Like most anglers, I like to use a variety of baits during early Spring. Of these baits, one in particular stands out above the rest: the mighty little golden croaker. This natural bait has been around for years. I can remember back 40 years ago when my family owned a bait camp in Port O’Connor called “Pat’s Alley.” We sold golden croakers right along with our live shrimp for bait. The only real difference between then and now is pricing. Back in the day, croakers sold for about 25¢ a dozen. Current market price for these little guys ranges between $7.00 – $8.00 a dozen.
Croaker fishing is more of a technique than anything else. There are several ways to fish these little dynamite baits. One way is to simply hook the croaker right above the anal fin (about half- way up the top of the croakers’ back). By hooking the croaker this way, it makes him want to swim down to the bottom of the water column. The croaker will go to the bottom and hide in the shell or grass, depending upon your location. Once you hook your croaker, cast him out and put the rod in the rod holder. Believe me, you will know when that trout or red hits because you will see the rod bend over double.
Another way to fish croakers, and I think it’s the most popular, is wadefishing with croakers. You will hook the croaker the same way (down by the anal fin). The difference this time is that when you cast, give the croaker about 3-5 seconds to swim to the bottom, then give him a quick jerk. This technique will bring the croaker out of his hiding place and into the vision of the aggressive trout or red. As you bring the croaker up out of his hiding place, he will start grunting or croaking, hence the name “croaker.” He will be trying to get back to his hiding place, all the while croaking his little head off. This in turn catches the attention of any predators swimming nearby.
One of the biggest problems people encounter with this type of bait is when that croaker is not croaking, grunting, wiggling, etc. If this is the case, get rid of it! Trout will not usually hit a dead croaker. Usually after 3 or 4 casts, you need to change out your bait. Most people don’t realize just exactly what is the attraction going on here. Trout don’t feed on croakers; it is just the opposite: croakers feed on trout eggs. The trout kill the croaker in order to defend their eggs (and get a tasty snack at the same time).
Now I would like to talk about the rig that you need to use for croaker fishing. To begin with, I cut a 20”, 25 lb fluorocarbon leader. On one end I like to tie a small ball swivel, while on the opposite end I use either a #4 or #5 Kayle Hook. There are a lot of people, including myself, who like to use some type of rattle on their leader, but it’s not necessary. It’s a very basic set-up that works perfectly.
If you do want to go the rattle route, there are many different types you can purchase. One type in particular is called a “shaker.” This small cylindrical rattle is approximately 2 inches long and 1/4 inch in diameter with a small wireloop on each end. The shaker comes in an assortment of colors; however, the “bone” and “chartreuse” colors seem to work the best. To rig, simply tie the end of your fishing line to one end of the shaker and then tie your leader to the other end. I like to secure my hook to the leader with a loop knot because this seems to give the croaker a little more freedom of movement.
Another very popular style of rattle is in the form of a bead. This bead measures approximately 3/8 inch in diameter and comes in a slick glass or a plastic octagon shape. Personally, I prefer the plastic bead over the glass bead because the glass beads will occasionally break when working the croaker to produce the rattle movement. At that point, you not only lose the effectiveness of the rattle, but you stand a good chance of fraying your line when the glass beads break. These beads also come in an assortment of colors, but I tend to stick with the “red” color. I am not sure if the red color looks like a “bleeding bait fish”, but it works better than most of the other colors. These beads have a small hole drilled through the middle. To rig these beads, simply slide each bead down the leader until it rests directly on top of the loop knot. I like to use three plastic beads as this seems to work best for me.
Working rattles is sort of like working your favorite soft plastic. Cast your croaker out as far as you can, give it a few seconds so as to allow your croaker to get good and settled in his hiding place. At this point, jerk your rod 2 or 3 good times and wait 5-10 seconds. Repeat the same motion, while at the same time keeping your rod at 12:00 (or straight up). This jerking action is what I like to call “making a phone call”. When you pop your rod 2 or 3 times, this makes the rattles or beads hit together and all the while that croaker is croaking his little tail off. A strike will normally occur as he is swimming back down to his hiding place.
One of the biggest problems some people encounter occurs when they feel that thump or “croaker thump.” Most people tend to jerk their rod as hard as they can (a mere reaction). Is that right? The answer….sometimes yes, but most of the time you are going to jerk that croaker right out of the trout’s mouth. What I like to do is hold my rod at 12:00 and let that fish actually pull my rod down to 3:00. This motion gives the trout about 3-4 seconds to get the croaker really good and settled in his mouth. Now set the hook. You can believe that 90% of the time your hook-ups are going to be solid. This type of fishing is more technique than anything. Just visualize that croaker swimming down to his hiding place and you feel that thump. OK… the trout just sucked the croaker into his mouth….OK….12:00 to 3:00….OK….set the hook. It’s such a cool feeling, because that is exactly how it works. It may take you a little while to get it down, but be patient. If you get the chance to watch someone who knows how to fish with croakers, please do so and watch him/her very carefully. It won’t take long for you to get it down. Once you do, you will enjoy the fact that you have just discovered another great way to catch not only trout but also redfish, gafftop, shark, etc.
Now just so you all know….sometimes trout can appear to be very finicky. If that seems to be the case, just look around and see what’s up. Is it a full moon? Is the water off-color? What about the current, is there one? Something must be different. If you are fishing under a full moon, remember the fish may be full as they have been night-feeding. If this is the case, you are now about to discover another fun side to fishing. You now must trick the trout into a bite. Many times fish are slow and very lazy during a full moon. They may be suspended off the bottom, and simply relaxing with a full belly. Well, here is what you can do about that. Cast out and let the croaker sink to the bottom. Next, you will want to work the croaker like we talked about before. Then, all of a sudden, you will feel this ever so light “tap.”
Well, calm down, because any hard pressure and the trout will spit that croaker right out. OK, the trout just sucked it into his mouth. He is not hungry because he has been feeding all night. He just made a “reaction bite”. I promise you, if you give your rod tip just a small twitch that trout will think his appetizer is trying to get away and he will bite down. When you feel his bite, break his jaw and drive that hook in deep and hang on.
Now let’s talk about some of the better areas to fish with croakers. Some good areas to concentrate on would be large grass flats with spotted sand pockets throughout or hard-sand bottoms with different contours throughout. Most of your larger fish tend to hang around the outskirts of the sand pockets awaiting the bait fish to swim through. Just pitch that croaker over into that sand pocket, give it a couple of twitches and see what happens. Another great place not to be overlooked are shell reefs. There are reefs located throughout the bay system. Normally you will find trout where there is scattered shell. Bait fish love shell because they can get under the shell for protection from predators. Go ahead….pitch your croaker up on the edge of the reef, twitch it a couple of times and see what happens.
vAlthough fishing with croakers is one of the most exciting ways to target trout of all sizes, it comes with some negativity. Some say it targets bigger trout, and it does; but, the same would go for soft plastics, topwaters, etc. This proves to be an ongoing controversy among fishermen along the Gulf Coast, but that is why they make chocolate and vanilla. If a person chooses to use croakers, piggy perch, whatever, that is his or her given right. Hopefully, if you happen upon some folks with bait buckets in tow, please give them the same respect that you would like to receive yourself. We are all out here for the same reason, to have a great day on the water. I sincerely hope that is what you have at the end of the day. Have fun, stay safe and hopefully I will see you on the water.
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