# proper bait and hooks for Mullet/Whiting fishing



## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

After 38 years of pier fishing at Nags Head (predominantly Spring time when Skates are abundant), I know longer try to find the best bait for Mullet/Whiting. Hmm, why wouldn't I want to use bait that
these fish prefer over all other? Well, it's because I don't want to spend half of my time pull up Skates and getting my line snapped by them. For example, when I was on Nags Head Pier in early to mid May (prime time for Mullet/Whiting at Nags Head), I saw many many people using squid, cut bait and shrimp and they were pulling up skates one after another all day long while I was hauling up Mullet all day long. We used Fish Bites and these worked great. Bloodworm works well too, but it's nasty, comes off the hook too easily, can only be used in the very short term and is more expensive. Fish Bites can be kept in your tackle box and used the next year. So when it's prime mullet season and when the trout aren't hitting off the bottom, I recommend using Fish Bites if you want to catch the fish that is biting instead of Skates. In addition, i used number 5 hooks and had great success when the Mullet were a little smaller. It is frustrating when I can only catch about 1/3 of the fish that eat my bait. You will catch more fish using smaller hooks like 4,5 or even 6 compared to number 2 hooks, especially for fish that have small mouths like Mullet/Whiting. 

Now I have questions for the forum. Are Skates common in the southern NC beaches as well? What do you do, if anything, to minimize your chances of catching these hideous creatures, particularly in
Spring when you are trying to catch the predominant, good tasting bottom dwellers (Mullet/Whiting)? 

I plan to fish at one of the southern NC piers in the future. I wonder if the southern piers are better? I seems to me that the Outer Banks, being exposed directly to a northeast winds, would have rougher water with bigger swells. Also, given that the coast extends to the northeast, then bends back to the northwest, it seems that some species of fish (like Chopper Blues) might stay offshore along the Outer Banks instead of hugging the coastline like they seem to do further south. I see many more reports of big Blues down south compared to Nags Head. And I am not trying to rag on the Outer Banks.
The Outer Banks will always have a special place in my heart. I have 4 decades of memories that will never go away. Also, there are more shops and places to eat that are very close to the piers. 
But I do plan on expanding my horizons in the future. I can extend my salt water fishing season if I follow the fish northward, starting in SE NC in early April and then the Outer Banks in early May.

Any thoughts, agreements or disagreements are welcome...

Hugehail


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## fishinbob (May 27, 2011)

I used the fishbites last weekend, and was catching trout and whiting one after another. At one point, I started getting skates and rays off the fish bites though.


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Well I fished 4 days on NHP and I snagged 2 skates and a ray. But these I snagged hooked when I pulled in an empty bottom rig to add bait or recast. Ive now learned to reel in as quickly as possible and I would
rather catch 2 or 3 skates then 40 or 50 like some people did.


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## bbcroaker (Jan 6, 2005)

Nice :fishing:fishinbob were you using the FB bloodworms and how big of pieces for trout?


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