Castnetting 1-0-duh & welcom 2 my mind

**livetofishnj** · 09-05-2008 08:52 AM

Nut's, peanut bunker, juvenile menhaden, baby pogies, all one and the same and that's what you've got. I don;t know why everyone says they're so hard to keep alive though... taken overloaded livewells of the things 100 miles off and had lives ones when we got back to the dock 24 hours later. Just need to make sure they get decent waterflow and are in a smooth round pen as corners and rough spots will kill them over time but even more importantly will have the noses and gill plates bruise and get red which does seem to be a big turn-off to predatory fish.

Another point to notice is that bunker/pogies/menhaden will splash and flop on top, mullet will swim slowly and deliberately along the top and usually leave a bunch of wakes like a fleet of little submarines all traveling together.

Both are great baits, mullet are deadly for striped bass in the fall surf hare in Jersey and should be around in numbers along the beach soon. Peanuts are also great bait, a top producer for fluke and weakfish here, but also great to take offshore for use on the chunk and around lobster pots. Plus you can easily net enough live nuts to fill any livewell or two if you have a decent net and they are around.

**bigfish4me** · 09-05-2008 08:55 AM

Peanuts here get your peanuts here....we call them little ones peanut bunker....menhadden....pogies, all the same thing.

**joeksr** · 09-05-2008 11:57 AM

Thanks folks. Peanut bunker they are.
Put a couple dozen in an 8 gal bucket I drilled holes in.
Hung it off the dock. They didn't live overnight.

I'll drill bigger and more holes and try fewer fish to see If I can keep em alive.

**giantfan** · 09-05-2008 12:05 PM

Never tried to keep peanuts alive in a bucket (pen) but we do have good luck keeping the full size version in large bait pens at the dock.

I think a bucket may be a bit too small for them.

I'm with you Bryan, I have never had any problem keeping them in the livewell. Just don't overload.