Bait Thief Discoverd on Dock
I had email today from a neighbor that has a tub on his dock for keeping shad alive that he uses for bait. He has a pump in the tub to keep fresh water constantly being pumped in and it has been a very satisfactory way to keep his bait alive.
He went out the other day to do some fishing and low and behold, a Great Blue Herron was standing on the dock with a very satisfied look on his face. As he approached the bird, he realized that the lid had been knocked off of his tub and after further investigation, the tub was empty of any bait. He had caught the bait theif red handed and the bird didn’t even care. When I answered his email I told him about the Great Blue that was getting crappie out of a bucket I had on the dock at one of the Marinas where I was fishing. The thief got two nice crappie before I realized what he was doing. I guess everybody has to eat!!!!
When the water warms up to 60 plus the shad will begin to move to the bulkheads to spawn. Millions of shad will crowd the bulkheads and this provides one of the best times of the year to fish for catfhish using shad for bait and the hybrids will also crowd the bulkheads at daylight to feed on the shad. The shad are easy to see splashing around on the bulkheads and are easy to catch with a castnet. You will also find them in shallow areas where there is lots of grass and weeds on the shoreline. Late February and early March are our best times. We will keep you posted in the fishing report.
We had a very similiar experience while fishing over at the Palms Marina. We keep our boat there and fish off the dock sometimes. We had several nice crappie in a bucket that we had caught that morning. My husband went out to clean the fish and I heard him yell. I ran out of the cabin on our boat to see him running down the pier. He had a few not publishable words as he walked back. I asked him what the heck was the matter. He said that “blank” bird ate all of our fish! I couldn’t help but laugh.