This time of year dead bait means hardheads. Try live bait under corks ....

how do you keep it alive, we tried a few weeks ago,hooked it behind the horn, not in the dark spot a few mins later it was dead. althought the trout did like the fresh dead. I will try and post a pic of the small gafftop later today.

Spend some bucks ona good air system $40.00 A real good icechest for holding bait instead of just a bait bucket . I actually prefer hooking shrimp thru the second segment of the tail, cause my eyes arnt that good anymore and dont seem to kill many shrimp. Also live crockers or mullet or mudfish are excellant bait off this pier ...

we fish on a budget, so we cant do live very often, we started buying our dead shrimp at gulf wholesale seafood in seabrook, cheaper and better shrimp. some of the stuff we got at the bait camp was turning black.

I tried loading some photos, but Im not tech savvy, so just take my word that the gafftop were small

mmmmmmmmm wonder if it cause all the big gafttops eggs hatched .

they were so small I never "hooked" one, they just would not let go of the bait

as far as the live shrimp....my "cool bubbles" works wonders on the pier...i can fit a quart in there and they will live all night long....i also put some "shrimp savers" in there and that seems to do the trick....only thing is, when the hardhead is thick...those expensive lil strimp will just get ate up the same way as dead!!!...ughhh

I think I was misunderstood, I have a "cool bubbles" also, works great, my problem is after I hook the shrimp, they die, I hook them under the horn avoiding the dark spots and they die in a few mins, I have never tried hooking them in the tail.
nightshift we will have to meet at the free pier and exchange hardhead techniques

i went to the pier last saturday Night and didnt catch nothing.....well i did manage a to go through a lb of shrimp under the lights catching 5 inch or less gaftop!!....i guess you can just say "hardheads"....showed up around 12 a.m. under the full moon and stayed till about 4....nothing....by 3a.m.the pier got kinda empty....i went to seabreeze monday afternoon and saw one keeper drum caught....of course it wasnt mine...lol....the 5 inch gaftops followed me there too....let me know what's been up Pun and we'll hook up....u dont happen to wade fish also do ya?

I just cant get over my fear of sharks, I know I wont be attacked but I am a big chunk of meat in the water. I have not fished in a few weeks so I am itching, dont know where we will go this weekend.

well that's why i was asking, bro....about the wade fishing....i mean if we end up going then my odds get a little better....meaning i only have a 50% chance of getting eatin...lol...hit me back and keep me up to date on where they are biting at...

we went yesterday off the private pier behind the landlord, caught a black drum just over 14", my wife caught one that was 19" man that thing had her reel screaming, we also caught a few good sized croker, a few large hardhead and a large croker in a crab trap, never seen that before. although I am not new to saltwater fishing, I have never been wade fishing, I dont throw many lures and live bait just costs too much. we fish with dead shrimp most of the time. we are about to go back in a few mins I will post the results.

well when i go wade fishing i dont buy live bait....so it's kinda cheaper for me....i don't buy dead bait either....there is a bait hole in seabrook that a catch my bait in ....shad and shrimp...the only thing i spent on is gas, which is little since it's right down the road....just let me know if you ever want to hit that spot up....tight lines to you, bro

Went fishing one night ll night long didnt catch zip ... Saw a lady catch to big flounder in her [censored] net . Made me so mad I wnt home and read a book ...