Bait that catches fish in Islamorada

Pilchards (scaled sardines)

The Keys' universal live bait: a silver 3–5 inch baitfish that everything from yellowtail to sailfish eats. Caught in a cast net over grass flats and around channel markers, or bought by the dozen.

Catches

Sailfish, Mahi, Blackfin tuna, Kingfish, Yellowtail snapper, Mutton snapper, Grouper, Snook, Mangrove snapper, Tarpon, Cobia, Barracuda, Seatrout

Get it

Tackle Center of Islamorada (opens 5:30 am), Bud N' Mary's, IslaMarina and the bait shop behind World Wide Sportsman sell them in season; most charter captains net their own at first light over the oceanside grass flats.

Rig it

Hook once through the nose for free-lining and drifting, or just ahead of the dorsal fin to make it swim down. For kites, bridle through the nose with a rubber band.

Best

Mar–Nov

• Keep them in a round live well with strong flow; they die fast in a square bucket.
• Throw a few free ones first to turn the fish on, then the hooked one.

Threadfin herring

A flashy 4–6 inch herring that shows up on the oceanside in spring and summer. A top sailfish, kingfish and tuna bait, more fragile than a pilchard.

Catches

Sailfish, Blackfin tuna, Kingfish, Mahi, Cobia, Tarpon

Get it

Cast-netted around channel markers and the bridge lights at dawn, or by sabiki rig on the patch reefs; rarely sold.

Rig it

Bridle through the nose for kite fishing or slow-trolling; hook through the nose for drifting. Use a small circle hook so the bait swims.

Best

Mar–Sep

• Handle as little as possible; scales come off at a touch.

Goggle-eyes

The premium winter sailfish bait: a hardy 6–8 inch bigeye scad that stays lively in the kite for hours.

Catches

Sailfish, Kingfish, Blackfin tuna, Cobia, Wahoo

Get it

Sold by the piece at the marinas in sailfish season when the bait boats have them; caught at night on sabiki rigs around the reef lights.

Rig it

Bridle through the nose with a 5/0–7/0 circle hook. In the kite, clip so the bait splashes at the surface.

Best

Nov–Apr

Live ballyhoo

The long-billed halfbeak that gathers in schools on the reef. Live, it is a top bait for sailfish, kingfish and mahi; dead and rigged, it is the standard trolling bait.

Catches

Sailfish, Kingfish, Mahi, Wahoo, Blackfin tuna

Get it

Chummed up behind the boat on the reef and caught with a small hair hook or a cast net; the marinas sell them live in season.

Rig it

Hook through the top lip ahead of the eyes, or bridle for the kite. Trim the bill if it tangles.

Best

Oct–May

Pinfish

A tough, spiny grass-flat baitfish that lives for days in a bucket. Grouper, snook, mutton and tarpon all eat it.

Catches

Grouper, Snook, Mutton snapper, Tarpon, Cobia, Seatrout, Redfish, Amberjack

Get it

Pinfish traps baited with squid over the grass flats; the bait shops sell them year-round.

Rig it

Hook through the nose or just above the anal fin to make it swim down to a grouper; clip the dorsal spines if you like.

• Smaller is often better for muttons; a 3-inch pinfish gets more bites than a 6-inch one.

Mullet (finger mullet and cut mullet)

Finger mullet are the autumn snook and tarpon bait along the shoreline and under the bridges; cut mullet on the bottom draws tarpon, redfish and snapper after dark.

Catches

Tarpon, Snook, Redfish, Mangrove snapper, Barracuda

Get it

Cast-netted along the shorelines and the Fills during the autumn run; frozen mullet from any bait shop.

Rig it

Live: hook through the lips or ahead of the dorsal fin. Cut: a chunk on a 5/0–7/0 circle hook with an egg sinker on a knocker rig.

Best

Aug–Nov

Live shrimp

The beginner-proof bait: almost everything inshore eats a live shrimp, from bonefish on the flats to mangrove snapper at the bridges.

Catches

Bonefish, Permit, Seatrout, Redfish, Mangrove snapper, Snook, Yellowtail snapper, Mutton snapper, Hogfish

Get it

Every bait shop sells them by the dozen; bring an aerated bucket.

Rig it

Hook under the horn (through the head without the dark spot) to free-line or under a popping cork; thread it on a jig head for bonefish and seatrout. Pinch the tail off for scent.

• Keep the bucket out of the sun; shrimp die quickly in warm water.

Blue crabs and pass crabs

Silver-dollar to palm-sized crabs are the top tarpon bait at the bridges on the outgoing tide, and a live crab is the bait of choice for permit on the flats and wrecks.

Catches

Tarpon, Permit, Cobia, Bonefish, Redfish

Get it

Bait shops sell them in spring and summer; dip-netted along the bridges when the pass crabs flush out on the full-moon outgoing tides.

Rig it

Hook through the corner of the shell with a 5/0–7/0 circle hook; break off the claws for tarpon. Drift under a float along the shadow line.

Best

Mar–Aug

Speedos and cigar minnows

Fast, torpedo-shaped scads that live around the reef and humps: big baits for sailfish, kingfish, blackfin and amberjack.

Catches

Sailfish, Kingfish, Blackfin tuna, Amberjack, Wahoo, Mahi

Get it

Sabiki rigs over the reef and the humps at first light; frozen cigar minnows from the bait shops for chumming.

Rig it

Nose-hooked on a circle hook and free-lined or slow-trolled; bridled for the kite.

Rigged ballyhoo

A brined, rigged dead ballyhoo is the standard offshore trolling bait for mahi, sailfish, kingfish and wahoo, naked or under a skirt.

Catches

Mahi, Sailfish, Kingfish, Wahoo, Blackfin tuna, Mutton snapper

Get it

Packs of frozen select ballyhoo from any bait shop; brine them in salt and baking soda the night before.

Rig it

Pin-rig with a 6/0–7/0 hook and copper wire through the eyes and bill, or use a pre-made chin weight. Swim it, not spin it: check each bait beside the boat.

Bonito and sardine chunks

Oily chunks for chumming and chunking: a chunk line brings blackfin tuna and mahi to the boat, and a bonito strip or belly is a tough deep-drop and bottom bait.

Catches

Blackfin tuna, Mahi, Mutton snapper, Grouper, Swordfish, Amberjack, Yellowtail snapper

Get it

Frozen sardines and chum from the bait shops; bonito from your own trolling.

Rig it

Hide a 2/0–4/0 circle hook in a chunk and drift it back at the same speed as the free chunks; strips on the bottom rig for muttons.

Squid

Strips and whole squid for bottom fishing and deep dropping, and the bait that keeps catching when nothing else will.

Catches

Mutton snapper, Grouper, Yellowtail snapper, Mangrove snapper, Swordfish, Hogfish

Get it

Frozen boxes from every bait shop.

Rig it

Strips on a jig head or knocker rig for snapper and hogfish; a whole rigged squid with light sticks for swordfish.

Bucktail jigs

The most useful lure in the Keys: 1/4–3 oz white, chartreuse or pink bucktails catch snapper, grouper, cobia, mahi and jacks from the bridges to blue water.

Catches

Mangrove snapper, Mutton snapper, Grouper, Cobia, Mahi, Tarpon, Snook, Barracuda, Hogfish, Permit

Get it

Any tackle shop; World Wide Sportsman and the Tackle Center carry the full size range.

Rig it

Tie direct to the leader. Bounce it along the bottom in the current, or cast to a school of mahi and swim it back; tip with a shrimp or squid strip for snapper.

Soft-plastic swimbaits and jerkbaits

4–7 inch paddle tails and jerk shads on weighted hooks or jig heads for snook, tarpon, redfish and seatrout, bridges to backcountry.

Catches

Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Seatrout, Barracuda

Get it

Every tackle shop; carry white, pearl and dark colours for night.

Rig it

On a 3/0–5/0 weighted swimbait hook or 1/4–1/2 oz jig head; swim slowly along the bridge shadow line or twitch over the flats.

Topwater plugs

Walk-the-dog plugs and poppers for seatrout, snook, redfish and jacks at first light, and big poppers for barracuda and mahi.

Catches

Seatrout, Snook, Redfish, Barracuda, Mahi

Get it

Any tackle shop.

Rig it

Tie with a loop knot for action; replace treble hooks with single in-line hooks for easier releases.

• Fish them in the low light; by mid-morning switch to a jig or a bait.

Tube lures and spoons

A long surgical-tube lure skipped fast across the flats is the classic barracuda lure; silver spoons draw barracuda, mackerel and jacks around the bridges.

Catches

Barracuda, Kingfish

Get it

Any tackle shop.

Rig it

On a short wire trace; retrieve as fast as you can turn the handle.

Vertical and butterfly jigs

2–5 oz metal jigs dropped to the bottom over the humps and wrecks and worked back up for blackfin, amberjack and grouper.

Catches

Blackfin tuna, Amberjack, Grouper, Wahoo

Get it

World Wide Sportsman, Bud N' Mary's tackle shop and the Tackle Center.

Rig it

Assist hooks on a solid ring; drop up-current of the mark and jig through the depth the fish show on the sounder.

Trolling skirts, feathers and plugs

Skirted ballyhoo, small feathers, cedar plugs and deep-diving plugs for mahi, blackfin, kingfish and wahoo on the troll.

Catches

Mahi, Blackfin tuna, Kingfish, Wahoo, Sailfish

Get it

Any tackle shop; the marinas stock pre-rigged skirts.

Rig it

Skirts over a rigged ballyhoo at 6–8 knots; cedar plugs and feathers naked for tuna; heavy-headed lures with wire for wahoo at 12–16 knots.

Bonefish flies

Gotchas, Crazy Charlies and small shrimp patterns in tan and pink, #2–#6, weighted to the depth of the flat.

Catches

Bonefish, Redfish

Get it

Florida Keys Outfitters and World Wide Sportsman; the guides tie their own.

Rig it

On a 9–12 ft leader with 12–16 lb tippet; lead the fish by a few feet and strip slowly when it turns.

Permit crab flies

Merkins, Bauer crabs and similar #1–#2 crab patterns, weighted to sink fast in front of a tailing permit.

Catches

Permit, Bonefish

Get it

Florida Keys Outfitters and World Wide Sportsman.

Rig it

On 16–20 lb tippet; drop it close, let it sink, and move it only if the fish loses interest.

Tarpon flies

Tarpon toads, bunnies and feather flies in black-and-purple, chartreuse and tan, 1/0–3/0, for the spring migration and the backcountry.

Catches

Tarpon, Snook

Get it

Florida Keys Outfitters and World Wide Sportsman.

Rig it

On a 60–80 lb bite tippet; cast ahead of the string, strip slow and strip-strike hard three times.

Baitfish flies (Clousers and Deceivers)

White, chartreuse and olive Clouser minnows and Deceivers, #2–2/0, for seatrout, snook and jacks in the backcountry and along the bridges.

Catches

Seatrout, Snook, Redfish, Mangrove snapper, Barracuda

Get it

Florida Keys Outfitters and World Wide Sportsman.

Rig it

On a 20–30 lb bite tippet (wire for barracuda); strip fast for jacks and barracuda, slow for snook.