The Port Arthur News
May 10, 2008 08:22 pm
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There is more to live bait fishing for speckled trout than live shrimp and croaker. These are the two most popular choices along the Texas coast, and for good reason: they produce. In fact, croaker produces so well that some anglers want to ban it.
There are however other baits that really produce.
Take piggy perch for example. These aggressive bait-stealers are common around oyster reefs and jetty systems. They are easy to catch with perch traps. A few bait shops carry piggies, but most anglers catch their own.
Most anglers fish piggies at the jetties and short rigs where the fish are free-lined against the structure. Some anglers claim they are more effective than croaker.
Mullet is another trout-getter, and probably the largest component in a big trout's diet. I have seen mammoth trout caught on 8-inch mullet in Southwest Louisiana, where the bait is popular.
The big debate among trout fishermen is what size mullet to use: finger mullet (little ones) or 6- to 8-inchers. That is a personal choice, but it comes down to what size fish you want to catch. Obviously, the larger the live bait the smaller chance of catching small fish. If I were dead set on catching a huge trout, I would go with a huge mullet. If numbers were my interest, I would go with finger mullet.
Menhaden (often called shad) is one of my favorite baits for schooling specks in late summer and fall. Keeping shad alive is difficult and best accomplished with pure oxygen. Some guys claim expensive recycling aeration systems work, but I don't take any chances; shad die quickly in hot weather.
Shad fished under a popping cork over schools is an effective method for taking numbers of fish. It is not the only way to go, however. In fact, shad do not even need to be alive to be effective.
For the last few years I've been catching my shad in a cast net early in the morning then icing them down, taking care to drain as much water as possible. This keeps shad very fresh. My friends and I call this the “cold shad” method. The rig I use is a simple weighted saltwater popping cork positioned several feet above a Kahle hook. I have tried this with mullet and piggy perch and it didn't work. Don't ask me why.
As noted, the hardest part about using live bait is keeping it alive. Aerators, recycling livewells, and other devices can keep bait alive, but not like pure oxygen. In more than 30 years of research, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) studies have found low levels of dissolved oxygen kills more fish than any other single cause, accounting for 60 percent of all fish and wildlife mortality in Texas waters.
Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) related moralities seem to be far more common in saltwater. Some 56 percent of habitat affected by lack of oxygen is in the Gulf of Mexico, 30 percent in estuaries, and 14 percent in freshwater lakes and streams.
The potential for fish morality increases dramatically in summer when high water temperatures contribute to lower oxygen levels in coastal waters. This is why shrimp and baitfish die so quickly in summer.
For the past few years I've been using a system called the Oxygen Edge designed by David Kinser that puts dissolved oxygen into livewell water. The unit consists of a bottle of oxygen and a hose attached through a regulator to an ultra-fine filter that allows only tiny bubbles to escape.
“Standard aeration systems draw from the air, which is composed of 21 percent oxygen,” Kinser said.
“Factor in that many units only achieve 65 to 80 percent efficiency, and it becomes obvious what happens when water temperatures start to heat up. The fish start to die because they're not getting enough oxygen.”
Speaking conservatively, I have reduced live bait mortality by 80 percent using the system. In addition to keeping bait alive, the system makes them livelier. The oxygen keeps their metabolisms high so they are frisky and more likely to attract a predatory fish.
The whole point of using live bait is to increase the odds of catching fish, but unfortunately the preferred baits like shrimp and croaker often can't be found at bait camps. There is no reason to fret, though.
Chester Moore, Jr. is the Port Arthur News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.
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