Fishing isn’t limited to catching the biggest fish, or the most fish, or “dinner fish”; however, these are the things that most fisherman focus on, and most spend a lot of money in the process. This isn’t wrong, and there is definitely a time and place for all of these objectives. But in the long run, it can get quite boring if this is all you focus on, and it will limit your growth and creativity as a fisherman.
Fishing opportunities, particularly shore fishing opportunities, are widely available if you are willing to think a bit smaller. When my kids were young, I would take them shore fishing for “small stuff”. They were always very happy to catch a 5-gallon bucket full of pinfish. Some trips though, we caught much more than just pinfish and this was eye opening to me. With small enough hooks, you can catch just about anything, and a whole world opens up when you purposely downsize your tackle. Not only will you catch small fish, you will catch the occasional larger fish, too. Even if you don’t, you’re likely to catch a large variety. Here are some pics of fish caught over the years using smaller fish hooks:
Advantages of Fishing for Small Fish
One thing that I like about fishing for small fish is that it puts an emphasis on catching “what’s there”. It won’t matter that you’re not in the best fishing spot because small fish are likely swimming right at your feet and you can catch them with the right tackle.
Advantages of fishing for small fish include:
- Great way to keep the family entertained.
- You can catch a wider variety of fish, and rarer fish.
- It’s a great backup plan for when the bigger fish aren’t around.
- Excellent way to go fishing on very windy days when the open bay/flats are too rough or dangerous to fish. Just find a protected area with some structure and catch small fish!
- You don’t care what the fishing reports say, because nobody reports on small fish.
- You can get away from the crowds and find your own secluded spot.
- It is a very relaxing way to fish because you can focus on fishing and not just catching a trophy fish or filling a cooler.
- You will likely start to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the different fish species.
- You can catch fish this way almost anywhere there is hard structure, but this can be a good way to fish the surf too.
- Excellent way to catch bait (for use as live bait or cut bait) for larger species later.
What Can I Expect to Catch
Quite a lot. Here’s a list based off of our experience:
- Undersized redfish, flounder, black drum, and speckled trout
- Sand trout
- Whiting
- Pinfish
- Pigfish
- Croaker
- Sheepshead
- Catfish (keep you bait off the bottom if you prefer to avoid these)
- Mangrove snapper and other small snappers
- Jacks (various types)
- Occasional weird/rare stuff (toadfish, blennies, eels, sea robins, needlefish, ribbonfish, small grouper).
How to Catch Small Fish
Typical bottom rigs, like the Fish Finder Rig or a Single Drop Bottom Rig, will work well. The main thing you should focus on is downsizing your hooks. Hooks that you would use on keeper-sized redfish, trout, and flounder are too big for catching small fish most of the time. However, small fish hooks are oftentimes still capable of hooking and landing keeper fish! This is a fact because we have done this on more than a few occasions.
It can be great fun to do this type of fishing with an ultralight rod or a kid’s rod, but do not feel like you need to go out and buy an extra rod if you don’t want to; your normal inshore/bay rods will work just fine for this (see information here on selecting a bay rod).
It’s always a good idea to keep a stash of small hooks in your tackle box/bag. I keep an assortment of small hooks in an Altoids can:
Here are some of the small hooks from my collection, compared to a quarter:
After you tie on a small hook, simply add a small piece of shrimp and drop your bait into the water right next to whatever structure is nearby (pilings, rocks, bulkhead, etc.). Your bait can be on the bottom or suspended (your preference), but keep it very close to hard structure if you can. These small fish love to hang close to structure and you are almost guaranteed to start getting quick nibbles. Keep your line tight and let them eat the bait. They will usually hook themselves and there is no need to set the hook very hard.
For comparison purposes, here are some hooks that I use for keeper-sized/oversized fish:
These hooks are excellent for their intended purpose, but small fish will pick these hooks clean! If you find that you’re getting nibbles on hooks in this size range but you keep getting picked clean, put on some small hooks and start catching!
In a nutshell, that’s how you target small fish. Try this method once in a while and you’re sure to have a blast. And it’s better than getting skunked.
Have a reel good day,
– The Simple Fisherman