About Saltwater Fish Bait

Saltwater fish bait is a little different than freshwater bait. In general, it comes from the ocean and is mainly other fish, shrimp, clams and a few other sea creatures. The type of bait you use depends on what you want to catch. Saltwater bait can come frozen, fresh or live, and it can be bought at bait stores near the ocean. Some fishing vessels even fish for this kind of bait, the most common being herring seiners, shrimp and clam or quahog boats.

  1. Function

    • Saltwater bait is used to catch many kinds of ocean fish from grouper to striped bass, flounder to blue fish. It can be used commercially on long liners to snag swordfish and tuna, or inshore in the bays and estuaries to catch snapper, flounder and other species. It almost always goes on a hook, whether it is a long line hook, or small eagle claw hook used by a recreational fisherman.

    Types

    • The types of saltwater bait fish are as various as the types of saltwater fish that want to eat them. The most common is clam, used mainly on the east coast by party fishing boats. This bait usually is harvested offshore, frozen and then sold. It is the same clam you eat fried! Shrimp is also common, but it is a little more expensive. Other saltwater baits include herring (used on long liners, in lobster traps and for other types of recreational fishing (striped bass and blue fish). Live baits include herring, pinfish, sardines, ribbon fish, lady fish and many others. All can be used live or dead.

    Features

    • A good saltwater bait closely matches what the fish you want to catch eat. Since bluefish ravage up the coast looking for herring and other small bait fish, this is what anglers use to catch them. Down south you have a better change catching a trout, redfish or grouper with a live shrimp or pin fish, because they are native to the area. All good baits are relatively fresh, or recently thawed after being frozen right after the catch. Live baits have to have a lot of energy and should still be kicking when they are put on the hook.

    Identification

    • Good bait has a healthy (not pungent) odor to it. It should smell like fish and seafood. You'll know clams because they are tan or orange in color and look like a glob of flesh. Shrimp are usually brown or light tan and have a tail and head with large eyes. Herring have an unmistakable bluish tint with a little bit of green. Pin fish are small, white fish that are wide and flat with vertical stripes. If you are hunting for saltwater bait fish in the ocean, you should look for pods of fish on your Lowrance, or clouds of birds diving into the water. You can also scan the water for small fish jumping and breaking the surface near reefs and grassy areas.

    Size

    • Saltwater baits for the most part are between 2 inches and eight inches long. Large herring and ribbon fish are usually the longest baits. They are used to catch big blues, king mackerel and snapper. However, not all saltwater baits have to be large to catch large fish. Small, brown crabs no bigger than your thumb are commonly used to catch Tarpon in Florida that can be over 200 pounds and six feet long. These fish just love to eat crabs and they will eat thousands of them, so anglers use them with success over and over again.