BigBendFishing.Net

That's the problem I've had with chum bags in shallow water. Draws too many 20 inch sharks and hard heads. Got tired of having traps stolen leaving them out over night. Just use the ultra-lite bait pole with squid most of the time. Just sometimes, it's hard to catch those little two inch pins I like to use under a cork. Sometimes all you get on bait poles is the large ones.

We bait our traps with the backbones and heads of previous catches. Use a hatchet to chop the backbones down some and just throw them in the trap. It works for us.

Thanks for the info. I ordered a bait trap a while back. I can't wait to try it.


http://www.catchlivebait.com/cart.php?m ... detail&p=4

That's nice Lizbeth. The trap stealers will love it! I have one that size, only it's black coated wire. I don't have as much luck with a small one like that, as I did with the large one I had. It was about the size of a crab trap.

ok...you just de-flated my big "fish bait balloon" I would really want to shoot someone for stealing my trap.

I had one stolen between Cedar Island and Keaton beach in a matter of hours few weeks back - was brand new

Redfin the last one I've had stolen (I've had two Pinfish traps, and five crab traps stolen in the last three years) was between Adams Beach and Yates Creek. Even tried to get sneaky, and put one of them up a creek and tie it off on the bank. They found it!

You mean those traps I have been taking actually belong to someone.

No hard feelings guthooked. Simple mistake on your part. Where can I meet you to get all my traps back. We wouldn't want to have to change your name to gutshot now would we.

Thats pretty good.
I have had traps stolen myself. I was told once that you should never mark a trap with PVC or a buoy, only with GPS. I would never do this though since it presents a danger to other boaters if the water is less than 4 ft deep.

Redfin wrote:I had one stolen between Cedar Island and Keaton beach in a matter of hours few weeks back - was brand new

I had one stolen as well in the same vicinity last year. It would be hard not to shoot someone if I caught them. Really low life..... Anyways, chicken gizzards work great as bait and are real durable.

I was raised mostly by a commercial fisherman, and crabber (my grandfather) on the Aucilla River. I'd say the danger is not so much to unsuspecting boaters running over unmarked traps, but more to the sucker stupid enough to steal marked traps from people like I was raised with on the river. They'll shoot you in a heartbeat for messing with their gear. Like stealing horses back in the day. A hanging offence!

I hate to hear about the traps getting stolen. Never had a problem (in the past) @ St. Marks.

As far as the bait, we've tried different ones. The best bait we've used, by far, was bluefish. Maybe, because they're so bloody, but then again, so are the ladyfish.

Go to Wally World get 2 or 3 cans of jack mackeral and a 5 foot cast net, chum with mackeral and toss the net. Much faster and two or three tosses will score more than the trap and hopefully no one will steal your cast net. good luck