Jody Auenson takes care of his croakers.
He has three active pumps on his livewell and one spare. Two of the pumps are air bubblers and two are circulating pumps built into the boat.
“The bait does better in my boat than at the marina,” Auenson half-joked. “I can put 300 croakers in there easy; I never run out of live bait.”
His fishing tackle is simpler than his bait-holding equipment.
Croakers are fished on Texas rigs made of 2-foot leaders made from 25-pound-test monofilament. One end of the leader holds a No. 4 kahle hook and the other end a swivel.
Before he ties the line from the reel to the swivel, he slips a 1/2-ounce egg sinker on the line.
Auenson also makes his own weights.
“When you buy them, you never know what you are getting,” he explained. “Some of them go by numbers instead of weights. When I make my own, I make a thousand at a time. Once I make them; the next time a buddy makes them.”
His reels are normally spooled with 12- or 15-pound Trilene Big Game monofilament unless he is fishing around “heavy structure,” such as the riprap surrounding Queen Bess Island. Then he uses reels spooled with 30- to 50-pound PowerPro braided line.
His choice of reels are Shimano Curados.
“I’ve used others, but they don’t last,” Auenson said. “And the new Curados aren’t as good as the old ones.”
He is less particular about rod brands, but prefers heavy or at least medium-heavy rods at least 7 feet long.