Thread: To rake or not to rake...

That is the question. Do the bait shops in the OB area usually carry live sand fleas (mid-Sept. if that makes a difference) or am I better off buying a rake and hauling it down with me? Are they expensive to buy at the bait shops if they do have them? Are they easy to find for a novice? I'll mainly be fishing the Four Seasons pier and really would like a nice haul of pompano to take home and fill the freezer. I'm told they love sand fleas and building the slurp gun proved to be pretty $$ once we bought all the drill bits and things others may already have on hand.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

You don't need a rake but they can be handy. I bought one many years ago and they are handy if you're trying to gather a huge number of fleas in a short amount of time. However, we live upstate in Bama and I got tired of packing the rake down every year or a couple times a year. I now just carry along a metal scoop like an ice scoop from those big ice machines and a small bucket or plastic coffee can with some holes drilled in the bottom. Once I find a pod, I just scoop up a big chunk of sand and drop it in the bucket...son rinses water through to drain the sand out the bottom. Some years we've just scooped em by hand. Since I mainly surf fish the pompano has been hit and miss over the years for me, depending on when we go, but the whiting and other surf fish sure hit em good.

Oh and they have rakes at most of the tackle shops as well as wal-mart. I think I paid 20.00 for mine 13 years ago. If I lived down there or closer by I would probably take my rake more often, but I'd rather have room in my vehicle for an extra rod, etc.

Thanks Fishgeek, the space is becoming an issue, and in order to get one that breaks down, you have to move up to a much higher dollar model. I like your idea of the ice scoop, and think I'll throw that on my next Walmart run list. I've never fished with sand fleas before, so this is all new to me. Appreciate the advice.

No problemo. Also, I don't remember seeing any live ones in the bait shops but that doesn't mean they don't have them. Locals would know. If you call that bait store near the canal (can't remember the name) they're usually pretty helpful. There have been times we've been down when we couldn't find any sand fleas at all, or found so few that it wasn't worth the time to look. Most of the time we have done good but that's mainly been down at the fort morgan end of beach, although we caught a bunch in the old gulf shores state resort before it got tore down. First thing I do when I go down there is go get some pompano jigs and artificials. I used some of those Gulp sand fleas last year and they worked ok, but nothing like the real thing. Remember I'm not a local just down there once or twice a year so all I can tell you is what worked for me. Definitely not an expert.

We usually go once sometimes twice a year, but have never done the saltwater fishing thing. This year, we're gonna change that. Even got a crab trap. I hope to fill the ice chest with seafood we've caught and eat that till the next trip down. We are kinda clueless though, which is why I'm enlisting Pier#r to come give us a hand.

Have some pompano jigs, and some basics in the new tackle box, but yes, figure J&M will be the second or third stop, after Lartigues for some crab stuffed potatoes and the stock up trip to Publix.

Yeah he seems to be the guy to know for sure. As long as there's no bad weather or heavy grass we've always been able to catch enough whiting and white trout to take care of supper every night if we put in the time every day. The boys weren't much for just farting around in the sun when they were younger so we hit it pretty hard most of the time. Now they're old enough to chase girls so that has definitely hurt our fishing time. I'm fighting back this year and am springing for an inshore charter one of the days to get their heads off the split-tails and back on the fish-tails where they belong!

LOL love it. Wish you luck. When is your trip?

Ha...gotta do something...these boys losing their minds over females. We're heading down mid-August this year, then prob again in early Oct before bow season. Y'all have fun...I hate beach-sitting, but I love salt water.

We don't do much beach sitting either, but love the smell and the sounds of the ocean around us. We can truely relax down there. We're heading down mid-Sept. and I'm counting the weeks right now.

Get you some of these. Easy, long lasting, and work pretty good. I've caught nice pompanos and whitings with them.