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Mariner's Market >> Boat and Motor Accessories
Designed to protect and perform, the Blackfin Skeg is made from a high impact composite featuring two tapered wings on each…Read more...
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Mariner's Market >> Sport Fishing Boats
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Fabbro Marine Group
5552 Industrial Blvd.
Milton, FL 32583 Phone: 850.626.2211
Fax: 850.626.2981
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Mariner's Market >> Sunglasses and Outdoor Apparel
At Boaters Marine Supply we offer over 10,000 Boating - Marine Products, Marine Electronics, Boating Parts, Boat Accessories, and Fishing Equipment…Read more...
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Mariner's Market >> Safety Equipment
AUTOTETHER is a wireless lanyard that offers enhanced boating safety and freedom to the operator and others on board!Read more...
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Mariner's Market >> Terminal Tackle
The company was founded by Ric Welle who started his fishing tackle career in Burdette, Minnesota in the basement of his…Read more...
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LINE-X is the only company that actually develops and controls manufacturing of its own material, guaranteeing consistent and reliable products with…Read more...
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ARRIGONI DESIGN - Sport Fishing Accessories, High-low Table, Marine Cabinetry and moreRead more...
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Mariner's Market >> Taxidermists
Tell the story of your prize catch, with a life sized custom watercolor by Patrick Mclain Hamman. Now you can let…Read more...
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Bimini Bay Outfitters, Tsunami. Tsunami Lures, Tsunami fishing Rods, Fishing Rods, Fishing reels, Jarvis Walker, Jarvis Walker Fishing Rods, Jarvis Walker…Read more...
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Mariner's Market >> Boat and Motor Accessories
Our Premium Body Saver mat weighs in at 8 pounds and will stay where you want it even in high winds…Read more...
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Mariner's Market >> Boat and Motor Accessories
DP Plastics the largest source of stock and custom plastic boat windshield boat windshield, Marine Windshields, marine glass, Yacht windshield, boat…Read more...
Gulf Menhaden |
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| Written by FSF Crew | |
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Ranging throughout the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula to Tampa Bay, Gulf menhaden are commonly known in different regions as either pogies, moss-bunker, peanut-bunker, shad or just plain old menhaden. They roam both the inshore and offshore waters of the Gulf and should not be utilized for human consumption under any circumstances. If there was only one phrase used to describe gulf menhaden, it would have to be oily as heck! These fish are swimming lube jobs. Its no wonder Gulf menhaden have been commercially harvested since 1811 for the primary purpose of extracting oil. Approximately 75% of the extracted menhaden oil which is high in Omega 3 fatty acids, is used in products for human consumption including pasta sauces, salad dressings, sports drinks, baked goods and soups. An additional 10-15% of the oil is processed into livestock and aquaculture feeds. The remaining small percentage is utilized for a number of industrial applications including marine lubricants and additives. Not surprisingly, menhaden oil is also formulated for use in non-consumptive products such as paints, plastics, resins and even cosmetics. Menhaden travel in huge schools of similarly-aged fish and spawn in the ocean. Millions of menhaden eggs then drift with the currents into coastal estuaries where they feed and grow before returning to the ocean to spawn around the age of 2. A typical menhaden reaches about 12 to 15 in length and is silvery with a dark blue-green back and yellow-green fins. A distinctive dark spot behind the gill cavity is about even with the eye. Some adults have additional spots on their sides. These fish have a pudgy, compressed body and have enlarged scales that extend from the midsection to the dorsal fin. Menhaden generally live about 3 to 5 years and once reaching maturity, adults will spawn every year until they die. By far the easiest way to capture menhaden, since they will not bite hook baits, is by using a cast net. Scan the waters surface for what appear to be rain drops, and youve found them. Menhaden create a distinctive surface ripple as they gently flip or roll on the surface while feeding on a variety of plankton. Once youve actually seen a few menhaden schools on the surface, they will be easy for you to spot in the future. Less effective techniques for catching them include Sabiki rigs, pilchard rings and/or snag hooks. But again, nothing will provide better results than a large, mesh cast net. Another tell tale sign of the menhaden schools are the birds bird activity alerts nearby anglers that massive schools of menhaden are under attack by lurking predators. Gulls, terns, pelicans, and ospreys wheel overhead, then swoop down to pick off helpless victims. As more birds arrive to take advantage of the feast, the air will ring with shrieks as the chopped up menhaden leave an oily sheen on the surface. Menhaden are many anglers go to bait for almost all targeted species. Using them alive, dead or cut, they make an irresistible meal for just about every voracious fish. Gulf menhaden are very intolerant of low dissolved oxygen and will die quickly in a poorly aerated live well. Handle them with care and provide plenty of oxygen if you intend on fishing them live. Rigging techniques are fairly simple. You can easily use the same rig that you would for any common live bait. Just remember to match the size of the hook to the size of the baitfish. A big bulky hook impaled in a small thin menhaden will hamper its swimming ability and the added stress will quickly wear the bait out. Gulf menhaden, or bunker as I like to call them, really shine when it comes to enticing smoker kings. Not only do big kingfish find them irresistible as hook baits, but fresh ground menhaden is absolutely the very best chum. Big kingfish will come to investigate the source from every direction and theyll attack any livies in the slick. By the way, the tail end of a menhaden is a great place for a stinger hook, just be careful not to puncture the backbone. As a quick side note, if youve never caught live menhaden, many of them have a small crustacean that comes crawling out of their mouths when they die. The tiny critter appears to be some sort of shrimp or crab that lives inside the menhadens mouth without causing it any harm. You will think its science fiction when you see one of these little guys come crawling out. |
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