Bait Stealers Caught Red Handed!

Today I Lost ALL My Whole Crab Baits!

The day before i collected 9 large sand crabs so i could use them today. Unfortunately i kept getting hits that resulted in stolen crabs until i brought in 3 of the culprits in a row. Burr Fish. Part of the Porcupine Fish family of Puffers. So i released all of them back. Lost all 9 of my crabs so switched back to Arrowhead Squid.

Some anglers will kill the Burr Fish so they won’t catch it again. What a waste! If you’re not going to eat it, release it. It’s their home you’re invading. I did get a huge hit that lasted only 10sec on a crab, but the leader line got cut. Most likely a shark.

When a Burr Fish eats a bait they usually swallow it. Most fish will tend to swallow baits & for artificial lures it tends to hook itself in the mouth. They won’t pull or run like like most fish when hook. So i attach a bell & keep my line taunt. You’ll often hear a light “jingle” & will see the rod tip vibrate. Not what we want but it’s apart of fishing.

Okuma Rigs I Used This Day-

  1. HCS 9’6" experimental plugging rod w/a 6K experimental spinner.
  2. 12’ Rockaway Rod w/a Blue Azores 6K spinner.
  3. 12’ MH Cedros Surf Rod w/a Azores 65 spinner.
  4. 11’ H Cedros Surf Rod w/a Surf 8K spinner.

https://youtu.be/2ndfvrQYVfQ[![](https://i.ibb.co/pyG6FRK/Screen-Shot-2020-08-30-at-9-18-51-AM.png)](Screen-Shot-2020-08-30-at-9-18-51-AM hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB)

Anyone.
Lol

Hopefully others will answer but there have been many reports from members fishing Chicken creek, Haws point and that area on the SC side, where it’s deep, there by the dam.