# live HardHeads as Tarpon Bait???



## Klesak1 (Aug 29, 2012)

I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


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## Fitzgerald (Nov 11, 2013)

I haven't fished for tarpon much with live bait, but thirty years ago offshore Texas I saw a couple of cobia cruising, threw a live hardhead near them and they raced to pound it. I landed the winner.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*??*



Klesak1 said:


> I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


not worth the trouble, they feed on shad and mullet. There are massive schools of shad out front and very easy to catch with a sabiki. i prefer lures, otherwise you spend the day fighting massive sharks, jacks and bull reds. :texasflag


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## Klesak1 (Aug 29, 2012)

c hook said:


> not worth the trouble, they feed on shad and mullet. There are massive schools of shad out front and very easy to catch with a sabiki. i prefer lures, otherwise you spend the day fighting massive sharks, jacks and bull reds. :texasflag


I was hoping to drift with crab to avoid the sharks. I will only be fishing the days itâ€™s to rough to cruise the beach. On the days itâ€™s calm enough to cruise the beach Iâ€™m usually offshore fishing. So Usually when Iâ€™m out itâ€™s muddy water on which ever surf side of the jetties is protected

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hunter (Sep 3, 2004)

Klesak1 said:


> I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


Never worked for me, and I tried after reading those same articles.

Mullet are a solid option.


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## Davidsel47 (Apr 10, 2019)

c hook said:


> not worth the trouble, they feed on shad and mullet. There are massive schools of shad out front and very easy to catch with a sabiki. i prefer lures, otherwise you spend the day fighting massive sharks, jacks and bull reds. :texasflag


That still sounds like a lot of fun!


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## Scott A (Jun 21, 2016)

Klesak1 said:


> I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


Never had any luck using them. I think maybe small ones could work, just snip the fins before using. going to all that trouble, just use croaker.


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## hunt91 (Jun 27, 2014)

I hooked one in Florida using a live hard head as bait. Didn't land it because I couldn't chase the fish, but I at least jumped one!


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## mad_max (Aug 10, 2013)

Klesak1 said:


> I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


The only fish that I've heard of people specifically using hardheads as bait for are bull sharks and cobia. I've never heard of them as tarpon bait, but who knows?

One night several years ago, I decided to try hardheads as bait - I clipped the dorsal and pectoral spines and nicked the tail, and wound up catching several huge crevalle jack, all over 20 lbs, off the end of the Port Aransas jetty.


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## Rudefish223 (Dec 6, 2017)

Klesak1 said:


> I have come across several articles talking about how live hardheads make great tarpon bait. Has anyone ever tried using them on here? Just curious if they work as good as they say they do or if it is just a florida thing?


I assume you are talking about hard head croakers, not catfish.

I use hard head croakers a lot in Florida for Tarpon. Friday I went 4-10 on tarpon using hard heads and one was on a pilchard. If you have Silver trout or weakfish, they make a great bait too. I use them year round when I can get them. When they are feeding on glass minnows or pilchards, sometimes its good to give them something different they like to eat!


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## Ryan H. (May 10, 2011)

as a matter of principle, I put any small hardheads on a circle hook and throw them out, sort of a mojo thing

I have NEVER caught anything on the hardhead


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