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Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:27 pm
by TxTarpon
Trolling through the central Texas lake records and noticed that the record gar in Lake Granger was caught on a goldfish.

I'm a big fan of gar fishing and now I'm curious about this.

Anyone ever tried goldfish? What kind? Is petsmart my new bait shop?

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:43 pm
by jsharp
I have used gold fish on juglines and caught some big yellow cats before they work pretty good our bait shop sold live gold fish so not sure if pet smart gold fish would work or not but i dont see why not good luck and if you try ti post up and let us know how it goes

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:05 pm
by hdcowboy
They used to make great bass bait at the lake we used to fish at when we were younger. We got them from the aquarioum store, not too sure how legal they are to use nowadays though, thought I remembered some talk about them a while back being an invasive species.

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:29 pm
by tbeak
they are usually pretty small at petsmart and about .15/piece.

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:39 pm
by Cruisin_Cuda
I remember hearing something along the lines of them being an invasive species and that they were either illegal to use or frowned upon. I'm out of time at work or I'd look into it...

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 8:08 pm
by bbop
I buy them at bait shops during the winter when I can't get shad so easy=
Around 6 dollars a dozen.

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:21 pm
by TxTarpon
Checked around TPW site and couldn't find anything about goldfish being an invasive species or discouraged as a bait. Looks like I'll be hitting up the pet shop later this week.

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:34 pm
by Infidel
No laws against it that I'm aware of. Used them a lot for bass in the local ponds when I lived in The Woodlands. Large feeder goldfish were about .24 each I think. Bigger, prettier, tougher, cheaper, and more convenient than buying bait minnows. Circle hook about a foot below a little Thill balsa bobber. Those were some good ol' days.

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:59 pm
by kayakbassTX
I was talking to a guy while launching at Fayette today and he was using gold fish today for bass with no luck. He was surprised they didn't work. My lures didn't work either. :horse:

Re: Goldfish as bait.

Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:28 pm
by daveg99
ive bought them at bait shops. I have caught striper and large mouth on gold fish. One day I did really well with them on the brazos in 35 degree weather.