snappers vs. herring
 

without river herring on the list these days, anyone try live lining with snapper blue fish? do bass like these guys or not? ive tried to snag bunker before but even those seem to be limited lately. anyone have any luck otherwise?

i was out in montauk 2 falls ago and the snappers moved in under the light house. By dumb luck i had a small tin in my bag and caught a few snappers(6-10"). it was the middle of the day and nobody was catching so we decided to live line the snappers and as soon as we did we started catching. Had had a few fish to 20 lbs and lost one bigger. So to answer your question yes snappers work as livebaits.

never tried them for bass, but they are killer on big fluke.

Yes. Get a sabiki rig and find them under the lights at you local harbor mid summer. Throw them in a bucket/live-well and take them to the harbor entrance on the drop and throw them to the wolves.:bounce:

Just keep in mind that you're talking about two different seasonal baits.

River herring--spring and early summer
Snappers--late summer and early fall.

Bass will eat snappers, but they're not a substitute for river herring as they show at opposite ends of the season.

There isn't a lot in the ocean that bass won't eat if they can get it in their mouths and swallow it ;)

very good point mike, ive seen sea robins in their stomachs before to go and prove ure point.

I'll take a young snappa over an old herrin any day...O! guess u ain't talkin about girls:angel:

Dace work reely well as a herring substitute in fresh/slightly brackish water. Not quite sure how long they'd hold up in the salt though.

Mike is right on ... bass eat basically anything that they can get their mouths on ... and they love snapper blues ... which emerge in the August time frame ...

that said, remember 10-per day.

Sea Robins can be a tasty treat...