# Best Lures with no bait



## new2saltwater (Dec 10, 2008)

As everyone knows bait is pretty expensive this time of year and I plan to start catching my own bait soon. What is the best thing to use if you don't have the money for bait or cant get to the bait shop at inlets piers or the banana river? (Wife says im using to much money on bait)


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

I like Gulp! alot. It is expensive but I use it far more than live bait.

It depends also on what you are fishing for. I like black/silver curltail lures for trout and it wouldn't hurt to buy a couple Mirrorlures or Zara Spooks for trout and snook.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

What kind of fish are you after? That has a big role in what you'd buy.


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## new2saltwater (Dec 10, 2008)

Im looking for grouper, reds, sheephead, drums


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Can't help ya with grouper, but reds will hit a lot of stuff. Bucktails/Gulp/trout plastics under a popping cork or fished on the bottom, lots of different Mirrolures, ect. 

Sheepshead are live bait critters, but you can catch your own fiddler crabs or sand fleas and wear 'em out. Shrimp work too but just about everything swimming eats shrimp. 

Black drum to me are live/fresh dead bait fish too. A quarter of a blue crab or a fiddler, even sand fleas work well, as well as fresh dead or live shrimp. 

Sounds like you may want to invest in a cast net and catch a lot of your own bait. Good luck.


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

Get some bucktails and DOA lures for the reds, snook, and grouper. Black drum and sheepshead aren't caught all that much on artificials but it can be done. I'd suggest cut clam, live shrimp or fiddler crabs for them.


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## Soaked (Jul 21, 2006)

I've been doing pretty good the past few weeks catching red and gag grouper using Gulp! I use 4" swimming mullet in root beer color. This is the same I use for snook and reds in the warmer months.

I bought one of those containers of Gulp! Alive a few months ago. Every time I had the tail bit off by a mango or something I would save it and now I'm using the half pieces on a skirted jig for grouper and snapper. Recycle and reuse.


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

The container looks great. No matter how carefully I close the plastic packs, they still leak all over my tackle box and the inside of the truck.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I've heard the buckets of gulp have the same problem of leaking all over everything. I fold and keep bags of Gulp in a ziplock, haven't had them leak yet.


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## new2saltwater (Dec 10, 2008)

So I guess what your saying is, gulp, gulp, and after you used that go ahead and get some more Gulp... Wife will be happy and now I wont have to fish according to the bait shops hours...


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## Soaked (Jul 21, 2006)

emanuel said:


> The container looks great. No matter how carefully I close the plastic packs, they still leak all over my tackle box and the inside of the truck.


Yeah, they do leak. I just make sure not to store it on it's side. One of these days I'll have to find a better container.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

OK...for a cheap way for "bait", besides the Gulp, etc. Wait until Wal-Mart (sometimes $4.99 per lb.) or Publix ($5.99 per lb.) has their shrimp on sale. Buy a couple of pounds. Go to the "Bible" section on this board and read up on "Salting Baits". Salt it up and it will last a Looooooong time!. You can do this with other baits as well. Clams, etc. They will also stay on the hook longer. You can even do it with the bait you catch. Start with a cheaper cast net from Wally World until you get the hang of it.


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## new2saltwater (Dec 10, 2008)

sprtsracer said:


> OK...for a cheap way for "bait", besides the Gulp, etc. Wait until Wal-Mart (sometimes $4.99 per lb.) or Publix ($5.99 per lb.) has their shrimp on sale. Buy a couple of pounds. Go to the "Bible" section on this board and read up on "Salting Baits". Salt it up and it will last a Looooooong time!. You can do this with other baits as well. Clams, etc. They will also stay on the hook longer. You can even do it with the bait you catch. Start with a cheaper cast net from Wally World until you get the hang of it.


so the shrimp I would buy to eat a? I think the wife has some in the freezer right now


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Yep, or if you can find it cheaper somewhere else, get that.


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## JerryB (May 15, 2003)

I think the shrimp that you buy at wal mart as "fresh" is a better value than buying shrimp at the bait store anyway. its cheaper per pound and in better condition. 

good luck
jerry


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

JerryB said:


> I think the shrimp that you buy at wal mart as "fresh" is a better value than buying shrimp at the bait store anyway. its cheaper per pound and in better condition.
> 
> good luck
> jerry


Yes, it is. 

I always buy food-quality shrimp for bait. When it is on sale at Publix or Winn-Dixie at $4.99/lb it is cheaper than the skanked-out bait shrimp at $7/lb.


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## new2saltwater (Dec 10, 2008)

but if i could hand you the frozen or hand you the live what would you take, and is live worth it to spend that much more money?


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## Krustation (Jul 31, 2008)

*fresh over frozen*



new2saltwater said:


> but if i could hand you the frozen or hand you the live what would you take, and is live worth it to spend that much more money?



I've been in your position new2saltwater, not a lot to spend, what do I use, where is it best. Rule of thumb that I use is always fresh over frozen. I've fished along side guys using the good stuff and I was on frozen left over bait (striper fishing with chunked herring) Got out fished every time and to prove it, I was given fresh and hooked up, landed and released a nice 32lb'r . I'm from the northeast and have used various types of worms, crabs, chunks and artificial's. But, when I'm on vacation in North Carolina, shrimp is the staple fish food. I've used gulp and had great results, but shrimp is a consistent producer. I usually get the head-on shrimp and have caught everything from reds, blues, spanish (and faked out a few pompano using the head/body) in the surf, from the piers, in the river and in the inter coastal. My son and I have tried every kind of water and the one common item was the shrimp.


hope this helps
Krusty :fishing: :beer:


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## JerryB (May 15, 2003)

new2saltwater said:


> but if i could hand you the frozen or hand you the live what would you take, and is live worth it to spend that much more money?


my thinking on that is that if you are fishing where the fishing pressure is high you need every advantage to catch fish and the live is well worth it. if you are fishing where fisherman are scarce then it won;t matter so much. Also on those occasional days when the fish are feeding very actively it does not matter. 

I spent some time where you are last summer and fished out of my kayak in the lagoon down by the manatee hammock park. I caught quite a few trout, ladyfish and pomps using a rapala. No live bait needed for me. 

good luck
jerry


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## Jigmaster (Apr 3, 2006)

A Fluke is a good all around Bait....

Other than that get the bag of frozen clams at wally-world cut them up into small pieces (while still frozen) then salt them down with Kosher salt. They will toughen up and last a long time Besides its easy on the wallet.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

new2saltwater said:


> but if i could hand you the frozen or hand you the live what would you take, and is live worth it to spend that much more money?


Live is worth it if you're targeting certain species. Most bottom fishing for table fare fish doesn't require live bait. Fresh, never frozen, is always, always better than frozen. I've seen the "fresh" shrimp at WalMart still be partially frozen.  

I've seen bluefish, who aren't usually picky and hit about anything, turn down frozen mullet and shrimp, and as soon as we threw a fresh fillet of just caught croaker, we caught a limit in 30 minutes.


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