Floating out your shark bait bridge,pier and jetty

william · 2009-06-03T13:04:29Z

When fishing from a pier or bridge most of the time you need to float your bait out to get it away from the structure you are on and into a channel or deeper water.One of the most effective and quick ways to do this is by using either an empty water bottle or a balloon tied to your rig with a piece of sewing string. On a pier baits can be easily floated out on a water bottle or balloon And just as easily on a bridge.Luis Iglesias getting his 16/0 toasted by a big Hammerhead at the Long Key bridge You can tie your sewing string to the eye of your primary hook or if you want your bait to float deeper as the current takes it out you can tie your sewing string to the swivel at the top of your wire or cable rig. The size of the bait you are using and the size of the waves will determine whether you can use a single strand of sewing thread or double . During the winter months when the surf is treacherous and fishing a beach is out of the question many times you may choose to fish a pier or bridge where you can toss out a bait or opt to float it out in the current much further then you can toss it or allow the waves to carry the bait to where you want it .This technique is used mostly when using dead bait so that you can control where the bait is going in the current and stop it when it has gotten to your desired spot .The next step is to reel in all your slack and set up with your rod a few times to break the sewing thread and allow your bait to sink to the bottom. A fresh chunk of jack crevalle is an excellent choice of bait and a balloon to float it out into the current. the bait floats out and away towards the channel Some shark fisherman like to leave the bait on the balloon throughout the entire tide where the bait is closer to the surface, I personally like to float it to the spot and leave it on top for an hour or two and then as the tide starts to slow down i pop it off and allow it to sink therby covering both the top and the bottom of the water column with the bloody scent of a fresh bait.Hook a hammer on top or a big bull on bottom-it's not written in stone but sometimes it really works that way depending on time of the year and where you are fishing.If you choose to leave it on top you must remember that once the tide changes (every 6 hours or so )the bait will float in the opposite direction you let it go out .On the bridges if you fall asleep and forget to move your rod to the opposite side when the current changes you will have the bait under the bridge and out the other side.Many times you wake up with a big hit that is ripping your line under you and rubbing on the concrete PING!!!!Gone!!!You might want to set an alarm clock,not sleep or wake up often to check the tide and your bait. Jd prepares to drop his bait In the daytime Jimbo(Jd) has a preference for leaving his bait right on top of the water Like a good bird dog he'll sit and wait and many times see a shark swimming homing in on his bait , in the clear Florida keys water You also have to remember to adjust the length of the sewing string according to the depth of the water ,the strength of the current ,and the weight of the bait you are using.If you choose to float out a large bait you will surely need to double your sewing thread or switch to thin mono. If you want to use this technique with a large live bait like a big jack or a barracuda you may want to use light mono (8-12 lb test)so that your active big bait does not part the sewing thread before it has reached the distance you desire. drop your bait gently to the water so that you don't break the thread When fishing big live baits in a crowd you have to stay on top of where your live bait is going in order to not tangle everyone else's line.No quicker way to be called a Googan or get into an arguement then by allowing your big live bait to create a mess on a crowded pier or bridge.When a shark ambushes your bait your mono will quickly break and your clicker will start a screaming. A big hammer caught from the Long Key bridge with a floated out bait.Eddie Grosso (1992) incorporates the help of a nearby boater to capture the 12 foot T-head and bull shark stuck on a lobster trap from the night before. Another trick for night time fishing is to use a glow stick inside a dry water bottle.Same technique applies with the advantage that the glow stick (cyalume)will make it easy to keep an eye on where your bait is at all times.Sometimes the wind will shift in the middle of the night and send your bait close to a lobster pot bouy ,into the flats ,or into your buddies line and with the glow stick in the bottle you will see exactly where the wind has shifted your bait.When using the water bottle with the glowstick inside we usually tie the bait using light monofilament line so that it last the entire tide.If you use sewing thread it will sometimes break and that defeats the purpose of using a glow stick.When using the glowstick I like to hang my bait mid-water which is usually 4-6 feet under t...

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Anonymous

(@Anonymous)

tie it to a man of war can't fine u for that lol

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Posted : 02/07/2011 12:03 pm

slasherx4

(@slasherx4)

Noble Member Registered

I didnt notice i was in this post, thanks for showin me one of your techniques for near my end of the block, btw, are you positive that last old pic of a shark on southbeach is a bull? its got some large fins in the back, i thought it was a lemon

Just an average fisherman.

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Posted : 02/07/2011 4:02 pm

stevensj407

(@stevensj407)

New Member Registered

i agree with slasher that 2nd dorsal is really big for a bull def looks like a lemon

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Posted : 10/21/2011 11:57 pm

blacktip

(@blacktip)

New Member Registered

My method for floating out baits is to use either a balloon or a big bottle with yellow paint inside ( pour in paint, shake it up, let it dry, put lid back on).

I attach the float device, balloon or bottle, with a short length of mono tied to a zip tie which is inserted through two Lifesaver mints. Use more for really big baits. This is then zip tied to my big snap swivel at the end of the leader.

When the bait has been in the water for around 12-15 minutes the Lifesaver mints dissolve to the point that they break, releasing the float and dropping your bait on the bottom. In decent current this can be over 200 yards away. If you want to drop closer, use one mint and yank to break the mint where you want it. It doesn't always break straight away though.

I also attach a retrieve line, either a hand line or another rod so I can get my bottle or balloon back and not litter the ocean with it. I don't like the idea of adding to the great plastic garbage patches in the middle of the ocean (one is the size of texas - look it up) that pollute fish we eat with PCBs and other chemicals. As someone else mentioned, balloons also get eaten by turtles.

Dan

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Posted : 11/16/2011 10:55 am

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