Q & A

Fishing Golden Rule #1: You want to fish during the two hours before high tide and two hours after high tide.

Fishing Golden Rule #1.5: Fish moving water - moving water brings the bait and the ensuing predator fish to you.

Fishing Golden Rule #2: Fish a falling barometer - a falling barometer triggers a feeding response in fish

Fishing Golden Rule #3: Don't use bait that you wouldn't eat yourself (we don't advise eating menhaden but if you had to we would recommend that they were fresh) fresh bait rules for most game fish (except for small catfish and crabs, they'll eat anything)

As a starter the one that you have the most faith in. You will fish this bait longer and more often. However there is a limit to what may or may not work. The only way to find out is by going fishing… you sure ain’t gonna catch fish looking at this web page in your tighty whites!

Baits that imitate fish and eels are the money. Color wise chartreuse is the magic color. Retrieve speed can vary, stripers are your typical fish in that they try not to work to hard for their baits but they will run down cranked baits like lipless cranks or trolled baits. Other wise stripers wait for a good ambush opportunity so the occasional pause while retrieving is the trick.

Baits that imitate shrimp and fish. Color is a tough one these fish are the connoisseurs of the sound. It may seem uncouth but keep an eye out for your fellow anglers (the ones catching fish) baits and try to match them. Then there is the matter of retrieve speed… speed kills… your chances of catching a spec. Fish slowwwww... as a matter of fact pretend that they can not swim.

Baits that imitate fish, shrimp, and crabs are the deal. Color wise gold is a good bet other wise chartreuse should be your second guess followed by what ever is working at the moment. Retrieve speed is usually pretty slow, with some pauses to allow the bait to sink. Drum have down turned mouths that predispose them to bottom feed which is why you want the bait to get to the bottom. They can and will run down moving baits so fish what works.

Live baits that are in line with the targeted species are great but require you to keep the little buggers alive. Cut bait is good but draws a different crowd. You will draw all sorts of scavengers and bottom feeders using cut bait so be prepared to fend them off but if you are targeting bottom feeders you are in the money. If a species prefers moving prey then your likely hood of catching them with cut bait is limited but not impossible.