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Sailfish
 
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| I was taught to catch sand fleas with a colonder/stainer from the kitchen in Melbourne, FL. Walk along the beach until you see them, then run towards on the out going and kneel and scoop. Then when I first saw the rake, I had to have one. I have kept them alive for three - four days in the refrigerator, they musy have air. My wife does not like the live things in there, but I prevail.
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Grouper
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Ive been surf fishing for two years...man your posts sure would have saved me alot of time figuring this stuff out...amazing and very informative! Hope to see you on the beach...I live near crystal beach.
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Trigger
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If you store sandfleas, don't let the waste material accumulate in the bottom of the container. It will kill them for sure. Flush with fresh sea water and they'll live longer.
I've just about gotten away from sandfleas. I have been using jigs tipped with shrimp.
A couple of right coast friends showed up for fishing lessons and we caught a bunch of fish with some of the largest whiting that I have seen in ages; one was 16 inches long!
What they brought over for bait was salted clams; yes; salted clams. They worked for both whiting and Pompano with one legal redfish.
We had to make long casts to reach the clear water but when we did, the fish were there and willing. Anything close was a waste. C2
A Game Law Violator is a Thief
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Mingo
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| Sailor, I was looking for some recently on Pensacola Beach, but didn't see any. Obviously, you did well when you found them. Do you have to cover a lot of beach before you find them? I was thinking that maybe this was not a good time of the year for them. Thanks for the great info!
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Mingo
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Yeah, I haven't seen a single one here at Perdido. I figured Ike probably had something to do with that.
yakyakyakyakyak
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Grouper
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Just saw Andrew Zimmern on Food Network in Thailand eating these.... Rinse thoroughly, pull off legs and deep fry in tempura batter......
SWEET OKOLE800-hanapa'a '91 23FT TROPHY 200 YAMAHA
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Mingo
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Yeah, they called them "sea cicadas"!
yakyakyakyakyak
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Mingo
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| Freeline, Saw your post, went down to the beach and looked around, tough times here in Destin too. Thought I saw a few pods but when I went over to them, nothing. Looked all over, but didnt really see anything. I have heard they move out to the outer sandbars in the winter but too warm for that. Anyways, caught maybe 3 small ones and one mother on the first sandbar just by blind raking. 
Gave up and just tried to fish with shrimp some. About an hour later, noticed the tide was coming in and saw some colonies I thought. 
That's a pod in the middle. They only come up when the waves are going out. 
Bad picture but you can see a few fleas sticking their antennas up as the wave goes out. 
Finally managed to rake these up in one swoop after a few hours of looking I went the other day and didnt see any. Someone else went that night on a high tide and got a bunch. So, I would recommend looking when the tide is coming in. When the tide is low, I have noticed the fleas don't really show up until the waves recede a long ways. Also, I noticed there were a lot of birds out today walking the beach, so bet the fleas were out deep and didn't come in until the sun started to set and tide started to come in. Hope someone else can jump in here, still learning here. Good luck....
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Grouper
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I wounder if you could do a cajun sandflea boil and suck the juice out of thier head. Don't look like much meat in the tail though!!!
 2932 WESTFIELD ROAD GULF BREEZE FL. 32563 850 934 8609/554 6172
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Mingo
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| Thanks, Sailor. That helps in knowing what to look for. Glad they are here (or at least close by). Sounds like they are not always a sure thing, and sometimes a back-up plan for bait is necessary.
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Snapper
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| Andrew Zimmern ate sand fleas in Thailand on his show last night. They pick off the legs and deep fry them. He said they tasted alot like softshell crabs.
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Ruby Red Lip
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| Sailor, you should be on TV somewhere...espn, fsn, SOMETHING!! Your post was so informative and the pics incredible! Thank you SO very much! We try very hard to read, retain and use all the info that is so generously given to us on this forum and we appreciate you and all other "tutorials" more than you'll ever know! ((paying attention to the new penny Gulps is why I got my slot red last week!!)) Thank you SO much for this great post!
2007 TROPHY Pro  2152 walkaround 190 merc i/o NIGHTWOLF
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Grouper
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when are sand flea's in say season?
Cape Horn 17, 115 Yamaha Catching what I can and keeping what I'm allowed.
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Mingo
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| From what I have read about them, the sand fleas leave the beach and head out to water 6' or deeper in the winter. When they leave they beach, I dont really know, maybe somebody else can help here. Know they are hard to find again until sometime around April.
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Ruby Red Lip
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This post is awesome! I am new to the entire concept of surf fishing and have been pondering the whole sand flea thing...you make it sound easy, which surely menas I will have a hell of a time being successful!
thanks!
Derrick
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Sailfish
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Trigger
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Good post Sailor50. I hook mine the same way. Did any body mention what a nice rake you got. Looks like you built it, if so great job.
_________________________________Go Long Go Deep & Bend Your Rod  Chefpomp
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Mingo
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| I bought that rake 10 years ago at a bait store that has since closed down around Santa Rosa beach. But I saw some just like it at the Eglin BX a few weeks ago for around $30, sure they sell them in Pensacola too. Been a good rake, no problems with it. I know you can catch fleas along the shore of the Destin East pass also, not just the beach. Really have not looked for them in the bay, so I dont know about that. And saw my first colony of the year this morning down among the old crystal beach Pier pilings with their antennas sticking out of the sand, so they area coming back up on the beach.
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Grouper
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Sailfish
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Cigar Minnow
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Nice post.
I have found sand fleas in the surf in South Carolina, Gulf coast, and Northern California (they are giant size in CA and the water was very cold in March). I'm assuming they can be found in the surf of almost any beach in the Western hemisphere if not the entire world.
The thing that I don't know about sand fleas is what size works best on which species or does it matter? I generally avoid the really small baits thinking (rightly or wrongly I don't know) that small baits = small fish, plus they are more difficult to hook without destroying. If anyone has any insight about bait size please share.
As for species caught, ... this is an amazing bait. Pomp, whiting, sheepshead, reds, and I know someone will call me out on this and call me a liar but last August in Myrtle Beach, SC I caught a nice spanish mackeral on a sand flea! I couldn't believe it, had never heard of it before, but I swear it happened.
I love sand fleas since they are generally plentiful, you can release alive whatever you don't use, don't cost anything and appeal to a wide variety of fish. When they are abundant I don't even bother with a rake. Once you learn what your looking for you can just walk over to a colony, run your hand through the sand about 2" deep until you feel him and scoop him out of the sand with your hand. When they are not so abundant you need to go ahead and collect what you may need when you find them because 5 minutes from now they may or may not be there and you may not find any more without walking a long way.
Now if someone could expand this thread or start a new one, I would love to hear some thoughts and experience with respect to bait placement with respect to species, time of day, time of year, time of tide, etc.
www.themastersplumbingco.com
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Ruby Red Lip
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| That was sweet man. Keep up the good work. You make lookin at your flea pic almost more fun than lookin at pics of fish . . . Okay not really, but that was a grat post!!! LOL!
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Trigger
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Mingo
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Ive read through this post maybe 4 times now since it was originally posted. I have something to add in terms of keepin them alive. A buddy of mine taught me this and it works well. Take a small mesh bag, like a dive bag that you use to collect things or a small laundry bag. Keep the fleas in the bag and drape the bag into a cooler with ice in the bottom (I just use a 32 oz gatorade bottle and freeze a block of ice in it). Before you leave the beach dip the bag in the saltwater to give them a good rinse and when you go home just keep the cooler in a shaded place so the sun isnt beating down on it. Just check up on the ice to make sure it still cool in the cooler and ensure that the fleas arent making direct contact with the frozen surface. I've kept them alive for up to 4 days without dipping them back in saltwater. Naturally the more you are able to rinse them in the salt the longer they will last. Ive posted this before but I think its more relevent on this thread.
Tight Lines!!!
Anthony
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