Redfish and speckled trout for saltwater. Bass, hybrid stripers, crappy, catfish, bluegills for freshwater. I also keep bass, crappy, and bluegills as aquarium fish.
Favorite Fish to Target
- Thread starter divemaster99
- Start date
Freshwater:
1.) Smallmouth
2.) Wipers/Stripers
3.) Flathead Catfish
4.) Northern Pike
5.) Trout
**** WildCard**** - Creek Chubs; catch them, and they will serve you as the best bait for ANY predatory fish
Saltwater:
1.) Sharks (any, but always partial to Bulls, Bonnetheads, Dusky, Silky, Brown; light-med. surf tackle)
2.) Stripers
3.) any coastal/reef-residing Snapper on light tackle
4.) Barracuda/Bonefish (tie) on light tackle
5.) Bluefish or Weakfish on light tackle.
I just love sharks, idk why....maybe the adrenaline rush, also because of the fun of trying identify which of the nearly 400 species you caught.
LEAST Favorite (avoid like the plague):
1.) Stingrays
2.) Eels (Morays especially)
3.) Nurse Sharks
4.) Bullheads - little, spiny, slippery and they ALWAYS swallow the hook
5.) Rock Bass - lazy fighters, bait-stealers, worse than a herd of Zombies, can't avoid day or night
1.) Smallmouth
2.) Wipers/Stripers
3.) Flathead Catfish
4.) Northern Pike
5.) Trout
**** WildCard**** - Creek Chubs; catch them, and they will serve you as the best bait for ANY predatory fish
Saltwater:
1.) Sharks (any, but always partial to Bulls, Bonnetheads, Dusky, Silky, Brown; light-med. surf tackle)
2.) Stripers
3.) any coastal/reef-residing Snapper on light tackle
4.) Barracuda/Bonefish (tie) on light tackle
5.) Bluefish or Weakfish on light tackle.
I just love sharks, idk why....maybe the adrenaline rush, also because of the fun of trying identify which of the nearly 400 species you caught.
LEAST Favorite (avoid like the plague):
1.) Stingrays
2.) Eels (Morays especially)
3.) Nurse Sharks
4.) Bullheads - little, spiny, slippery and they ALWAYS swallow the hook
5.) Rock Bass - lazy fighters, bait-stealers, worse than a herd of Zombies, can't avoid day or night
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Lol so true about the bullheads and rock bass. Suckers can be a huge annoyance but on the worst most down time fishing day when nothing else is around they can still be fun to target.
Creek Chubs, Suckers, wild Shiners, small Bullhead, Madtoms, etc. = Musky/Pike/Bass/Flathead Bait
Heck, I'll even use a trout as bait so long as it's legal size (state laws dependent, here in PA it's legal)
You'd better not be talking bad about my favorite fish
. Although honestly I do target bullheads in the summer because they fight great for their size. And suckers are some of the best game fish out there, after opening day of trout I pretty much only target suckers on my local creeks and those pesky invasive rainbows always get in the way. If you've never caught a 20" white or a 36" buffalo then it's something that every angler should experience. Some trophies from a couple years ago below:
