Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

I will be down in marco next week and plan to shark off the beach at night. I have the necessary tackle. But I'm concerned about what to do for bait. I will try to catch fresh bait during the day(lady fish, Spanish macks, jacks, whiting, rays, etc) but what if I can't catch any fresh bait. What are some good alternatives to buy at a bait store? I'm looking to catch big sharks. I've only ever caught bonnetheads and some pup sandsharks. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Probably my favorite bait is the lowly hardhead catfish . I've caught more sharks on cats , than anything else . Eels , if you can find them , are another good alternate bait. Another source of bait is any of the fish markets , where large scraps can be obtained .

I've used hardheads before but never had any luck but I've never fished them at night only during late afternoon/dusk

Tgreen25 wrote:I've used hardheads before but never had any luck but I've never fished them at night only during late afternoon/dusk

I've had sharks take the cats anytime , of the day or night . I generally fish in an area loaded with cats and with sharks that are apparently there ,to feed on them . If you run into a bunch of cats , while bait fishing , then I would certainly try them , for bait. Any sharks that are there , are likely feeding on the available food source. I always think of it as a person going into Mc Donalds . They go there for a burger , and don't expect to find Chinese. If the sharks are in an area , they are likely expecting to find the usual meal , that they have come for . Of course ,this is just my way of thinking , but it seems to work.