Catching bait fish under weed

[GreenParrot]

Going to Islamorada for a weeks boat fishing in May, does anyone have any tips on catching bait fish under weed patches, will be trying for dolphin and tuna! Have heard a rumour the bait station at the back of bud and marys is good or is there anywhere better?

[000's]

sabaki rigs work well.You will see the fleet on the bait patch every morning using a cast net (not hard to find).Half a block of chum mixed with play sand.Put the chum bag over once th bait starts to come in, take the soft chum and scatter it out no father than you can throw the net.Once the water turns milky white(you will see the bait darting around),throw the next ,fill the tank ,catch em up.Hope thiat helps. Dinks work well on the dolphin,if you dont want to waste the time on the bait patch.

[TROP]

What Size sabiki hook rig do you use

[DropinBack]

Cast net Ballyhoo the reef...

[floridadeckie]

just a normal size sabiki works fine. if you want to catch bait on the baitpatch, there is a little bit more than just scattering the weed. take one block of chum, break it half and put half in the bucket, half in the chum bag. fill the bucket 1/3 full of sand, beach sand works fine, and mix in the chum with a gaff hook until its well mixed. once you anchor up at the bait patch, add a bit of water and make some chum balls about the size of soft balls, three will generally be enough to fill the well. when you are ready, scatter a cloud of sand/chum across the water behind the transom to bring the bait up, then toss one ball every 15 seconds into the middle of the cloud, taking into account the direction and speed of the current. let your net sink the the bottom and rest for a few seconds, then pull it up quickly so the bait doesnt get out.

if you are trying to get some offshore, find your surface structure (weed, hauser rope, debris) and start slinging medium size sabikis at it and try to pick the baby blue runners that should be under it. I wouldnt advise trying to live bait tuna on the hump, trolling small feathers will be far more productive

[brad regan 01]

try chumming them up