Thread: How to deal with the bait stealers

Every time I fish from the pier I have problems with the little bait stealing fish nibbling my shrimp off. How do y'all deal with these little jokers? I like to fish the bottom with shrimp.

Give the kids smaller hooks so they can catch the little bait stealers then they cant eat your bait as much. or use cutbait or squid.

Don't use shrimp...
whatcha targeting ?

Originally Posted by Peaches

Don't use shrimp...
whatcha targeting ?

Pompano, whiting, flounder

Originally Posted by Canvasback

Pompano, whiting, flounder

For Flounder I always use live Bull Minnows on a Carolina rig just drag it along side the pier if hes there he will eat it. Whiting will eat cut bait and squid it stays on the hook better. Never fished for Pomps so I cant help you there.

I like jigs personally for pompono

Try FishBites, they work great for Spades, should work for whiting.
Cast farther away from the pier too, usually the little fish like to stay close to cover.

I'm gonna go with what the others are suggesting, diversify your baits when possible.
The fore mentioned Bull Minnows & Finger Mullet are great for Flounder.
Same for the Fishbites alone and/or use them with the shrimp. They're tough and stay on the hook.
Rake some sand fleas, or suck some ghost shrimp, both are deadly baits on Pomps.
Try some artificials, various soft plastics, jigs and etc, can produce.

LOL... Most times ya just have to feed the Pinfish & crabs, they're like the tax man and are gonna get their share.

Hello I'm new to salt and need some suggestions. I have been out wade fishing twice and have only had catfish stealing my bait. How do I avoid these bait stealers?

If you're catching catfish then you're not having bait stolen, you're catching catfish. Depending on location, surf, tide conditions you are going to pay the piper and have to deal with cats in the surf at some point. Ladyfish can be equally as bad depending on the time of year and water temperature. If you're just having bait stolen without landing the fish then you've gotten some really good advice in the posts above.

Fresh dead shrimp stays on the hook better than stuff that has been sitting on ice for some time. I like the tiny bit of Fishbites trick to help keep the shrimp from sliding down over the barb. A common mistake I see with people using shrimp is that they try to use the whole thing or are fishing a piece that is entirely too large-the more you put on the hook the more you are risking something can get a hold of that bait and pull it off of the hook without having to have the barb in their mouth. Small pieces of shrimp are almost always sufficient when targeting fish for the table from the surf. Cutbait tends to get stolen less as do sand fleas and any sort of live bait.

If all else fails, downsize your hook to catch whatever is stealing your bait and then put said individual on a larger hook to keep moving up the food chain. Tight lines.