Bulls still on fire at Cameron Jetties

[MathGeek]

My two sons (12 and 13) and I put twelve bull reds in the boat between 9:30 AM and 11:45 AM yesterday. Usual spot, cracked crab. An average of one fish boated every 12 minutes. One was caught on mullet, but the mullet was getting hit more regularly by sharks than by reds. Cracked crab was like candy to the big redfish.

We tried a new technique to land the biggest bull reds more reliably. We started tightening down the drag after the seven count to bring the reds in close to the boat, but rather than fighting them all the way to the net after the first run, we loosened the drag and let them make a second run after getting spooked by the boat, and then tightening down the drag again and bringing them back. The really big boys had the drag lightened again and got to make a third run before attempting to bring them boatside and into the net.

[duckman1911]

Oh he?? yeah man. Hoping to be able to make a trip down at the end of the month. We fish the surf just west of Cameron and I will deff be picking up some crab to try this go around. Thanks for the info. Glad y'all had an awesome day

[breambuster]

What size hook and style are you using? Been a long time since I used cracked crab

[MathGeek]

We've used a variety of 6/0 and 7/0 hooks over the years: Eagle Claw, Mustad, Gamakatsu. We use regular J hooks (NOT circle hooks) with a relatively short shank and offset so the point is not lined up with the shank. I like the Mustads and the Gamakatsu better than the Eagle Claw. The shanks are shorter and the hooks are very strong and hold a sharp point well. Sharp hooks are important. A few seconds with a fine file or emery board is needed after a day or two of fishing. New hooks are usually sharp enough, but I check every one.

[breambuster]

I uae the 6/0 mustads with the flat sides. But in MS we use big chunks of mullet or cut pogies. Thanks for the info

[rocky's pal]

Hey MathGeek, ever tried frozen crabs? Or are fresh crabs a requirement? We tried some frozen this past weekend over at the wiers, but only got bites on live shrimp under a popping cork. By the way, thanks for the interesting stories, I really enjoy them!

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by rocky's pal

Hey MathGeek, ever tried frozen crabs? Or are fresh crabs a requirement? We tried some frozen this past weekend over at the wiers, but only got bites on live shrimp under a popping cork. By the way, thanks for the interesting stories, I really enjoy them!

One time a buddy brought frozen crabs and we brought live. We caught plenty of fish on the fresh crabs, but scratched on the frozen. We did have to buy dead crabs recently, but they had died the night before in the fridge of the vendor, and they worked fine. I go out of my way for live or at least fresh crabs.

[vittok]

Cool. I hope that works in VBay today.

[Slidellkid]

Good work. I need to buy a couple more outfits that are strong enough to hold some of these reds!

[Slidellkid]

Where do you buy cracked crab on the east side so that you can just head on down to the cameron boat launch?

[rocky's pal]

I was afraid of that with the frozen crab. I'll go fresh from now on. Thanks MathGeek!

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Slidellkid

Where do you buy cracked crab on the east side so that you can just head on down to the cameron boat launch?

I buy live crab from JTs, keep 'em on ice, and cut them in half with a knife right before putting them on the hook. The top shell usually comes off and that's OK. I used to break the top shell off before cutting or breaking in half, but it's faster just to cut through the top shell too.