L_S_2015_04_

http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 115

Mangrove Snapper

FACING PAGE, TOP: Heikamp removes the dorsal fins

with all the spines from pinfish before putting them

on the hook. BELOW: Croakers should be hooked to

the rear of their bodies rather than in the middle of

their backs to make them dive.

squid for bait. The croakers were purchased from the marina.
Heikamp explained the difference in the two baits.
“Croakers dive more than pinfish because they are bottom fish,”
he said. “Pinfish are strong swimmers and can elude mangroves
better. If the snappers aren’t aggressive, pinfish don’t work as well
as croakers. But pinfish hold better in the livewell.
“Both are dang-good baits.”
Heikamp and several of the fishermen doctored their pinfish
before using them by taking a pair of scissors and snipping off
their dorsal (back) fins.
“It cuts their defenses off,” Heikamp said with a grin. “I learned
about spines. An old-timer I fished trout with was smoking me 5
to 1. He would turn away from me, but I could hear a little snap.
“He was snapping the horn off of the shrimp.”
Croakers were most often hooked through the back about two-
thirds of the way back from the head to the tail.
“That’s to make them dive,” the detail-oriented captain
explained.
But this was an experienced crew, and they experimented con-
stantly. Some hooked their baitfish through the rear of the bod-
ies, some directly in the center of the fish and some even hooked
them through the lips.
They even tried cut bait, taking slices of pogie. When they
caught hardtails on the pogie, they cut them up for bait, too.
Nothing was sacred.
“Be patient and experiment,” Heikamp coached. ■

Fred King 504-559-1689

[email protected]

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Archery & Fishing Unlimited ....... Hammond

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Don’s Country Store ........................Reserve

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Spillway Sportsman ...........................Brusly

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Z’s Tackle .........................................Lutcher