I went to Dania pier and the fishing was a bust except for the pilchards that rolled in at the last minute. I caught a couple of dozen and went to a new mangrove spot I found to try for some snook and grovers. That too was a bust and I decided to try a section of canal I had not fished before. It was close to the bay and I thought it might at least be brackish so I got there and pitched a pilchard. The water was quite fresh and the pilchard siezed up as soon as he hit the water. To my surprize, after about ten seconds of acclimation, he was off and running. In fact, the pilchard was livelier than any shiner I've ever tossed. It only took a couple of minutes and this guy took the bait.
I decided to take the rest to my usual spot. The baits I had left were big and I could not get a hookup with them. The peacocks kept striking the pilchards and killing them, but I could not set a hook. I think smaller ones would work well. I never heard of pilchards in fresh water, but they lasted a solid 15-20 minutes of casting and freelining. Shiners don't do nearly as well. Has anyone else ever used pilchards in fresh water?
Fishing is not a matter of life or death, It's much more important than that.
