Left Mashes Sands about 7:30 and went to catch bait. Since I usually don't put in there I didn't know where to catch pinfish but didn't figure it would be a problem. We messed around a little while and couldn't find any pinfish, but we did find hard tails schooling so we caught 15 or 20 of those and headed out to 40+ feet.
Almost all of the hard tails had died in the live well (Never tried to keep hard tails alive, but is this normal?). We started dropping cut bait and would catch a grouper now and then, but it was hard to keep the grunts from licking all the meat off the bait.
Wound the day up with 6 keepers. 5 of them were gags and 4 were 26" or more. (And a cooler full of grunts.)
I think we would have limited out if we would have had some live bait.
Mashes Sands 5/22
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
Mashes Sands 5/22
I must fish.
Good report, Sharkboy. I never tried keeping hardtails alive, but they probably are like mackrel and need water running through their gills all the time or they die. We usually catch pins too, when they can be found.
If the water calms, the wife and I want to go out to deep water. But trout have been do'in so good inshore, kinda hate to leave 'em!
If the water calms, the wife and I want to go out to deep water. But trout have been do'in so good inshore, kinda hate to leave 'em!

Yours in the South