Fishing with dead bait real or let sit?
When you are fishing with dead bait (anchovies, baby shad etc..) do you let it just sit in the water or do you real it in as if it were alive. Also do you put pieces of the fish on the hook or do you put the entire bait on the hook?
Actually, you let the bait sit. There are tons of ways to hook a baitfish to get a speedy response.
1) cut off the head and tail and hook the bait through the tail.
2) cut off the tail in an angle towards the stomach and hook the bait through the head.
3) Leave the bait whole and lightly cut the bait in 3 locations across the body on both sides( from top to bottom) and hook in the head.
4) filet the fish from the tail to head on both sides leaving the flesh and removing the spine. Hook in the head. best under a float or free lined in current.
5) Cut the fish vertically into chunks
6) Cut the fish into chunks in an angle to make “diamond cuts”
7) cut the bait in half and use either side
Split the bait open from anal to mid section and use under a float. Best when waves are present. Hook right before first dorsal spine.
9) Using a long needle, insert line through the mouth and out the anal cavity, tie hook on and pull the line from the mouth until hook bend and barb is sticking out of anal cavity.
10) do # 9 in reverse
11) Cut off dorsal and slightly filet both sides of bait. Insert hook through the mouth and out the spine area. This releases scent and makes hooking easier.
12) Opposite of 11
13) diamond cut the bait all over. Do this by scoring the flesh in angles from left to right. Hook whole.
14) remove all the fins and only cut the head in an angle from the base to the lower jaw.
15) remove head and tail and hook the bait right under the anal fin using a stinger hook towards the head.
16) Cut the bait right down the middle from head to fin.
17) Triangle cuts. In an angle, cut the bait from head to tail to form triangles. Hook near the spine to form a “purse effect.” Like this ( / ) Hook in the top point of triangle where the spine should be.
Need I go on? There’s tons of ways to bait a fish. The way you use them is what you need to figure out.
DVO1101 Shad fishing 2011 on the Delaware River