Are these bait fish any good?

[jcoleman214]

I don't usually use live bait to fish but I was playing with my cast net from my dock and was catching hundreds of these little spot(?). Has anyone ever used these as bait? If so what do you use them for and how do you rig them? I figure these have got to be better than regular minnows because they're naturally in the waters, right? Thanks!IMG_4235.jpg

[brianisoutside]

Looks more like a shad.
Put a circle hook in their back or tail and let them sit under a float.


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[RavensDfense]

Peanut bunker. Its primarily what everything is feeding on in the fall. They make great bait when they are alive, but keeping them that way is tough unless you have a live well with a good amount of water. They are fragile. You can rig them on a Carolina rig (a google search will turn up how to make that), or under a popping cork (with a small circle hook).

Another good idea is to forget the live and find a hardbait that looks like them. Because rockfish are usually reactionary fish, they will hit anything that looks like a peanut bunker.

[Mark]

"Another good idea is to forget the live and find a hardbait that looks like them. Because rockfish are usually reactionary fish, they will hit anything that looks like a peanut bunker."

That's why these paddletails work so well:

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[J.A. Veil]

Peanut bunker is a colloquial term for small menhaden.

To go along with Mark's photos, I offer two others. In late June I found a dead baitfish at the ramps at Sandy Pt. It was very close in size and shape to the 12 Fathom 3" Fat Sam mullet paddletails I use most often.

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In the past two weeks, I have observed some areas that have schools of larger bait (3-5", bigger belly), as shown by the original poster. As a result, I have substituted slightly larger plastic baits with more pronounced bellies to mimic the larger bait on some of my trolling rods. When I am in the areas with the larger bait, I get more hits on the larger plastics. This photo shows a 3" Fat Sam mullet (top), a 4" Shadzilla (middle), and a 4" Fat Sam mullet (bottom).

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[Fishinfool]

Peanut bunker is a colloquial term for small menhaden.

To go along with Mark's photos, I offer two others. In late June I found a dead baitfish at the ramps at Sandy Pt. It was very close in size and shape to the 12 Fathom 3" Fat Sam mullet paddletails I use most often.

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In the past two weeks, I have observed some areas that have schools of larger bait (3-5", bigger belly), as shown by the original poster. As a result, I have substituted slightly larger plastic baits with more pronounced bellies to mimic the larger bait on some of my trolling rods. When I am in the areas with the larger bait, I get more hits on the larger plastics. This photo shows a 3" Fat Sam mullet (top), a 4" Shadzilla (middle), and a 4" Fat Sam mullet (bottom).

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For anyone wondering how to buy Fat Sam's, I don't think they are in local stores, but here is the link to the supplier in Fla., I believe. Like Little Tavern burgers, you can "buy 'em by the bag."!

http://www.12fathom.com/products.php?cat=17

[Fishinfool]

John, at what point would you recommend going to 3-4 " Storm Shads? I suppose the answer depends on observing what is active in the water, but it's usually hard to see or catch schools of small bunker. At what point in the season are the bunker large enough to switch to the larger Storm Shads? Thanks, Steve

[yakscientist]

I've been using 4" paddletails all season, and I've recently been getting hits on 6" ones. I have some 3" baits but I honestly would never switch to them unless I was getting skunked while those around me were catching fish, which has yet to happen. I usually get just as many hits, sometimes more than them, running the 4" diesel minnowz from zman, and they've also caught me my largest perch this year, up to 12".

[J.A. Veil]

For anyone wondering how to buy Fat Sam's, I don't think they are in local stores, but here is the link to the supplier in Fla., I believe. Like Little Tavern burgers, you can "buy 'em by the bag."!

http://www.12fathom.com/products.php?cat=17

Steve - Thanks for providing that link. I met the owner of 12 Fathom lures last winter. He would like to find a distributor in this area but has had no success. If any Snaggedline members have connections at a tackle shop, I can make introductions.

Most of the 12 Fathom lures I use are from what the owner calls his "reject bin". When he changes a production run from one color to another, sometimes the first few batches have mixes or bleeding of the old color and the new color. Otherwise, they work fine, but he cannot sell them as a regular product. My guide in Tampa works with 12 Fathom to help market them in FL. He gets buckets full of plastics from the reject bin. Every now and then he gives me a large bag of mixed tails that have worked marvelously for me. Several of the plastics in the photos above were "rejects" -- the fish don't care.

[J.A. Veil]

John, at what point would you recommend going to 3-4 " Storm Shads? I suppose the answer depends on observing what is active in the water, but it's usually hard to see or catch schools of small bunker. At what point in the season are the bunker large enough to switch to the larger Storm Shads? Thanks, Steve

I don't use Storm Shads too often because of the cost/bait. I rarely use Storm Shads smaller than 4". Once the plastic is damaged, the entire lure is shot. With jigheads and tails, only the tail needs to be replaced.

During the spring striper run in the Severn (April & May) I see more fish above 20". For those few weeks I upsize to the 4" plastic tails and sometimes run a 5" Storm Shad in the spread. I try to use different sizes, shapes, and colors in my initial spread until I see what is working best that day. My 37" striper caught in the Severn last April 2 hit a 6" 12 Fathom Buzztail on a 3/4-oz bucktail. That was the first day I ever used a 6" Buzztail -- it worked.

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In my only visit to the Susquehanna Flats last spring, I caught the most fish on the 4" Shadzilla.

As summer rolls around, the larger bait is gone, and I use mostly the 3" Fat Sams. It never hurts to experiment with something out of the normal pattern -- it might fool a large hungry fish.

In early fall I start adding some larger plastics into the spread.

[J.A. Veil]

I've been using 4" paddletails all season, and I've recently been getting hits on 6" ones. I have some 3" baits but I honestly would never switch to them unless I was getting skunked while those around me were catching fish, which has yet to happen. I usually get just as many hits, sometimes more than them, running the 4" diesel minnowz from zman, and they've also caught me my largest perch this year, up to 12".

Z-man plastics are very popular among many Snaggedline members. I carry a bag with me in case I encounter a school of bluefish that will bite off my regular plastics. I have not had to use them this year so far because I have encountered only a few bluefish. I believe my 12 Fathom plastics swim better than the Zman plastics, plus my cost for acquisition on Fat Sams is minimal.

When you move up from the 3" to the 4" Diezel minnowz, the girth does not change much, but the body and tail are slightly longer. I suspect that your success with 4" Diezel minnowz throughout the summer is related to the thickness and belly size. In the photo below the top lure is a 5" Storm Shad. It is long and thick and has the weight and hook molded into the body. The second and fourth from the top are Diezel minnowz in 4" and 3". They look about the same in thickness. The third and fifth lure are Fat Sam mullets in 4" and 3". The 4" has noticeably more height and thickness than the 3" version. Visually, the two Diezel minnowz do not look that different, but the two Fat Sams do look different.

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While I personally prefer the 12 Fathom plastic tails, I recognize that many other companies make quality tails. Each of us has various reasons for choosing one or a few over all the others. Keep up the good work with your Diezel minnowz.

[Rhino]

I saw tons of these peanut bunker on Tuesday mid-morning -- good-sized ones, suggesting they are in the main tributaries now. I encountered just a few significant boils indicating feeding stripers, and was able to hook a nice minimum low 20's but he jumped and shook out the hook. Got another swipe at the boat. In both cases it was on hardbaits. The boils would only last about 20 seconds each, and then the rocks moved on.

[J.A. Veil]

I fished this morning in the drizzle. The bite was outstanding but the stripers ignored the 3/4-oz jighead and 4" paddletail I had in the spread. After 45 mins I replaced it with a 1/4-oz jighead and 3" paddletail -- that rod got 3 of the next 4 fish. I recommend trolling with different weight heads and different tails until the fish let you know what they want.

[creight57]

Are these bait fish any good?

John, at what point would you recommend going to 3-4 " Storm Shads? I suppose the answer depends on observing what is active in the water, but it's usually hard to see or catch schools of small bunker. At what point in the season are the bunker large enough to switch to the larger Storm Shads? Thanks, Steve

Sorry I accidentally tapped reply while scrolling down the post and dang this app is sensitive. That said, I might as well contribute while I am here. The storm shads are excellent imitations of any broad profile baitfish. I use them in small sizes (3/8 oz) from the yak and throw the big ones from the yak and (3-4in 1oz and up) in the surf, varying size to match what's present. Peanut bunker are a match from about 5/8 up to 1 oz, iirc depending on size. They're a bit pricy comparative to other plastics without integrated hook/weight but imo that makes it a better shorter/broader profile than other plastics on a jighead.

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