Sardines getting attacked. Photo by Kelly.

The sardines have been in at the usual spots for a while. Now that the summer season is starting up, the bigger predators have been hitting the piles with regularity.  Sardines make great bait, especially when fished live near the piles.

Sardine pros palu (chum) the school to keep it close and whip damashi flies or small glitter strips.  Sardines don’t stay alive in buckets too long so the pros keep catching them while they have a live sardine out just past the school.  Because the school runs out to deep water at night to feed on plankton, the sardine spots are usually close to fast drop offs.  Fast drop offs mean access for big papio, lai, awa awa and kaku.

 
Matthew, a 7th grader next fall, was whipping the shoreline when he saw a black ball of sardines enter the inshore sandy area.  He quickly changed to a damashi whipping rig.

Even though the school moved out a ways, he kept them within range with palu and ended up with these sardines to use as bait later.

Since the early oama schools haven’t settled in yet, sardines may be the best bait option right now. Go get ‘um!