# Killer snapper bait.



## chefpomp (Apr 16, 2009)

First let me say that Im a chef and what you are doing is salt curing the bait. Salt curing is one of the oldest forms of food preservation. I started doing this a couple of years ago with pealed shrimp to use pompano fishing. Now that pretty much all I use for pomps. A week ago I was catching a lot of ladyfish. I took some home and cut them up. The meat was very soft so I decided to cure it. The next week I went out on a charter because unfortunately I dont have a boat. I took the cured ladyfish and my own tackle. I got a hit almost every time I dropped it down, worked better than shrimp, squid or cigar minnows caught all kinds of snapper off it and a chicken dolphin on the way down. 

How IT WORKS. After you have chunks of bait cover it in table salt (cant ever use to much, the more the better), toss it around making sure it is heavily coated. Place in refrigerator for 2-3 days. The salt will penetrate into the bait, as it does so it will remove a lot of the water. You know its done when it feels likesoft jerky. Do not rinse with water. Pour off liquid that has come out of the bait and shake off excess salt. Now you do not have to refrigerate the bait, it is cured & preserved it will last acoupleof weak out of refrigeration. It stays smelling fresh the whole time. The salt prevents rotting, bacterial growth etc.

WHY IT WORKS. Sense a lot of the water is removed it gives the bait a soft jerky like texture making sure it stays on the hook extremely well. Like I mentioned earlier the salt preserves. Most importantly salt and oil do not mix. So all the baits oil stay in the bait and the bait scent and flavor become concentrated because of the liquid that is removed by the salt. When you place your bait in the water what happens is salt starts to come out and water goes back into the bait, as this happens a lot off the scent is pulled out. But it takes a real real real long time for the bait to get soft again.

A SPECIAL NOTE.Wallyworldcarries salted finger mullet, shrimp and squid chunks. DO NOT BUY THIS it is crap and very expensive. I have tried it to save some time and nothing well bite it, it garbage. It seams a little oily and not as salty as it should be, I think they use some kind of preservative in it probably because its cheaper. What ever else is in it the fish hate it.


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## Snapperking (May 30, 2009)

Guess I am telling my age but in the 50s and most of the 60s all the party boats out of Destin used salted ladyfish/skip jack for 2 and 3 hook rigs for snapper .It was a cheaper form of bait as it was caught locally and made locally by salting them down in tubs of salt and water.Talk about toughing up the meat !! The best thing about it was it was harder for a trigger to get it off than the squid ,herring and cig minnows used now. It is a great bait.


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