We were on our way to Urbanna and hopefully a few days of good fishing. I have been hearing great reports on spot fishing and spot are among my favorite fish to deep-fry. As soon as we hit West Point, I saw a sign for blood worms, the bait of choice among spot fishermen and I quickly pulled in.
“Sorry,” the lady said. “We are out of bloodworms and supplies have been spotty. Nobody has them. I do have some Fishbites in the blood worm scent, though.”
I had some shrimp, but a few Fishbites wouldn’t hurt, I figured, and maybe they’d work?
I had tried Fishbites a number of years ago for croakers. They were green and in the shrimp flavor. I caught some croakers with them, but shrimp seemed to work better and I had not used them since. But spot are a little different breed of cat. Spot like to hang out in deeper holes and root on the bottom for bits of food and they are attracted to strong smells – like bloodworms.
My son-in-law, Brent, had brought his boat for the occasion, but it was blowing 10/15 knots that afternoon and whitecaps were dimpling on the Rappahannock. So we fished from the dock, tossing baits out to 9 and 10 feet of water. We started with shrimp, which were quickly picked off the hooks, so I switched to some strips of Fishbites in the bloodworm variety.
Bang. A bite, then another. Unfortunately, these were small spot and croakers pecking away, but as the tide began moving, we caught bigger fish. We ended up with 20 or 30 that afternoon, then took the boat out to the Rapp and caught maybe 50 more the next morning in 20 to 22 feet of water, and everyone on Fishbites.
We ended up catching spot, croakers, puppy drum, speckled trout, grey trout, white bass, whiting and even two ribbonfish.
Yes, Fishbites work and they saved the day.
Based out of Florida, Fishbites are made in the USA. They look like compressed bubble gum in thin strips. They use a concentrated formula that replicates the natural chemicals fish use to detect and track their prey. Fishbites gradually dissolve in water, releasing a trail of powerful feeding stimulants. When fish bite they hold on longer because the flavor and texture is similar to their natural prey, offering anglers more chances to set the hook. Fishbites are known to catch more than 85 species of saltwater fish, including red and black drum, flounder, pompano, speckled trout, grouper, snapper, and black seabass – and all the species I named above. They are amazing baits.
If you do even a little casual saltwater fishing, pick up several packs of Fishbites if you run across them in stores. I highly recommend the bloodworm scent. Put them in your tackle box and you’ll be ready when the fish are.
Fishbites, for me, saved the day.