Sardina or Flatiron Herring, Harengula thrissina: A prized and primary component of a purchased “scoop of bait.” Caught in the surf zone during the winter months, with water temperatures below 78 degrees, early morning in 5 to 10 foot deep water, utilizing a net cast by a panguero bait salesman. Size varies from 3 to 6 inches and they are virtually weightless. This very small “beast” is the mainstay of the Los Cabos sport fishing industry and a very simple rule of thumb is that if you have "sardinas" in your panga you will have a highly productive day, and if you don’t you won’t without major effort and a great deal of luck! Survives a panga “bait tank” at a high level provided that an adequate amount of water per sardine is present. Photo courtesy John Snow.
Questions: Would frozen sardinas be useful? I can probably bring some from here. Can we catch them ourselves? (Do we still have the net?) Should we anchor near the panga fleet on some days and buy them?
Frozen Balyhoo have always been fine in the Atlantic, but my guess on the Sardines is we'd want to be using live ones. Captain Jose WeJeansen (pronounced weh-hen-sen) is probably the most knowledgeable on this subject and locale. I'm thinking, if we're going to go for livies, we'd want to anchor near the p[anga fleet and buy them, at least at the beginning. That way we'll be sure to have some. if, with trial and error, we are successful netting enough on our own, we could move away from purchasing them and go for the more purist route. Whoever has the net is responsible for practicing out on their lawn over the summer. Posted by "Walks with Thunder"
ReplyDeleteI have the net, but prefer to practice on light posts. My cast net skills aside, most of the bait making I've seen down there is with hook and line. Deep jigging for mullet is the most common method. My preferred method is a nocturnal approach at anchor after chumming with the days catch. This tactic works best after several Bimini G & T's.
ReplyDeleteSince we will be spending most nights at anchor, we may be limited in panga shopping. We should be think about bringing some frozen bait with us and be prepared to make our own. As you know, Baitmasters is my favorite bait source (www.baitmasters.com) and not just because they gave me an awesome T-shirt. Check out there prices and you'll see that mullet, the most common bait used down there, is fairly expensive. I think we should get a couple cases of Ballyhoo to rig for trolling and pitch baits. There not as commonly used down there, but I have no doubt they'll be effective.
I might bring a sampling of frozen fish since it's plentiful here - just for the halibut.
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