why do spot cost so much?

[phillyfishing]

this yr was the yr of the spot so many around. well i keep hearing spot are like 2.50 at some cheep places there aint many up to 3.75 each. i mean right now you can use 50 spot a trip thats 150.00 or more just in spot. wasn't the gas prices enough to drive boaters away. just figured i would say something about it.. its all jigs for me :)

[Skmag357]

supply and demand...if the bait stores can get 2.50 - 3.75, they will sell them. Plus to keep those spot alive for a few months was probably a pain... I agree there were a TON of spot in the back bays in august and sept and caught some in my cast net (which never even opened all the way) and I even hooked on a 1 inch bucktail

[Bob ECT]

You can drive to VA/NC and catch them right now or buy what people caught this summer and kept alive. Supply and Demand, spot left our waters a while ago.

[finaddict5]

Bait shop I was at yesterday were charging $4.00 per spot!:eek:

[young~gunz]

It is true Spot were around in very good numbers this year. However trying to catch them yourself now is pretty much impossible. Demand for spot is insane this time of year because they are pretty much the best bait around for stipers. So unless you stocked up on your own supply of spot you have to are stuck paying the high price for them because the supply of them right now is low, and demand is high. Ecomonics 101:wave:

[BONAC H]

I paid 25 cents each. I gave my boys 1 buck for every 4 spot:D. We had a blast making 4 or 5 bait runs in Sept. It was a win win situation. My 6 year old had a blast. He got to see a ton of different kinds of fish and got a taste of fishing with a lot of action. My 10 year old was able to land a few bass on spot in the back a few weeks ago and was amazed that the bass would eat like that. It is very cool to see my boys see things like that for the 1st time. Any way get a good pen at your dock or a friends dock with a good lock and load up when the demand is low and the supply is high. I can't afford 3.50 a piece. I did see a good special on the barn for buy 1 get 1 free.

[JAY MAN]

I refuse to pay that much for spot! Call me cheap, whatever, the bass are eating bunker right now anyway. I don't need no stinkin' spots!

[phillyfishing]

then why don't we all just stop buying spot and make the shops come down.. i go a shop and at the shop i was given some for free and it worked out great for catching fish.. but me myself i won't pay 3.50 each

[smithwa]

I was just in the Boca Raton area this past weekend and they get $80 a dozen for goggle eyes down there. :eek:

[Capt Steve]

The price of spot is, in my opinion, based on the fact that there are a number of people, both rec anglers and charter boats who have been pushing them as the only bait that works for several seasons. People never used them until the past few years. I have bought and used exactly 1 dozen spot since the fad began and we have had pretty good luck with the old standard eel and other baits as have many other captains I know.. I guess the spot craze has created a new industry for folks who catch them and they can actually make a living catching this "super" bait. By the way, goggle eyes are really an excellent sailfish bait as the swim well and hold up great. When I fished down there out of Palm Beach many years ago, they cost 2-3 bux apiece and they were worth it in that area. We caught our own ballyhoo in Islamorada and goggle eyes were not used at all there when I fished the area. As an aside, those 8" ling we catch when fishing the Bay make fantastic Striper baits in the rips. aybe we can start a new craze!

[mattlist]

My preference is to fish with live bait, I'm a weekend warrior in the fall especially and can't get to my baitpen enough to keep spot. So I have to buy em. 3 bucks ea. @ my shop. I catch em on sabiki rigs in the summer and use them to catch flatties in deepwater holes like the Old Grounds, they work great. I flat out hate eels, I had one wrap around my arm when I was about 7yrs old and one of the mates from the Miss Avalon had to get the sea snake off of me. So I'm prob one of the people to blame for the demand. More times than I can count I have been getting skunked on some new super lure and I switch up to a simple fishfinder with live anything Bunker,Croaker,Spot,Snapper Blue...and Bam they hit.

[JoeyZac]

Build your own oversize bait pen with cheap parts from Home Depot.

Catch the spots yourself all summer long, or better yet have your kids do it.

Use them all fall till the water gets cold enough that they die. That happened to me this weekend, but up until then they were outperforming clam by a mile...................

[AKscuba713]

I castnetted my own spot this past season in august/september... found em in Barnegat light, North wildwood/stone harbor, CISP... Much easier on my wallet then buying them at 3 bucks a pop. I never caught a damn thing on them though when I used them.


Just net your own.... It was easy as hell for me to do.

[boat nut]

I was just in the Boca Raton area this past weekend and they get $8 a dozen for goggle eyes down there. :eek:


Did you mean $80 a dozen? During tournament time those googs are in high demand.

[mattlist]

I castnetted my own spot this past season in august/september... found em in Barnegat light, North wildwood/stone harbor, CISP... Much easier on my wallet then buying them at 3 bucks a pop. I never caught a damn thing on them though when I used them.


Just net your own.... It was easy as hell for me to do.


AK- watching me try and use a cast net could make an Americas Funniest Home video skit. I just can't grasp it.I've been told that the net I use is huge though. Your gonna have to come out and show me how to throw sometime next season.

[smithwa]

Did you mean $80 a dozen? During tournament time those googs are in high demand.

Yes, I ment $80 a dozen...

[jsullivan]

Order up some Black Saltys (http://blacksalty.com/) at $1/ea they are obviously WAY cheaper than spot. You need to order them in bulk though...$75 gets you 75 large "offshore" baits that are about the same size as spot. Plus you can keep them alive for a long time at home in a freshwater tank. They are basically specially bred goldfish that can live in saltwater for a few hours. The $75 includes overnight shipping too!

http://www.blacksalty.com/images/blacksalty_baitfish.jpg

link to youtube vid of using them on striped bass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0t2Az8sbkk)

[freaky One]

Hey jsullivan Good tip!!!

[naytep]

I have never heard of Black Saltys. I think I will order some and through them in my wifes koi pond.
Anybody know what the legality of the baits is? I have always heard that there are very stiff fines for using goldfish as bait in freshwater. Its my understanding that they would decimate the ecology of the lake if they were to get established.

[joe kane]

i would say supply and demand. tight supply higher the price and the more profit the stores make

[donzi and marie]

Caught all my stripers on eels, and diamond jigs. You can buy 2-3 eels for that kind of money.

[boostedcpe]

I prefer to use artificials, however if thats what they are snappin' on then so be it. We spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on equipment to go fishing, the last thing I want to do is have a rod without a bend in it when everyone elses around me is bent.

down south they eat spot......deep fry them and eat em like chips, they are good, no wonder why bass love em, I like them too.

[angler3691]

bait shop in wildwood selling spot 6 for 20 dollars

[captainbadfinger]

I prefer to use artificials, however if thats what they are snappin' on then so be it. We spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on equipment to go fishing, the last thing I want to do is have a rod without a bend in it when everyone elses around me is bent.

down south they eat spot......deep fry them and eat em like chips, they are good, no wonder why bass love em, I like them too.

You eat Whole Chickens like Chips!!!!!:razz::razz::wave:

[Tidecapt]

The Black Salty's can not be shipped to NJ. They will not allow you to introduce a new species into the waters. I have looked into the fish but the state will impose heavy fines if you are caught because they don't know how they will effect the surrounding fish. They said that they have to do studies on them and until that happens I don't think you will see them up here.

[OffTheHook]

The best answer is supply and demand. We do catch some of our own spot but most of it is shipped up from Maryland and Virginia. Also, live bait can be a good money maker for bait shops when everything works perfectly:rolleyes: But when you lose your whole pen to disease, pollution, or theft your lucky to break even if not lose money. We carry all the supplies you need to catch and keep spot, and I'm more than happy to walk anybody through catching them( your best purchase would probably be a trap;))
Did anyone get the Black Salty's ? I heard you they couldnt ship to NJ. I would be interested in trying them for next season.

[Supafly]

Here is a site to get Black Salty's

http://www.andersonminnows.com/

They will ship to Pa

[JoeyZac]

..........( your best purchase would probably be a trap;)) ..........

I don't suppose you have a website or link that shows the trap?

[OffTheHook]

I don't suppose you have a website or link that shows the trap?

No sorry! There pretty simple, just a cage with a swing door the fish push open. Don't have any right now or I would take a picture.

[aj bruno]

The Black Salty's can not be shipped to NJ. They will not allow you to introduce a new species into the waters. I have looked into the fish but the state will impose heavy fines if you are caught because they don't know how they will effect the surrounding fish. They said that they have to do studies on them and until that happens I don't think you will see them up here.

Pretty simple.... ship em to PA ....;)

[shedhunta]

The black saltys are popular in Delaware. Alot of guys use them with success in the Indian River Inlet. Bait shops down there have them.

[pwcrab]

i have a cheeseburger... i could sell this cheeseburger to one friend who wants to pay 50 cents for it or i could sell it to another friend who wants to pay 3.50 dollars for it who do i sell it to???? hmmmm if you owned a bait shop and you were selling you whole supply out in a matter of days charging 3.50 why on Gods green earth would you sell them for less? they are so expensive because somewhere along the line some fisherman up here told his friend who told a friend they were the latest and greatest in catching bass (which i hope they are .. i wouldnt know) so that friend told aLL his friends now everyone needs them to catch bass and are willing to pay 3.50 so the bait shops charge it.... if i owned a shop i would charge 5.00 and i would probably sell out like everyone else

[fmTuna]

I wrote an article for NJ Angler this month that cover this pretty well... catching, transporting, and fishing livies... you should check it out.

99% of the spot you buy in NJ all come from 2 (some years, 3) different guys that haul them up from down south and they set the price.. some years, there are so few and the demand is so high that the wholesale price is just crazy... this year, they were pretty cheap, but making a retail profit off them is still a risky proposition for bait shops... the weather goes bad and they die off while waiting for purchase sticking the owner with a serious loss.. so fewer people carry them and they command a higher price...

It is MUCH better to catch and store your own... and this year was a banner year for doing that...

[RobaloFrank]

The guy that I went out with today had about 25 spot left in his cage today when we left the dock. He caught all of them himself and had over 100 at one point last month in the cage.

We used them all today.

At the end of the day on our boat, we caught 1/2 of the dozen or so schoolies on spot, and we caught the rest jigging.

Some days it's "striper candy" and other days....it just doesn't matter.

Frank

[bunkerboy23]

i will be SELLING SPOT FOR 1$ on certain weekends next year i will post when i am selling.:) stoneharbor

[Guatemala Dave]

I would like to reserve 5,000, $1.00 spot on the first weekend of November. Just make sure they are a minimum of 5 inches long and in perfect shape.

[AKscuba713]

i will be SELLING SPOT FOR 1$ on certain weekends next year i will post when i am selling.:) stoneharbor


You got a bait license dude? :nuts:

[Guatemala Dave]

He only needs a bait lisence if he is catching them, with "Bait Gear"

[AKscuba713]

Ah, now I get it. Thanks for clearing that up for me Dave. :thumbsup:

[Guatemala Dave]

You can buy and resell them without a lisence.

You can catch them on hook and line and sell them without a lisence.

If you use a cast net, dip net, drop net you need a bait net lisence.

You cannot sell them caught in an eel pot or crab pot.

There is no back bay fish traps allowed in NJ. and you need a special lisence for Del Bay ot Atlantic Ocean.

Now I'll be waiting for my 5,000

[striper2278]

Trust me they don't work!:D

I too would love to just use an eel...But there is just no comparison! PERIOD! We use live bait everyday (Spot/croakers), It's gold!!!! Just like a live bunker gonna be used for chunking rather then a bunker that has been in a tackle shops bait freezer for a week!

Whatever most think, some of "us" charter boat's will continue to use live pinfish, they are IMO the prime bait in the Cape May Rips!

[AKscuba713]

I caught a pinfish in my cast net this summer in SIC back bay.... I thought they were native to florida?

[captainbadfinger]

A dead Spot will out fish a live Eel!!

[striper2278]

I caught a pinfish in my cast net this summer in SIC back bay.... I thought they were native to florida?Actually, spot and many other small baitfish are called "Pinfish"( Spot, gruts, baby croakers ect..) But there is an actuall fish call "Pinfish";) And I've caught them here as well.

[striper2278]

A dead Spot will out fish a live Eel!!
Now that's a bold statement...Bold, but true;)

[firecasino]

I v'e heard horror stories of all the different ways you can lose
them, example one guy told of loseing at his boat dock when someone washed a boat. Others talk of loseing them because they were in a floating cage
that its better for them at the bottom when it gets cold to use brick to hold your cage to the bottom.
Feeding them also seems to be another area thats not so easy.
Can anyone else add to the best ways to store an keep them alive?
Any area thats of help to our members who plan on putting in the time next
year to catch an store them. any help I sure would be appreciated.
An any horror stories also. Paying 4.00 a pop I know its better to put the time in I'm sure there's a ton of guys that agree. Also any help finding archive post on this subject would also be appreciated.
We all agree they are striper candy

[snprblue2]

Actually, spot and many other small baitfish are called "Pinfish"( Spot, gruts, baby croakers ect..) But there is an actuall fish call "Pinfish";) And I've caught them here as well.

Quite easy to catch in NC in all areas. They have sharp spines on their back. I have caught them on a fishing pier with my kids and we gave them to guys with with serious surf gear to use as bait, usually the pinfish would then be converted into a nice sized shark.:)

[CSStriper]

Trust me they don't work!:D

I too would love to just use an eel...But there is just no comparison! PERIOD! We use live bait everyday (Spot/croakers), It's gold!!!! Just like a live bunker gonna be used for chunking rather then a bunker that has been in a tackle shops bait freezer for a week!

Whatever most think, some of "us" charter boat's will continue to use live pinfish, they are IMO the prime bait in the Cape May Rips!

No Bucktail???? your turning into a sissy:nuts::razz::razz:

[striper2278]

No Bucktail???? your turning into a sissy:nuts::razz::razz:
I didn't say "I" was using spot;) Bucktailing has been very slow as of yet! It will pick up though:fighting:

[BReady]

After fishing witk Skip, yesterday. I Am a true believer.