Fishing with Live Bait & Natural Baits
Pilchards, or sardines, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings. Pilchards work well for a variety of game fish such as snook, kingfish, wahoo, snapper, grouper, tuna, speckled trout, redfish, spanish mackerel and many more.
How to Catch Pilchards
Most anglers use cast nets to catch pilchards.
Using Pilchards as Bait
Fish them live on a weightless rig or one of your favorite bottom rigs. These baits are great when fish alive, so try to keep them alive. If you have dead bait, anglers do well by using them as cut bait for a variety of fish on their favorite bottom rigs.