San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Just curious, thinking of taking the kid and renting a skiff in MB this weekend. Wondered if iust buying squid from the grocery store would work as a simple bait. Or anchovies, etc.

It all works. Chovies can be hard to keep on the hook. If you drift the main channel at the bridge with chovies you may get into some halibut.

Thanks! Really anything would be fine. I am sure tue kiddo would be stoked with pretty much anything.

If you buy squid bring a sabiki and tip the hooks with it, you may be able to catch smelt or the preferred mackerel to use as bait

professionull wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:05 am If you buy squid bring a sabiki and tip the hooks with it, you may be able to catch smelt or the preferred mackerel to use as bait

I hadn’t even thought of that. Good idea.

professionull wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:05 am If you buy squid bring a sabiki and tip the hooks with it, you may be able to catch smelt or the preferred mackerel to use as bait

Thanks for the tip. May daughter had so much fun catching jacksmelt that she didn’t want me to put a hook through them. Spotties saved the day on curlytail.

Shrimp...fresh or frozen...works well. Stays on better than anchovies but not as well as squid.

My old friend Ed Reiss, RIP, used squid strips pretty much exclusively on orange plastics in the bay. His belief was ghost shrimp were a universal bait. Adding squid was added inticement. He caught every species found in the bay.
Yes it works and you dont lose much bait.