Croakers in Panacea

[newboy]

I am coming down to Panacea for the first time in 3 years during May! THANK GOD. I want to try some live bait mainly croakers but don't know how to catch them. Anybody got some advice? Also what is the best way to get pens?

Thanks,
Newboy

[2true]

Pens? You mean pins? As in pinfish? Get you small hook a little bit of shrimp you catch tons of them.

[leonreno]

Pinfish are easy to catch, croakers are much harder, at least for me. You really have to know where they congregate, unlike pinfish which are everywhere. Croakers are very good baits, maybe someone knows where to find them.

[Hiljun]

The best way I know to get pens is to go to Walmart. When it comes to pinfish I have found that keeping a tight line so you can feel the bite will produce more fish. I have never caught a crocker here but in Texas I would catch them the same as pinfish near rock structure.

[DEMON]

If this is what you are calling a croaker, I caught a couple of them at the Ochlocknee Bay bridge while night fishing several years ago. Only time I've ever caught any around here. They are in the drum family so it's hard to tell them from juvenile black drum.

[newboy]

Thanks for all advice. 2true, please excuse my typo, yes I meant pins as in pinfish. I have never tried to catch bait but wanted try something different this year. I figured pins would be easy enough to find but had a guide tell me about croakers last year and he swears by them.

Thanks to all,

Newboy

[leonreno]

Also, we usually fish out of Lanark, Carrabelle or Keaton Beach. I have caught more croakers out of Keaton Beach, but again not very many. They make good baits because when on the hook they drum or croak, which is like a trout dinner bell.

[Salty Gator]

I wonder if the croker in this case is a pigfish. We usually catch them when we are fishing for pinfish. Same areas, grass flats, Oyster bars and creeks. We will get a sabiki( wih very small hooks) cut it in half and rig 2 rods with 2-3 hooks( u usually never get them on the top hooks when using a whole sabiki). Tip the hooks wih a piece of gulp and go to work. I use a drop shot 1/4 oz lead. When it warms it should be no problem to fill the livewell with them.

[Rhettley]

I'm betting Salty Gator is right. They do make the same croaking or drumming noise.

[Harmsway]

Yeah, I'm with Salty Gator. I usually catch croakers with pinfish at a ratio of about 1:10. Increase the croaker catch rate by up sizing hooks and/or larger bait. But you risk catching bait fish larger than you might want. All you really need is one small hook and a split shot weight on some light line; try various depths 2 to 6 feet. If you do it right you don't even have to reel; just drop over the side, and snatch them right into the boat, Malibu release right into the live well, and bait back over the side in one sweep.

[leonreno]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure croaker and pigfish are the same fish in these parts. Or, at least interchangeable as bait fish.

[roadtrip]

there are Croakers and Pigfish. I have caught croakers in creeks and pigfish more on the flats. They both croak or grunt.
Pigfish are deadly on King Mackeral because they grunt.

[Danibeth]

Cant help you out there but here in jax we use croakers as one of the baits when chasing BIIIIIIG redfish. They croak so beautifully. We usually put out our redfish rods with crab and/or cut bait and then I settle down with another rod and start catching croakers. Sometimes instead of redfish we will catcha ginormous trout and on occassion have caught grouper as well. All inshore fishing. I catch croakers in deeper water or holes with a little bitty hook tipped with shrimp. I swear by croakers for snook fishing down south....outstanding baits.

What would yall use croakers for there? Offshore or inshore?

Danibeth

[Ifishtoo]

A noisy, croaking pig fish is always good bait, too. A 3-6" pig fish will always be a meal for: trout, reds, jacks, and bottom fish.

[RCS]

You'll catch more croakers in areas with lots of tidal movement and current...around the mouths of rivers, creeks, channels, etc. are all good places. I've had more luck catching them in areas that had mud/shell/grass bottom as opposed to sand. Still don't catch a ton of them around here though.

Pigfish/grunts are a different story. Plenty of them, you'll just have to weed through the pinfish. I rarely target them specifically, but when I do get into them it's usually in a little deeper water over turtle grass/shell bottom. They make great bait for everything that swims...