Spearing Shortage

[hartattack]

When stocking up for the May 4th NJ Fluke opener I learned that Canadian Spearing (silversides) are not available. Looks like the Canadian suppliers came up with a goose egg last fall and whatever is currently available here in NJ is last year's local stuff in the 8oz. packages, bricks not available anywhere. Is it the same in NY ?

 

[Crabman]

This should last me the season.

 

[CELLFISH]

 

[Crabman]

^^^^ I'm in. I would give that a try.

 

[CELLFISH]

fry em wit da heads, that’s where ya hold em with the index finger & thumb while given em a quick front teeth bite off… haha …

 

[captmike28]

This should last me the season.

View attachment 94873

They look like some real quality size as well. Personally, I prefer the local stuff best over the Canadians, so I'm with you.
Nicely done, Crabman!

 

[Crabman]

They look like some real quality size as well. Personally, I prefer the local stuff best.

It's as local as you can get. I can throw a rock at them from my backyard. I use local spearing and I get my pick of the best. I enjoy catching spearing, it all part of my fishing experience. It takes a good eye to make a good set. Once they are caught, you have to get them in ice water to keep the bellies from blowing out.

 

[OVERBORED]

I was going to say catch your own but crabman beat me to it! LOL

 

[captmike28]

It's as local as you can get. I can throw a rock at them from my backyard. I use local spearing and I get my pick of the best. I enjoy catching spearing, it all part of my fishing experience. It takes a good eye to make a good set. Once they are caught, you have to get them in ice water to keep the bellies from blowing out.

I never realized the ice water trick was the key to keeping the fresh spearing from bursting bellies. I guess I have been really spoiled over the years by my local bait supplier who always gave me the pick of his top shelf stuff.
Leave it to a pro like yourself to figure this out!!

 

[pequa1]

and the price stickers of Berkley Gulp! across the land were just updated and replaced...

 

[Crabman]

Thanks Capt. Mike but I learned it as a kid from the masters. I was the shitty little jobs person that got to clean the seaweed out of the net. Over the years, I worked my way up to being a master baiter. (old joke but works here)

 

[captmike28]

Thanks Capt. Mike but I learned it as a kid from the masters. I was the shitty little jobs person that got to clean the seaweed out of the net. Over the years, I worked my way up to being a master baiter. (old joke but works here)

I guess we all learn certain tricks from the elders who taught us about our passions in life.

I still recall being amazed when over 50 years ago one of my bait guys in Wantagh told me you could keep killies alive in some newspaper wet with seawater in the fridge for about 24 hours. I used that trick for years when killies were the "go to" Fluke bait. Now I don't think anyone uses them anymore, yet I am certain they will still produce.

 

[OVERBORED]

I guess we all learn certain tricks from the elders who taught us about our passions in life.

I still recall being amazed when over 50 years ago one of my bait guys in Wantagh told me you could keep killies alive in some newspaper wet with seawater in the fridge for about 24 hours. I used that trick for years when killies were the "go to" Fluke bait. Now I don't think anyone uses them anymore, yet I am certain they will still produce.

Never knew you could do that with killies!

I used to keep a flat of sandworms alive for what seemed like forever in the bottom of my fridge as long as I changed the newspaper diaper at the bottom.
Seems like a lifetime ago....

 

[Crabman]

That is interesting Capt. Mike, never knew that either. I still love using big killies but they are hard to get. They were really hardy and with a piece of squid on it's nose, I feel, they would shake it around and excite a fluke into taking the bait. Now I mostly use peanuts if I'm not bucktailing. I think they are more for a ride compared to a big killie. As a kid I worked at Frank and Dick's potting killies with Dick in a 16', flat bottomed, homemade plywood skiff they called their punt. We could get into really shallow water and would go for killies and eels across from their bait station in the "drains". We would put the killies in a big galvanized tub and they lived in slime for about 1/2 and hour. Never tried the wet newspaper.

 

[Leprechaun]

You can do that with the green killies. The big striped silver ones (that I always preferred) don't last an hour without fresh, clean water.

 

[captmike28]

That is interesting Capt. Mike, never knew that either. I still love using big killies but they are hard to get. They were really hardy and with a piece of squid on it's nose, I feel, they would shake it around and excite a fluke into taking the bait. Now I mostly use peanuts if I'm not bucktailing. I think they are more for a ride compared to a big killie. As a kid I worked at Frank and Dick's potting killies with Dick in a 16', flat bottomed, homemade plywood skiff they called their punt. We could get into really shallow water and would go for killies and eels across from their bait station in the "drains". We would put the killies in a big galvanized tub and they lived in slime for about 1/2 and hour. Never tried the wet newspaper.

It was Frank at the long-gone Eastern Reel in Wantagh that taught me that trick. Being located on Merrick Road he had no close access to a creek or live bait tank to work with. He claimed that the killies could survive just by being able to respire through the moisture created by the newspaper soaked in saltwater.

For a number of years, I used that method to both buy my bait the night before a trip and even to avoid having to use a killlie cart on board the boat. Just set up a separate cooler with the wet newspaper and some ice cubes to keep the temps low. Not only did it make choosing the largest bait easier, but it also prevented the occasional "brain fart" when you would be rushing back to re-start your drift with the cart still in tow behind the boat!

BTW, Lep is correct, this did not work on the striped variant of killie.

 

[Crabman]

Not only did it make choosing the largest bait easier, but it also prevented the occasional "brain fart" when you would be rushing back to re-start your drift with the cart still in tow behind the boat!

Great tip Capt. Mike. As for donating or dragging our killie cars, we have all been there and done that. I have found a couple of the yellow and black cars floating.

 

[OVERBORED]

Great tip Capt. Mike. As for donating or dragging our killie cars, we have all been there and done that. I have found a couple of the yellow and black cars floating.

Not to mention chum pots!

 

[Roccus7]

Loved using killies!! I never had a problem getting killies with a 2 man seine. With a strong ebb tide, one sweep through a flowing cut of the eel grass banks of Mt Sinai harbor and we were good to go.

Only stopped using killies when I discovered that I could grab 6” eels hiding under the weeds and rocks on one of the harbors gravel banks.

And then I moved to Purgatory, the Midwest…

 

[captmike28]

Not to mention chum pots!

While I am not an engineer, I often thought that someone needs to invent an "Ignition interlock kill switch" tied to chum pots, killie carts, etc. to prevent this common problem!!