# Define Live Ly please.



## 77834 (Aug 18, 2015)

Newbie wants to know what live ly is? I googled the term and it comes back blank.


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

Alewive (Ly)


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

http://www.fish-fishes.com/salt_water_fish/alewife_fish.html


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

LY is a pier rat term for three different species of bait fish. Scaled Sardine, Spanish Sardine and threadfin herring. 

Personally Ive never seen an alewife around here, not even sure if they are found this far south.


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## daylate (Feb 22, 2012)

JD7.62 said:


> LY is a pier rat term for three different species of bait fish. Scaled Sardine, Spanish Sardine and threadfin herring.
> 
> Personally Ive never seen an alewife around here, not even sure if they are found this far south.


I was a pier rat in the seventies and early eighties. There was only one baitfish at that time that we called LY (true alewife). It is the same bait that is referred to as a pilchard in S FL and they were resident in enormous numbers around area piers all summer. The water for 40 yards or so all the way around the pier was black with them. you could tell a fish was approaching the pier because the alewife "line" would rush in towards the pier. It is depressing to go to the pier now and not see that.

We also had herring (scaled sardine) but no threadfin herring in this area at all. The first threadfin I ever saw was in the nineties in the bay. As far as I know, they were not in this area until then.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

What people in south florida call a pilchard are Scaled Sardines. They are also simply called white bait.

Ive had pier rats argue with me that a scaled sardine and spanish sardine are the same fish and just called LYs.


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

The pilchard has a dot the LY's do not. We know the difference between a herring, sardine, pinfish, glass minnow, threadfin, cigar minnow, Blue runner. Ly's are the most abundant bait in this area.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

But, in the end, no one is right...or wrong. This is more a lesson of different people in different areas have different common names for the same and different fish.

Think ling, cobia, lemon fish same fish, different names. LY is the same common name for different baitfish in our area.


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

daylate said:


> I was a pier rat in the seventies and early eighties. There was only one baitfish at that time that we called LY (true alewife). It is the same bait that is referred to as a pilchard in S FL and they were resident in enormous numbers around area piers all summer. The water for 40 yards or so all the way around the pier was black with them. you could tell a fish was approaching the pier because the alewife "line" would rush in towards the pier. It is depressing to go to the pier now and not see that.
> 
> We also had herring (scaled sardine) but no threadfin herring in this area at all. The first threadfin I ever saw was in the nineties in the bay. As far as I know, they were not in this area until then.


I did my internship during that same time frame on the old wooden nav. pier...standing on the rail w/ the big boys. Good ole days!
We might be alumni from the same yr. lol.


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## Mullethead (Oct 4, 2007)

Since there are bait ID experts on this thread .. What is the proper names of the more cigar like bait we called Herring ? Also .. The less frequently caught around here "speedo" mackerel type bait?


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

A live LY is totally opposite of a dead LY......


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Also .. The less frequently caught around here "speedo" mackerel type bait?[/QUOTE said:


> Are you talking about a Leatherback?


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## Mullethead (Oct 4, 2007)

OK ... I was to lazy to look it up the first time .. So I git around to googling it .

Speedo is a red tailed scad.. A bigger cousin of the cigar minnow .. And what we called Herring on the pier are reallt Spanish sardines


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

lastcast said:


> Are you talking about a Leatherback?



Nothing eats those. Not even birds will eat them.


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## flounder1156 (Jul 9, 2009)

lastcast said:


> Are you talking about a Leatherback?


Crazy fish


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