Different ways to live line?

[Goose]

I luv it. since buying my boat 4 yrs ago I spend most of my time either drifting or power drifting live bait.. I spend most of the morning catching bait, that in its self is more important. from about 9 till 2 is live lining, imo best time, fish have moved to deeper cooler water. most guys are burnt out about 11 and the wind has picked up, you leaving is big mistake. some of the best fisherman I know have convinced me rougher is often better,,, just like shore fishing. I try first hookin'um just the way they are.. behind the dorsal, second through the nose. Often times you know their there but there not interested and you need to think out of the box and this often takes time, which is one reason why I like fishing alone, less pressure to put fish in the boat and when you finally do there quality fish. Try to get find places that have no or little pressure this imo makes all the difference, when you first get there your on them then they spook, they still see its live bait but but I believe bass have that survival instinct no matter what you present them with unless the numbers are stupid or its at night. Its a good idea to have several productive areas that are in reasonal time away from each other so you can let fresh fish move in. glass rods, long leader & braid a must.

[Mr. Sandman]

Just make sure your scup is 10.5"+...they are cracking down on bass guys using those "potato chip" size scup. Last year I watched them nab several guys while watching others run from the law while dumping their bait.
IMO they should change the law for bait uses. 10.5" is a pretty good size bait.

[NEXT2NUN]

I pretty much do what Goose said. I made up some 4 oz ball sinkers with snaps.When I get in real deep water or the drift is fast I clip it on and slide it down the line.

[Moses]

Towards the end of last season, I started getting more interested in live lining. A majority of this interest came from the amount of pogies my cousin turned me on to down the Cape in Sept thru mid Oct. All of this was by casting weighted trebles to snag these fish. We either fished as is or rehooked with an unweighted treble. Definitely some good results. Also tried live lining some scup with a treble thru the nose and then a stinger treble behind it's fin. Sometimes we even clipped the fin with a pair of plyers. All fishing was done in fairly shallow depths down to 20', therefore we never used any real weights.

This year I want to expand on this concept. I'm in the process of buying a castnet and plan to start practicing soon in my yard. BTW, there was a great article in this past week's Fisherman mag. All of this effort of course is dependent on findingthe bait which will be a new challenge for me.

I definitely like Goose's comments about trying to locate the bait being more important part of the overall effort/day.

Besides live lining methods, does anyone have any related tips for locating and then catching said bait? Thanks.

[Goose]

About locating scup. If you fish near jetty's, light houses and that type of structure you'll find plenty of under size scup which isn't good but you'll also find big choggies which of course is good. If you get in open water or places like around the islands the scup is to big. I get most of my scup close,, 100yrds from shore around lobster pots, you will also find tinker macks most of the season around pots also. Small humps in 10 to 15 feet of water are also great. I never ever leave with out seaclams they out fish every thing else and are the most affordable. The big thing to remember is your boat must be still, either tied up or anchored or you will struggle to get fish in the well. I light graphite rod is good....use as little weight as possible and you will feel every thing better.

[Mr. Sandman]

my 2 cents

Practice in your back yard with your net you will get good pretty quick. There is a video online on the Calusa net website. http://www.calusa.com/howtothrow.cfm There are about 4 ways that I know to throw one but the method shown on the web site (same shown in the fishermen I think (I just took a glance at it) ) is probably the best all around way to do it.

Nets vary a lot. Catching bait requires the right net. You need the the right mesh size and sink rate for different baits. For bunker you need a fast sinking larger mesh then for silver-sides or peanuts. After you throw the wrong net a few hundred times then try the right one there is a WORLD of difference. So keep that in mind. Lots of info on that site about the right net. Stay away from those cheap sub-$10 cast nets, they are not worth #^&#^&#^&#^& and throw like a bunch of junk and don't sink worth a damn. I can't tell you how many times I see guys struggling to catch bait off the dock with one of those. (When I was a kid that is all I had...when I got a good net I could not believe the bait I was catching) It is just a little practice with a half way decent net.

Goose said one thing that I think is a killer bait and largely overlooked these days...chogies. We called them Bergalls but they are the same. These damn things work. This was my fathers favorite bait for bass. When he retired he would catch a bunch of these near an inshore rock jetty and live line them off Shagwong reef off Montauk. Bass attacked them. No regulations or hassles fishing with chogies and they are pretty rugged.

Also, keep in mind that if you have a net greater then 8' radius in your boat you need a commercial bait endorsement on your license, even if you don't plan on selling bait. I think the reg states any net with over 200 sq ft and you need the permit. With the bunker coming back somewhat the environmental police are checking again, (once they check you and know you they seem to leave you alone)

Once you get the hang of it you will have plenty of quality bait, it just takes a little time.