Can you use bluegill as bait in florida

Freshwater shrimp and golden shiners of any size, or other freshwater nongame fish, including catfish, less than 8-inches total length may be taken for bait by the following methods, unless specifically prohibited:.

Live specimens of Conditional Northern black bass Micropterus salmoides salmoides are on the conditional nonnative species list. Stocking northern black bass is prohibited. Pure Florida bass Micropterus salmoides floridanus may only be purchased from permitted hatcheries with pure Florida bass stocks authenticated by the FWC. For more information, contact the nearest regional office Introduction. See Chapter , F. Game and Nongame Freshwater Fish Game Fish: black bass, crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, warmouth, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, mud sunfish, longear sunfish, shadow bass, peacock bass, white bass, striped bass and sunshine bass.

Methods of taking freshwater fish Game fish may only be taken with pole-and-line or rod-and-reel. Nongame fish may be taken: With pole-and-line, or rod-and-reel, and by bush hook, setline or trotline baited with cut bait or other substance; but not including live game fish or any part of any game fish; bush hooks, setlines or trotlines limited to 25 hooks total are permitted for taking nongame fish for personal use, but only in those areas where trotlines may be lawfully used in accordance with the Wildlife Code of the State of Florida.

At night by bow and arrow, and gigs. During daylight hours by manually operated spears, gigs, snatch hooks, crossbow or bow and arrow from a boat or from shore except at the spillways of the Eureka and Rodman dams on the Oklawaha River or on the spillway of the Jim Woodruff Dam on the Apalachicola River or in Miami-Dade County canals south of the C-4 and east of the LN and LW canals inclusively.

All vessels fishing in federal waters must have aboard venting and dehooking tools and non-stainless steel circle hooks when using natural baits for the purpose of reducing mortality in reef fishes, including snapper, grouper and Goliath grouper. For more information read the regulations before going, there links at the top and bottom of this page to the two Federal regulatory agencies. Release them while still in the water. Shark fishing has it's own special set of rules.

You need the permit to fish for sharks from shore. Adult anglers fishing for shark from shore must take an online educational shore-based shark fishing course AND have a no-cost, shore-based shark fishing permit renew annually. This permit will be associated with your recreational fishing license if you are required to have one. Fishing for sharks from a vessel does not require the additional permit. This requirement is for all adult anglers that require a license as well as those over the age of 65 who are normally exempt from needing a license targeting or harvesting sharks from shore, including from any structure attached to shore such as jetties, bridges and piers.

The permit is also required if fishing from shore for any species under the following circumstances:. Those 16 and younger fishing for sharks from shore or as otherwise described above are not required to obtain the permit but will be required to take the online educational course unless they are fishing with an adult who already holds the permit.

When chumming for shark or other species? Prohibited Shark Species Whether fishing from shore, or from a boat, prohibited species must remain in the water. When fishing from shore, prohibited sharks must be released immediately. Hook removal or cutting the hook or leader must be completed as quickly as possible to prevent delaying release of prohibited species.

Gear to use when fishing for sharks When fishing from shore or vessel, non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks must be used when fishing for sharks with live or dead natural bait. The new rules also require that you be in possession of a device capable of quickly cutting your hook or leader bolt cutters or cable cutters for example.

Learn more about the online education course and how to get the permit, see a list of prohibited sharks, and more at MyFWC. There are areas offshore around Florida that are protected by many different governmental organizations. We indicate these zones on our GPS Coordinates pages for easy reference.

There are also Federal deep water Marine Protected Areas offshore near Islamorada, Jupiter to Daytona, or Jacksonville adjacent to popular fishing areas?

Even though there are not specific regulations gear requirements still apply along with a default bag limit which is defined as commercial quantities requiring a special licence if you exceed the maximum limit for recreation fishing. It is unlawful to harvest, possess, land, purchase, sell, or exchange the following species:.

Chumming in Florida is more common than most states. We have little structure for fish to congregate, so bringing the fish to you with fish chum is a must. Although using fish chum, burley, or Groundbait in Florida is legal, there are some rules to the road. We have a full section dedicated to Fish Chumming in Florida, give it a visit for rules, tricks and tips.

As with most states, you must have a fishing license for recreational fishing in Florida. Watch this video on the importance of maintaining your crab trap. Lights illuminating the water near a channel attract bait fish to the light and in great numbers during moving tides, especially outgoing tides.

You can anchor your boat next to a channel and use a submersible light to bring the bait to you. You can also mount a light on your dock close to the water surface if you dock is close the a channel. Making a chum slick near your light will attract an even larger crowd, you can fish and collect bait at the same time. Use a long handled bait or shrimp net to scoop bait from the water as it approaches your light.

Shrimp is the most common bait caught this way; squid and bait fish are also common visitors to night lights. Flying fish make great bait for dolphin, wahoo, tuna and swordfish.

For those of you who live in south Florida, especially the Keys, you can catch Flying fish offshore in a very unique way - let the fish come to you! After sunset tie a small dingy, canoe, or small Jon boat to your boat, fill it with a few inches of water, place a light on the boat so the water inside is illuminated, site back and watch the fun. The Flying fish, if in the area, will be attracted to the light and jump into your small boat. The water in the boat must be shallow so the fish cannot fly back out.

Lively, fresh bait is the key to catching fish! In order to keep your bait lively, you must give it what it needs to stay alive and kicking. If you fish a lot from your boat a live bait well is a must. Store small bait fish, shrimp, crabs, even small fish you have caught to use for bait later.

Boat live wells are usually equipped with automatic filling systems that shut off at a certain water level. These wells draw fresh water that keeps your bait fresh and lively. Adding a aerator to your live well will keep your fish even healthier and allow you to keep a little more in the tank.

Aerators can be portable, battery operated or have a 12 volt DC connection for permanent installations. Use a small dip net to get your bait out; a net with a float on the end is always a good idea as many end up in the water. Inexpensive, portable bait buckets are sold everywhere in Florida and can even be found on the road side after flying off a boat or truck.

These buckets hold small bait and not a lot of it due to their size. They are great for a short fishing trip to the pier or beach. It is always best to tie a line to the bucket and let it sit in the water, preferably out of the sun. The sun can heat these small buckets very fast. One way to keep your bait alive and lively is to change the water in these buckets often by submerging them in the water and letting the water flow out the opening slowly so you don't dump you bait out with the water.

Air pump systems fill, aerate and drain your portable live well, cooler or bait tank with one do-it-all system! You can use this on your fishing cart cooler, a cooler on your boat or at your dock.

Put the pump in your tank and you've got a powerful aerator or drain. Hang it overboard and get a tankful of water or a wash down. Can even be used as an emergency bilge pump too. These pumps adjust to any size or shape of container and mount with suction cups or screws.

Spray heads adjust for circular containers Includes a gph pump, 5' flexible hose, filter, and electric connections and they use a low 1. These systems generally recirculate the water and when the water comes out of the spray bars it is infused with oxygen. Care must be taken in the summer months to periodically change the water in the tank or cooler by scooping half out then dumping fresh water back in.

Here is a nice setup someone made using a cooler and an aquarium filter. This setup is for storing bait at home unless you want to convert the power source, then you can use it on your boat, fishing cart or dock. Fill a cooler or even a fish tank with water from the source of your bait Tip: fill a 5 gallon bucket with water after you catch the bait , this will ensure the bait do not get shocked from a different water source.

Fish tank filters are inexpensive and use disposable slide in cartridges for cleaning the water. If you change the water often you can run the filter without a cartridge, the constantly turning water provides the fish with oxygen which is enough to keep the bait alive. Live Sand Fleas make excellent bait for shore fishing, backwaters fishing, and inshore. Species like Pompano, Snook, Redfish and Sheepshead go crazy for these delicacies.

When collecting sand fleas with a rake or shovel you must keep them alive for best results. They are easy to keep alive by placing them in a bucket with a several inches of sand and some water. Be sure to keep you bucket out of the sun or the contents will heat up and cook your Sand Fleas.

To store the Sand Fleas use a square Styrofoam box or shallow container filled with some moist sand use sea water then cover the Sand Fleas with a saltwater moistened towel and loosely cover allow air to get inside.

Keep the box out of the sun in a cool place and refresh the damp towel occasionally to keep it moist. Use a container that is shallow, you don't want the Sand Fleas stacked on top of each other chancing suffocation. You can catch a lot of Fiddler Crabs for bait at the beach and if you do not use them all on your fishing trip, take them home and give them a nice home - they will stay alive for weeks in a tub that has a layer of beach sand and is kept moist with sea water.

Place the tub in the shade and put in more sea water every few days to keep the sand moist. If you are one of the lucky anglers that live on the water you probably have a live bait holding pen or fish holding cage to keep your wild caught bait alive off your dock or seawall until you are ready to use them. Using a marine grade line, you tie your holding pen to your dock or a post on your seawall and let the cage float in the water.

The best place to locate the pen is in an area where there is water movement so fresh water continuously refreshes and small organisms can float through and feed your bait.

In a properly located bait pen you can keep bait alive indefinitely. Be aware of tides and make sure the pen is always submerged - adding weights to the bottom of the cage like a brick or rocks will keep the cage in place and underwater during tide changes; do not add enough weight to keep it on the bottom, just use enough to keep it stationary. The addition of a float or buoy at the top to keep the pen at water level helps you retrieve your bait and also identifies it's presence so it doesn't become a hazard to navigation.

Remember, never locate your holding pen is a channel or public waterway. There are many types of holding pens you can buy, selecting one depends on the bait you will most likely keep.

Your first decision is how big the mesh holes need to be. Your next consideration is how durable is the cage. If your bait cage will be subject to lots of movement from tides, wave, boat wakes, and be rubbing against pilings encrusted with barnacles, you need very strong mesh, preferably wire.

If you cage will be in a quite channel or pond, then a lighter weight mesh will do just fine. Sharks, Alligators, Pelicans, birds and flies are a consideration too. If you bait cage is full of fish, it will attract predators looking for an easy meal. Bait Trays are used to store live bait, dead or alive. Many experienced anglers will pre-rig their live baits fresh or frozen and lay them in the bait trays, ready to use.

These stackable bait trays, made from aluminum that is powder coated, are corrosion resistant and easy to clean. Even when stacked, the trays easily transfer cold temperatures to each other, keeping all your baits colder longer. Do not worry if you think that your inch Bluegill may be too big as you would honestly be shocked at the size of Bass that would still take the bait.

Some say that this method works better in ponds compared to lakes. However, we have seen live Bluegills work well as bait for catching large Bass in both locations. If you do not have the luxury of having live Bluegill as bait — the other recommended alternative is cut bait. As simple as it sounds, this bait is just a piece of the whole fish cut up. Cut bait works extremely well for Catfish.

Some of the biggest Blue Catfish and large Channel Catfish are usually caught with cut bait. Bluegill works well for Catfish because of the distinct smell of the fish. As you cut the fish, the gills and head of the Bluegill are some of the most attractive pieces because Catfish focus in on the blood of the Bluegill. Catfish can easily smell the scent of blood. When you are ready to go fishing, simply defrost the frozen Bluegill and cut the fish into strip-like pieces.

You can also prepare the fish for cut bait pieces prior to fishing, so it is all ready to go for your next fishing excursion. Artificial Bluegill Lures have been quite successful from our different fishing experiences. Any lure that resembles the look of either a Bluegill or Crappie will work. Also, you will also want the lure to closely resemble the typical swimming motion of a Bluegill. It always helps to have a lure that features the realistic patterns of the fish.