Frozen bait is a complete waste of time. You can always catch or buy fresh bait so why waste your time with frozen.....
Time and money
generally I would agree that fresh/live
bait is always better.
especially at the Skyway, with it's bait magnet
charecteristic.
Having said that, though the Spanish
Sardine is and will always be the reigning
King of all baits on the west coast of
Florida.
Brining is effective and there are other
ways to make up for the mushiness
encountered when using Sardines.
Double hook rigs like the ones used
on Hubbards boats are effective.
Also hook placement is key.
I fish cut Sardines all the time and there
is just something about the smell
that drives fish crazy.
As I've mentioned here before I almost
exclusivly use Jigheads these days,
on light tackle.
Hooking the head portion up through
the bottom lip through the bony
portion of the head.
Or the bony point where the spine
meets the tail and then back through
so that the bait flutters naturally
in the current and doesnt helicopter.
If the target fish are running on the
small side I clip the dine into three
pieces, using the middle/mushy belly
portion for chum.
For larger fish just snip em in half with
scissors and fire down a half.
Alot of folks will also remove the tail
to cut down on spin in current.
Also Elephants eat P nuts and
There has been many a big ole
Grouper who turned up his nose
to a live bait fall victim to the stinky
beloved Spanish Sardine.
Especially in cold dirty water.
