A happy-go-lucky boatload of people may instantly have their smiles turned upside down when they pull up to a bait receiver in the morning and see the dreaded “Closed” sign hung out. Live bait may not be absolutely necessary – Gulp bait and Powerbait out-produce it sometimes – but most of us feel that live bait sure does add to our fish-hunting arsenal. When it happens to me, I know that today just got tougher because my options are limited. Sure, it is possible to jig up a barely sufficient supply of ’dines or small mackies near most harbor mouths, but we sure feel properly prepared heading out with a full tank of well-cured bait from the bait receiver.
It just cracks me up: I hear amazingly amusing questions from novice passengers while we buy live bait from the attendant at the bait receiver in the harbor. Some folks ask, “Do they raise those baitfish there?” Others ask, “Do the little fish swim in there and get trapped?” Still others ask, “You mean, they stay there all night and fish for those little baitfish?” These frequent questions lead me to believe that the live bait story needs to be told. It is a fascinating process that includes capture at sea, transport and transfer to the receivers, care and feeding, crowding bait in the receivers, customer protocol and bait receiver etiquette, transfer to fishing boats, and keeping bait alive during the fishing day.
Appropriately the story ends with pinning a lively bait on a hook for fishing. It begins at sea during the night, as captain and crew (called “bait haulers”) work wet and cold, long and hard, to find and catch live bait. They search all along the coast or many miles out at sea in all sorts of weather and sea conditions, looking for large schools of anchovies and sardines on the surface, where the crew can net them. This search is the magical part of the operation. When bait-balls are up feeding near the surface, ambient light from the moon reflects off the silvery sides of foraging sardines, and off of the flared gills of feeding anchovies, creating a soft glowing spot on the surface of the sea, which seasoned bait haulers can spot at a surprising distance. These folks amaze observers with their uncanny ability to point out a school of baitfish at a distance, when no one else can readily see what they see. Their eyes and senses are trained well by this very unique work.
Then the bait boat pulls up to the glow, puts out one end of a long purse seine net (probably the most commonly used type of net for bait haulers), and runs net off of a large drum as the boat circles around the bait-ball. Some bait haulers use a tender (skiff) to encircle the bait-ball with the net. Next, the net is pulled tight at the bottom and up against the side of the boat. Baitfish are scooped with long-handled no-knot scoop-nets into the large holding tanks aboard the bait boat. Great care is taken to exclude and protect non-targeted species that may happen to be among the bait. Finally, the nets are reeled back onto the drum, ready for the next set.
In order to avoid damage to the fragile cargo, the ride to harbor must be as slow and gentle as sea conditions permit. A wild ride over rough seas can result in weak and injured bait that will not be hardy and lively when it comes time for it to do its ultimate job on a fishing hook. Once at the bait dock, the bait is sluiced through a large tube from the holding tanks aboard the boat and into the waiting net-lined receivers. If some of the receivers have bait left from the prior load, it is commonly sold while the new load “cures”, or rests and feeds on the meal it is given daily. Linseed and other protein meals are used to feed anchovies and sardines. Not all bait dock attendants feed their bait, but those who do often have stronger, healthier bait for sale.
When it comes time to sell the bait, it is “crowded” within the receiver into netting stretched within a rectangular frame. By pulling up on the middle of the netting, it is easier for the bait receiver attendant to scoop the bait into a long-handled scoop net for passing to the bait tank aboard a fishing boat.
Such a complex and physically-demanding process explains why new live bait sometimes “rolls” (dies) in the first day or two in the receivers or in the first few hours in a boat’s bait tank. Think about it: within just a few hours, that bait suffered more stress than during all the rest of its life combined. It was swimming free – just trying to keep from being eaten – then it was crowded and packed, like sardines in a can, by a big seine net, netted and hauled aboard a boat, sloshed around a tank on the way in, sluiced into a receiver, crowded up again, netted again, and put into an even smaller tank with barely enough room to maneuver among a few hundred of its closest friends who are equally stressed. Come to think of it, I’d be pretty tuckered by that point myself.
During the selling process, customer pro- tocol and courtesy come into play. Most boats launch early in the morning, and it seems – to bait receiver attendants – like everyone wants bait at the same time. The best way to stay organized and calm is to queue up boats near the receivers, roughly in a line, and wait for a turn. It sure helps to maintain a somewhat orderly line because if one boat drifts away and then comes motoring back, demanding it’s place in line, it looks to new arrivals like someone is trying to cut in line. Tempers can get out of control, especially when everyone is in a hurry to get bait and get to the fishing grounds. Once at the re-ceiver, each boat should be efficient: have the tank ready with water, get the bait, pay (and tip) the bait attendant, and then quickly move on so the next boat can bait up. It’s okay to get the latest fishing gossip, but keep things moving.
Commercial, passenger-carrying fishing vessels, such as party boats and six-pack boats, typically get served right away be-cause they are on a strict time schedule; plus, our mortgages and repeat business depend upon it. Sometimes, this bothers a few private boaters, but the reality is that without the support of commercial operations, there probably wouldn’t be any live bait available for private boaters.
Please don’t take out any frustrations on the bait dock attendant, and remember that the attendant is a service industry worker, which means relying on your generous tips (20 percent is recommended) to make ends meet. That person gets up early and goes out there to do the best he or she can with what there is to work with. If the bait runs out or has rolled, that person cannot help it, and if the commercial operations are taking the last bit of bait as it runs out, just remember that those operations are the reasons you have bait on most mornings. While it’s not the attendant’s fault, I’ve heard them get chewed out on many occasions. Those cursing boaters are darned lucky I’m not the attendant, or they might find themselves choking on the last bait in the receiver!
One more thing about bait receiver etiquette: Stay aboard your boat. Stepping off of your boat and onto the receiver, you are leaving the coverage of one insurance policy and assuming (we all know how dangerous assuming can be) another policy coverage – if there is even a policy in effect. If the attendant requests that you come onto the receiver to help with a task, that’s okay. Refrain from just stepping onto the receiver without specific invitation, however. Usually, an attendant will be able to tie up the boat, so there is infrequent real need to leave the boat.
Live bait will not stay alive for long without a flow of seawater adequate in volume to support the number of baitfish put in the tank. Sufficient space is also a factor that dictates how well bait stays alive. I always recommend purchasing the largest bait tank a boat can safely support and installing a pump and hoses designed to pump copious quantities of saltwater into the tank at an angle to circulate the flow. Given uncrowded space with plenty of water flowing, a tank of live bait will stay alive all day, unless the sea is rough and the person at the helm insists on pounding the boat mercilessly. That sure kills bait quickly. Remember, a smooth ride to the fishing grounds will help keep live bait healthy.
Different bait species – and sizes – have different needs. Large sardines (five to seven inches) tend to be easily weakened, develop splotchy red bellies, and die when crowded tightly, so give them plenty of room in the tank. Midsize ’dines and anchovies can handle a fairly crowded bait tank; however, take on less bait when planning a long run, especially on less-than-glassy-flat water. Sloshing around in a crowded tank is very hard on any live critter. Brown baits are also fairly weak when crowded, so bring less bait to give them plenty of elbowroom.
Once at your secret, sure-fire, hotspot fishing destination, pinning a “hot” lively bait on a hook certainly increases your chance of attracting a great predator. Folks fishing on a tight budget (which includes most of us) tend to grumble about the price of bait; however, considering the value of live bait to fishing and the cold, wet, harsh nature of the work to provide that bait, I’m amazed at how little live bait costs us. My well-worn hat is doffed to our adventurous and hardy live bait workers. Thank you!
