tuna billfish snapper fluke flounder grouper tilefish sharks and most other ocean fish species.
If you mark a school of squid there are hook snaggers that can be used to catch them. I do not know many people. Ladyfish also make a prime cut bait.
The oily bony flesh is a favorite of redfish snook cobia tarpon and a host of other species. And the best thing about ladyfish is that they are fun to catch. Mine come exclusively on hook and line so I always have a light spinning rod aboard rigged with a pompano jig in case I run into a school while.
The best live bait for the larger nearshore fish by far is live oama. Oama school up in the shallow sandy areas in the late summer because the predator fish are hunting them mercilessly. Halalu season overlaps with oama season so the summer and early fall is the best period to nearshore fish.
Make the dough into golf-ball-size balls and boil them for 3 minutes. Boiling the balls of dough will make them harder so theyre easier to fish with. After 3 minutes carefully take the dough balls out of the boiling water with tongs or a slotted spoon.
Place them on a paper towel to dry and cool off. The Deadly Dick is a is a long slender spoon that is very popular to use for bluefish. It comes in sizes of 2-12 inch 6 ounce 3-38 inch 12 ounces 3-78 16 ounces 4-14 inch 2 ounces 4-inch 4 ounces and 5-inch 5 ounces.
Color options are red blue silver and. It wont hurt the plant but worms even good ones will come to the surface and you can check for miscreants. As of September 2014 it is illegal to possess Amynthas worms in NY State and most other states but they are still sold as fishing bait because their acrobatics make them attractive to fish.
To be safe anglers should. Mullet pinfish pigfish and ballyhoo can make good dead bait. One of the best dead baits is a filet off the side of a ladyfish.
Cut even and trimmed thin that silvery side flashes in the light and really draws some vicious strikes. Sea trout love topwater lures. They tend to like to feed on the surface more than other fish.
Apparently Ladyfish make great bait for Grouper or Amberjacks. Eating Qualities I was originally informed that the fish was inedible having many bones and had a very soft mushy flesh. You simply push the hook into the bait and pull it out.
If its made properly the bait will stick to the hook. Nearly every homemade bait recipe youll find online uses cheese as the base. Its edible its thick and it has a scent that fish like.
Its also very easy to find. Not every cheese is good for catfish bait though. If you plan to use cut bait be aware that there may be restrictions in some states on what types of fish you can actually use as bait.
Even if you are allowed to keep a certain species for your own consumption it can be illegal to use as bait. If you show up to the dock with a cut up fish carcass your state wildlife officers may have some questions for you. Here are my 3 top choices for cut bait.
Each bait is stitched with tacky wax rigging floss to ensure durability. We make sure that all baits are stitched correctly. These baits are streamlined also to make sure that they pull straight giving the bait a life like presentation.
Each bait is finished off with the skirt to match the bait. All you gotta do is put your bait on and drop. Some of my absolute favorite live shark baits are big blue runners blue fish lady fish small jacks under 4lbs large mullet white trout smaller rays skates small false albacore and spanish mackerel.
All these make great cut bait too but would also add king mackerel barracuda bigger. It was time for a meal and the hubbub running in my mind was that could you eat ladyfish. Since my childhood I have heard many anglers saying never pick a ladyfish for a meal.
It tastes yucky mushy oily and there are so many bones inside to make it difficult to be cooked. We all remember our childhood days watching cartoons on television. When it came to a fishing scene most shows would have the characters fishing with a rod that had a worm attached at the end of the line for use as bait.
Yes it is true that not only in a cartoon but also in real life that fishermen consider a bloodworm to be an effective bait. The bait chunk size you use depends on the fish youre cutting up as well as what size and species of catfish youre targeting. If youre targeting smaller 12 pound blue catfish or channel catfish youll want to use a smaller chunk.
If youre targeting larger fish like trophy class blues youll often want to use a larger piece of bait. Thats not to imply that larger fish will not bite a small bait because they will. Throughout the inshore waters of Tampa Bay Spanish mackerel are making a presence along with a variety of other migratory fish including jack crevalle ladyfish blue runners and bluefish.
Using light spinning tackle for such bites can be entertaining. All of those species readily take a bait and they all fight well for their size. Make a batch of Jell-O-bread carp bait.
4 slices of bread 1 package of strawberry Jell-O ½ cup of flour and ¼ cup of warm water. Add Jell-O mix to the warm water and then add the flour to a bowl. Tear the bread into small pieces and add to the bowl.
Natural Baits for Ladyfish. Artificial Baits for Ladyfish. Catching Ladyfish in the Winter.
Catching Ladyfish in the Spring. Catching Ladyfish in the Summer. Catching Ladyfish in the Fall.
Line and Leaders for Ladyfish. Rods and Reels for Ladyfish.