Fishing with Black Saltys and other Live Baitfish
Lest fishing with baitfish like the Black Salty, croakers and other species be new to you, here’s the drill: Any traditional “trout rig” will do, be it a baitcaster or spinning rig. Thread a one-eighth to one-quarter-ounce egg sinker onto the line; the addition of a colored “clicker bead” above and below the sinker is optional (for detailed rigging illustration, go to www.blacksalty.com and look under “The Black Salty” … this rig and others are posted online).
Some fishermen believe the plastic beads not only add a color attractant but also help create an element of sound, and they do. How much their use affects fishing success is a matter of debate, though I contend that the clarity of the water … or lack thereof … may play a role in the outcome.
Below the egg sinker (or a lower plastic bead, which aside from adding color will help protect the knot from being abraded by the lead), use an Improved Clinch Knot to tie on a small black barrel swivel. Silver or brass will also work, but they tend … on rare occasion … to entice unwanted cut-offs from sharp-toothed predator species like Spanish mackerel and ribbonfish. That’s a problem mainly related to fishing clear surf waters. Just to be safe, though, I still recommend that given the choice you stick with black when it comes to barrel swivels.
On the lower end of the swivel, and using the same type of knot, tie on a 12- to 14-inch-long stretch of 20- to 25-pound-test leader. Fluorocarbon, due to its toughness (remember, you’re fishing over sharp-edged oyster shell) and in-the-water clarity, is preferred. It is also, however, more expensive than traditional leader material. You make the call.
Finally, on the receiving end of the leader, tie on a wide-gap single hook. Among the more popular are the wide-gap Daiichi Bleeding Hook and Mustad Croaker Hook. A wide-gapped single hook will accommodate even a large baitfish while still leaving an ample curved barb to penetrate the trout’s jaw. Almost without exception, the hook will end up in the corner of the speck’s mouth … a fact that makes it, with the assistance of a pair of needle-nosed pliers … very easy to unhook and release a fish should you wish to do so.
The rest of the formula is a pure matter of technique. Despite popular contention (particularly on the long-running croaker battle front), a fisherman cannot go anywhere on a Texas bay system, toss out a croaker or Black Salty and immediately commence to catch a limit of trout. First and foremost, you must be where the fish are. Secondly, you have to be there when they are feeding. Usually, that’s when the tide is turning and there’s a fair degree of current.
The strike will feel like a sharp tap, or perhaps two or three. Here, it should be noted, is where most inexperienced baitfish anglers make the fatal mistake of prematurely setting the hook. Most trout taken on baits like the Salty and croaker do not need to be measured. Under-15-inch fish are relatively rare, and it’s not uncommon to catch trout after trout in the 18- to 21-inch range. Furthermore, there is always the chance you might encounter the random 28-inch 8-pounder roaming the base of a shell pad (in which case, should you not be registered in the CCA STAR Tournament, you will instantaneously become extremely distressed and irritable, and perhaps even break out in a hideous rash). Avoid the dreadful possibility of not winning a new boat, motor and trailer by calling 713-626-STAR.
Whatever its size, allow the fish to take the bait before striking. Hold the rod in roughly the 10:00 position. When you feel the fish hit the bait, wait. As a rule, the speck will eventually move with the baitfish … but not before it has had time to capture it in its sharp canine fangs, turn it around and get the hapless creature securely clamped in its mouth.
When the line starts moving, gently lower the rod tip with the movement of the fish. The exact timing can vary, but once the trout is on the move and the rod tip is just about parallel to the water you can set the hook with confidence. Set the hook with a sharp rap of the wrist, but don’t do the Bill Dance Samurai sword bass worm routine. A hookset that sounds like a flashing saber cutting the air can, and often does, rip the bait free of the trout’s grasp.
It’s a cliché, but it nonetheless applies here: Don’t “horse ‘em.” Speckled trout have delicate and surprisingly fragile mouths. An overly tight drag setting (or again, an overly aggressive angler) can rip the hook free of a fish’s mouth about as fast as Dance whips that worm rod.
Finally, once the fish is “on,” keep the rod tip high. One of the most common mistakes made on the bay is to “pump” the rod up and down when fighting a fish. Drop the rod tip and the weight above the swivel will fall at the same time the fish gains some slack. Given the fact that baitfish-hooked trout are often nabbed in the furthermost fringes of their fragile jaws, it’s easy to understand why one’s inability to maintain steady pressure with a high-held rod accounts for so many lost fish.
Traditionally, baitfishing for speckled trout … not only on the Upper Texas Coast, but also the Coastal Bend and Upper Laguna as well … runs strong through July and on into August. By late August, croakers tend to grow so large that “bullet croaker” are hard to come by.
The Black Salty, available 12 months a year, alleviates that problem. It is not, however, just like the croaker, pinfish and other baits, a “magic bullet.”
No bait takes the place of being in the right place at the right time. And that, more than anything, comes from sheer experience.
– Updated an Reprinted from the original website Coastalanglers.com
Howdy. I am 
