Pinfish
Catching Pinfish:
Pinfish are one of the easiest baitfish to catch. The species is commonly encountered over bare sand, rock reefs, and off of inlet jetties. They are more active at night. A small piece of salted shrimp or a chunk of gulp shrimp on a size 1 or size 2 hook with a small bobber will take pinfish. Pinfish traps are the most efficient technique to take pinfish. Purchase traps online, or your local tackle shop. The tunnel opening to a pinfish trap is different from a regular minnow trap. It is a vertical opening rather than a round hole.
Food Value:
None
Regulations:
Permanently affixed the harvester’s name and address to the trap.
Attach a buoy to the trap no smaller than 6 inches and marked with a legible “R” that is at least 2 inches tall
Life Cycle:
Adult pinfish are found offshore in 30 to 50 feet of water. The juveniles are what we catch inshore. They are tolerant of a large temperature range of 50-95 degrees so they should be present during most weather conditions. It takes about 1 year for a pinfish to mature. During fall mature pinfish migrate offshore to spawn. They do not return inshore. The pinfish population inshore is at its lowest from fall to early winter.
Migration:
Move offshore from late fall to early spring. Juveniles are abundant inshore during the summer months.