Capt. Mark Stacy likes to use live baits for trout and redfish — and for flounder, too, when they are around. Years of experience have shown him where he can catch mullet minnows, small menhaden and shrimp well into the fall.
Each bait has its intended purposes, and Stacy uses a pair of baitwells so he doesn’t have to mix the minnows. Menhaden go in the larger baitwell, and mullet and shrimp go in the smaller one.
Stacy prefers shrimp for speckled trout but freely admits that everything in the marsh will eat them. Sometimes the other fish are desirable species like red drum, black drum or flounder, and sometimes they are bait thieves. It is occasionally a pain to keep losing rebaiting, but when you finally get a shrimp through to a big trout, it all becomes worth it.
Stacy fishes shrimp under a float rig. His preferred rig uses a bobber stopper and a pencil float to be able to adjust the depth for wherever he is fishing. Below the float is an egg sinker to pull the bait down to the set depth, and a No. 6 gold treble hook. The shrimp is hooked from side to side, between the dark spots in its head.
Stacy fishes mullet minnows for redfish and concentrates on smaller ones for smaller pups and larger ones for upper and over-slot fish. Some bait thieves will also attack the mullet minnows, but they generally last better than shrimp. Stacy fishes a mullet minnow on a jighead, with the bait hooked through the bottom of its mouth and out through the top. He prefers Mission Fishin’ jig heads and primarily uses 1/8- to 1/4-ounce sizes.
Little River Inlet sometimes has runs of large red drum, and Stacy carries the menhaden in case they make a showing. He uses slightly heavier tackle and fishes the menhaden on Carolina rigs.
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