I've never used cut white trout that I can think of but would bet they would eat it up just like cut mullet , maybe even better .

Fishfearme I went and scouted a lil bit on the lake side of manchac last week . The storm rolled the bottom of the lake up like a carpet on the beach . As I walked on top of it I found 4 really big soft shell crabs just laying in the shallows . They tried getting away but couldn't move fast enough .

I wasn't really looking for crabs but next time I go back I will bring a scoop net just for them . In my opinion , crab , especially soft shell is the best bait for red fish . I may go back in the morning just to hunt for the crabs , they were BIG !

We used one small one for bait when we fished later in the pass but couldn't part ways with the others . They will be for supper in the near future . I would love to go scoop up a ice chest full !

Choupic....Redfish would never see thoses Softshell crabs!!!!!

thanks guys, thats kinda what i was thinking about them.

as for crabs they arent easy to come by for free and if i buy crabs im eaten em not the fish lol. when i had used crab, i broke them in half and every time the minnows sucked the shells empty and when i didnt half them i never caught anything with them whole so i guess i never learned to fish with them properly.

same for them softshells, even if they are just the size of a quarter im eaten em and the fish wont have a chance to get near em


while im catching boxes of small white trout im thinking of putting a bucket full in the freezer to use for cut bait for fishing redfish with.

im on a very very small fixed income and cant afford buying live bait (or not willing to make allowances for) and using market shrimp being smaller in size tends to catch a lot more unwanted trash fish that cut bait tends to avoid due to being a larger chunk of meat so hardheads, pinfish, sheepshead, little croakers and other bait stealers are less bothersome.

man-nnnnn, whare is drew-b when you need him?????

Who cares where he's @???? Not lookin 4 him ya

fishfearme...there not but 30 cent apiece@Rigolets Marina

...white trout is still in levels for human consumption...there are a dozens of lower levels in the food chain that could be used...also, why not show skills with 100's of artificals that can be used 100's of times over and over for years and years ???...I have a old Mr.Champ from the '60's w/yellow feathered bucktails that has paid for itself 500 times over in dead and live bait not count'n 90 or so of his 'relatives' in the fish'n box...go figger !!!...cheers

P/S...(not to mention the Champ understands Navajo)...cheers

Strictly shrimp or crabs for redfish, don't think they will hit a white trout consistently. 80% of a redfish's diet are crab but they won't turn down a shrimp if they are feeding. In November they will start hitting minnows, but not right now (they ignored my minnows on Saturday, but not my shrimp).

It helps if you can find market shrimp which hasn't been frozen in brine. Most places which market 'fresh' shrimp actually have been frozen in that junk. They look good, but deteriorate quickly, and have a funny taste and smell. We get our shrimp from Patty's on HWY 11 at $4.50/lb, straight off the boat. We try to save money by making our own ice and cutting down on gas, don't cut corners on good bait.

For white trout, fearme is right. White trout are cannibals. If you get on a good white trout bite, cut up a small one, catch a bunch more on the same bait.

i think its the smell reds key in on and maybe thats why freezing has an effect.

maybe freezing in chlorine water takes the smell off or ads a funny smell but i was told cut mullet has a strong scent trail in the water that reds key in on and the same for shrimp which is why reds find you more often then you having to go find them.

guess i'll have to bring some shrimp along too just in case and see if there is a big difference. i will freeze the white trout whole to protect the freshness and avoid adding or removing any smell there might be from the meat.

I've only caught them on Shrimp, My Brother has caught ummm on crab, croaker in deep Water, We fished Rigolets this Pass Sunday we must have caught 25-30 10-13 inch reds Not one keeper, All on Shrimp Dead or live, Tell ya lil secret Peel tail aren't that expensive I have bought packs@Walmart&some other Grocery Stores for $3 or so a Pack ya just gota catch it@right time

I have used them as cut bait before. They work good. I wouldn't use them in the PAC marsh because I rarely use cut bait there. I used them in the passes on the coast where I regularly use cut bait. Can't explain why the cut bait works better in the big water. I guess it looks more natural to see a chunck of fish float by near the rocks than it does floating down a lil tranass.

redfish will eat just about anything...i could probably cut off one of my fingers, put it on a hook, and pull a bull red out of barataria pass

i learned its important to always freeze any bait covered in water so it prevents freezer burn and odors from getting into the bait, whatever the inside of your freezer smells like is often what the bait will smell like unless its frozen in water.

thats why i stopped keeping bait shrimp in the freezer and now i just buy it when i need it which is like almost never unless pops comes with me.

i think the reason shrimp you buy works better is its less about the freshness as it is about the bait being free from the freezer smell because properly frozen fresh bait shrimp from your freezer is usually just as fresh as the 4 or 5 day old bait shrimp they are selling but too often people dont worry too much about how they store bait in the freezer and its often in unsealed open containers.

keakar.........Regardless if Baits ole or Not the Reds Bite it I have a Freezer just for Bait when i go to Rigolets i buy 3-4 cups of Bait that way have some for next time out, If i use it all in one day i buy some to bring Home&feeze