It all started when I was a kid growing up in North Florida. I would spend every chance I had bass fishing in one of the many lakes and ponds in that area. One spring afternoon, the number of shad that were schooling on top of the water was unusually large. And then it happened.

The water across the lake began to explode. Bass were ripping through the helpless shad with unrelenting ferocity. I looked at the tip of my rod only to see a lure that vaguely resembled a minnow. It only made sense to me to use a bait that fish eat; their natural prey. From that point on, I began to explore different ways to catch a bass's natural food, mainly lake shiners. I first started catching shiners on cane poles at local ponds, but this became too time consuming. I then purchased my first cast net at the local K-Mart with money I saved from mowing lawns. With about a half a loaf of bread and my new cast net, catching enough shiners to fish with was easy.

From the first moment I began to fish with live shiners, I was hooked. Nothing in my opinion compares to live bait fishing. It all begins with your cork slightly bobbing up and down and slowly moving around, and then all of a sudden, things begin to change. The movement of your cork increases dramatically and then wham, your cork disappears with a swirl. Maybe it's those few seconds between the time the shiner gets nervous and the time you set the hook that makes it so exciting. Sometimes the cork will disappear less dramatically. It just slowly goes under. It doesn't matter how it goes under, it's still a thrill.

After I began using live shiners for bait, artificials became obsolete. Live shiners became a priority for me. This was a difference between a lot of fishermen in the area and myself. This was very apparent when you saw the amount of emphasis I placed on catching them. Shiners were not always readily available in the local ponds and sometimes I had to travel several miles to catch them and then several more miles to fish them at my favorite bass fishing spot. Indeed this was a challenge for someone who didn't have a driver's license, but I always got it done somehow. The result, I caught more fish. It was worth it for me to go the extra mile to have the best bait. It still is today.

I've since graduated from those lakes and ponds to the gorgeous Gulf of Mexico. I've spent the last twenty years fishing these beautiful waters for just about every species of fish that frequents the area. However, without a doubt, fishing for grouper has become my favorite. Digging these fish out of rocks has become an obsession of mine. Having a family that has been in the seafood industry for four generations has given me the opportunity to learn from some of the best. Whether I was decking on a boat or captaining my own vessel, I quickly realized how important live pinfish were to catching our limit of grouper. Just as shiners were to bass fishing, pinfish were just as important to filling the ice chest. I rarely left the dock without them.

With the priority that I placed on having live pinfish for every offshore trip, I quickly learned how to fill the live well with these frisky baitfish. But it was not until I decided one summer to sell them commercially to local marinas that I truly mastered the art of catching them. As you probably already know, catching live pinfish may not be very difficult, but with a few helpful tips, you can increase your catch dramatically and on a more consistent basis.

Trap Design
It amazes me at how much trap design varies depending on the area your in. I've traveled all along Florida's gulf coast and I've seen about as many different trap designs as people who use them. Just as there are numerous designs, there are just as many opinions on what design catches the most. I've used just about every one of them, and even designed a few of my own, and I still don't have a favorite. My advice to you is to experiment. There are many factors that affect the ability of a trap to catch fish. Among them are water temperature, water clarity, time of year, salinity, type of bottom the trap is on, etc.... Most local fishermen have an opinion on what type and color of a trap works best. This may be a good place to start. Especially if they contend that the trap they're recommending catches fish in the area that you want to place the traps. Try starting with the least expensive traps and see if they're successful. Those small fifteen-dollar hexagonal traps will sometimes out-catch those expensive one-inch square colored traps, depending on the water variables. I can't tell you how many times I've kept those expensive traps in the boat and only used the cheap ones because they would out-catch them, even when placed right next to one another. Least expensive is also important because bad weather, sharks, porpoises, boat motor props and bait pirates (a term I will later define) can make them mysteriously disappear. Nothing will ruin your day more quickly than to arrive at your traps, expecting several dozen live pinfish, only to find the traps gone.

Bait
I've experimented with just about everything to use as bait in traps. From cat food to grouper heads and everything in between, I've tried it all. Keep in mind that pinfish are scavengers and they'll eat anything dead. My advice is to stop by your local seafood store and kindly ask if you can take some discarded seafood wastes off their hands. Don't forget your five-gallon bucket. I've rarely been turned down. In fact, when I did it commercially, one local seafood house gave me two 35 gallon trashcans full of discarded wastes from the local sales of that day. They were glad I took it off their hands. In those cans were grouper heads, mullet heads, shrimp heads, crab shells and other assorted discarded wastes. I didn't have a favorite and I don't think the pinfish did either. They all seemed to catch equally. Before choosing which bait to use, take notice of the size mesh of the bait holder in the trap. The larger the mesh size of the wire, the larger the bait should be. This will make it harder for the smaller fish to eat all your bait before your trap can catch enough pinfish. You can also freeze your own bait. Just keep the discarded fish parts from you last trip. Don't pay for bait. Offshore fishing is expensive enough.

Trap Placement
Where you place your traps will certainly affect the amount of bait you catch. Some fishermen will insist that grassy bottom is vital to catching pinfish. I disagree. I've caught just as many on mud and sand bottom, and next to oyster bars as I have on the grass flats. The bottom line is you need to place them where the pinfish are. Find the fish by experimenting. Place your traps on different types of bottom, at different water depths and next to different types of structures. See what works best in your area. Keep in mind that an area that may have water on it at the time you place the trap may not have it all the time. Be aware of the tidal flow and place your traps in an area that's constantly covered with water. Also ask around to local fishermen. Chances are they'll know where the pinfish are.

Bait Pirates
If you've run pinfish traps long enough, chances are a "bait pirate" has probably stolen your bait. I must admit, nothing angers me more than to arrive at my traps and find the bait trap release door is open and empty of baitfish. Those of you that have had this happen know what I mean. It makes you look incompetent in front of your charter, especially when they begin to realize they're not going to catch as many grouper. In Florida, it's illegal to pull a bait trap that's not yours. Still, bait pirates refuse to be deterred and continue to steal what's not theirs.

Over the years, I've found some ways to keep the bait pirates away. The first is to place your traps away from boating channels. Try to place them in areas that are less prone to boat traffic, especially boat traffic that's going offshore bottom fishing. Pinfish aren't cheap. Their price per dozen generally ranges from $3.00 to $5.00 or even more. This is all the motivation bait pirates need in order to steal your bait.
Also, if possible, try to place your traps in front of waterfront homes. Pirates tend to be less bold if they know someone may be watching. I've had traps in front of homes go undisturbed for years. Another way is to ask permission from homeowners to use their docks. Docks are great places to catch pinfish.

Chute Size and Direction
I've always wondered why two identical traps with identical bait, placed right next to each other will catch different amounts of pinfish. One trap may have fifty pinfish in it and the one right next to it has none. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. I've found that the size of the opening of the trap's chutes or their necks (where the fish enters the trap), can dramatically affect the amount of baitfish you collect. It's important that we make a distinction between the two different openings of the chutes (necks). One end of the chute attaches to the trap. From here the chute funnels down to the inner opening. It's mainly the width of the inner opening of the chute I'm talking about. If you have traps that are not catching that are among other traps that are, you may want to adjust the inner opening of those that are not. I like to have mine opened just enough to allow my hand to barely fit in right up to where my thumb adjoins my hand. At this point, you should not be able to push your hand through the inner opening without forcing it through. Take a look at the traps that are catching and try to adjust the traps that are not to the same width. It's important to remember that a chute that's adjusted too wide will allow more fish to escape by swimming back through the chute and an opening that's too thin will not allow as many pinfish to enter the trap.

Another important step in placing your traps is to point the chutes in the direction of tidal flow. In other words, if the tidal flow is north and south, then place your traps with the chutes pointed north and south. I had a local crabber one time tell me that by placing his blue crab traps in this manner, he increased his catch. He recommended that I try it with my pinfish traps and as he predicted, I caught more pinfish.

Although I've changed the type of fishing I do, I haven't changed the type of bait I prefer. Live baitfish will always be a priority for me. Whether it's the increased number of grouper I catch or just the sheer excitement of fishing with them, I've got to have them. And hopefully with these few helpful tips, you'll experience more full traps and ultimately more fish in your cooler.