Perfect Bait For Jack Crevalle

     With the weather heating up it is time to find some fishing action in Southwest Florida. There are a few options when it comes to catching fish this summer, but there is no doubt that jacks will be on everyone's hot list. Catch Jack Crevalles are true predators and eat just about anything they can get in their mouths. They feed voraciously on crabs, shrimp, squid, small fishes and even birds. A key component in catching these fish is to make sure your bait reflects this diverse appetite.

3-inch finger mullet rigged 3 ways: Full credit: Capt. Anthony Salerno From freshwater rivers where they can be found in abundance during the summer months to the bays and estuaries, jacks are one of Florida's most abundant inshore gamefish. While they can be caught in very shallow areas, finding them deep is not difficult. Most anglers will troll off the back of a boat using downriggers with slow trolling motor or a fishing pier with a windlass to get their baits down deep. But, if you want to catch them faster and easier and don't mind getting a little wet and dirty, I like to jig for them in the shallow grass flats on the lower tides

An effective way to attract these fish is with a presentation that gives them plenty of things they like; natural bait such as shrimp, crabs, or even small fish will all work. Another thing is to use a soft plastic that closely imitates the bait that they are feeding on.

These baits can be purchased pre-rigged with single hooks, but I like to use what nature has provided and tie them onto the hook myself. I use 3-inch long finger mullet, which is a bait that is readily available to anglers in many area. The great thing about using finger mullet is that they will stay alive and fresh in your tackle box and can be used again and again for multiple trips out on the water. Since we are asking these fish to commit themselves to a fight, I use single hook rigs with the hooks spaced about an inch apart.

This allows the fish to take the bait without feeling resistance, but will keep them hooked on a solid hookset. When you are getting ready to rig up your baits I like to use wire leaders that attach directly to my main line with a swivel. This is one of the most common mistakes I see anglers make when they rig up their baits. They use a very heavy fishing line and tie directly to the hook instead of using a stronger wire leader. This is not only extremely taxing on your rod, but can also lead to many lost fish as well as a hook that straightens out over time.

Now that we have gone over the basics of what to use, lets get into how to rig it. You can purchase pre-rigged finger mullet in either a big box store or your local fishing shop. I have found that these are fine for beginners, but once you get confident enough you will want to start setting them up yourself.

They come with 2 treble hooks spaced about 1 inch apart so once you have attached them to your line, the next step is to attach a 3-way swivel with another leader. The best type of leaders for this are made from stainless steel wire that are very strong, but also have low visibility under water. This will not spook the fish as easily as a clear leader material. Once you attach your 3-way swivel, you can now tie on your main line and start threading the bait onto the hook.

It is important to make sure that when you put it on, that it is straight up and down with both ends of the bait almost meeting each other at the top of your hook. This way the fish will take it like they would a small fish and not feel resistance as they attempt to swallow it.

When you are putting on your finger mullet, I prefer to thread from the top of the bait down so that the hook ends up sticking through one of the sides. This this puts them at a better angle for hooking a fish when you finally get bit. Now, once it is on the hook, go ahead and give it a pull to make sure that everything is intact and looks good.

Once you have your baits attached, all that is left to do it find some Jack Crevalle!