Does Bait Make a Difference ?

All us Kenai guys know that when we use bait the hook-ups increase. I think its the same here as I learned a valuable lesson bait vrs artificial. From shore we do quite good with the Ranger for the Guyo. It seems that when they're crashing bait near shore and running out of room combined with the sandy look of the near shore foamy water they just don't see the Ranger good enough to know its fake. The flip side of that is when trolled from a boat in the clearer water offshore he sees it so well he won't bite. So I always thought ....shore, Ranger. Boat, live bait. Until the other day that is.

My friend Rich Uberraga was here and he's an expert rooster hunter. We fish all morning without even a sighting so we think they just aren't around. About mid morning three guys show up with this bucket ingeniusly rigged with an airator and a battery to keep the mullet alive, called "Lisa" here in Mazatlan. The guys hook the live Lisa which are pretty darn nice fish themselves right at the dorsal fin so they can swim easily away. One young guy even wades out to his neck to help the Lisa get started. The left side of my brain said this oughta work but having never seen it before I really didn't pay much attention, afterall I've already decided its a poor day for the Rooster. It isn't long before one of the guys is rebaiting and he tells Rich who has good spainish that he missed one. Sounds just like the boat launch to me, alot of skunked fisherman I meet will tell you he missed one, it spit the hook, it struck short, he set the hook to soon....you know, excuses. Finally I'm ready to have breakfeast when down the beach I see commotion. Now us sport guys are used to seeing fish played out from the fight. But let me tell you when you just yard them directly in with 200 pound mono on a hand line all the fighting is on shore. Its incredible. Like a UFC cage fight, Randy Coultre and the ground and pound is about the best way I could describe it. This young guy finally gets his hands through its gills and it STILL fighting. I figure the poor guy is gonna dislocate his shoulder just carrying it. Wow....we're impressed, and theres no fish around.