Speaking of which. . . anyone use sunfish as bass bait?

[jamesstock]

I suppose you couldn't do it until the third Saturday in June. But just wondering. . .

[KenH]

Well you could do it now, just can't keep any bass until June 20th.
Assuming you're not talking about tossing it on a bed during spawn
for an anger strike, I wouldn't use sunfish as bait because most predatory fish
prefer fish with softray fins instead of spines. Easier to swallow and such.
And in the reservoirs where sawbellies are the prime forage for everything,
I suspect sunfish would rate well behind shiners, crayfish and nightcrawlers
as LMB bait. In fact maybe behind most bass lures and artificials.
That said, LMB can be really aggressive sometimes and attack just about
anything so you never know. I know that live sunfish are used
down south for big flathead catfish and maybe also inland stripers.
My 2 cents. If anyone catches bass on sunfish please educate me.

Ken

[VinnyH]

I have some artificial lures that have bluegill and sunfish patterns. Basically you tend to have a better chance of tempting fish with their natural food sources. For the clear waters of Kensico I'd go with anything that looks like trout, perch, bluegills, golden shiners, alewives, and crawfish.

Rigging some of those options live must be a chore.

Best to All,
Vinny

[joel137]

sunfish strips make good catfish bait

[Intybl]

2 days to d day..does Kensico have lunkers?

[joel137]

plenty of them please catch and release them so they will grow even bigger

[Intybl]

Sure, never ate one..how they taste?

[Batroun]

Is using sport fish as bait allowed? When I lived in the upper midwest it was strictly forbidden to use sunnies and crappies as bait.