I've been fishing the bama coast off and on since I was a kid. I used to catch all my big fish on small croakers, or pinfish, or finger mullet. I haven't had any luck all year doing this. Just the occasional gaff top. What gives? Could there be something I am doing wrong? I'm pretty damn good at hunting deer but I ain't pretty good at catching redfish or specks yet. Any of yalls advice is greatly appreciated.

im gonna catch em on croakers thursday morning.. at least thats the plan. where are you fishing ?

I'm probably just not holding my mouth right. I fish in weeks bay, Perdido bay, and sometimes I'll go down to ft Morgan. I heard the boat ramp just opened back up down there.

What kind of structure are you fishing and how are you rigging them? We always have much better luck when we can free-line the croakers over something. A slip cork will work fine, but there's something about a free-lined croaker over a rock pile that gets the trout going.

Get some green backs

Some days they want fin baits, some days they want shrimp and some days they want nothing.

If I'm not throwing artificials, all I use for big trout and reds are live croakers 4-8" free lined or mullet the same size. For me, those two baits in that size range weed out most of the catfish and trash that you'll catch on smaller baits or menhaden. I've caught literally thousands of schoolie trout 1-4 lbs and even some good ones on menhaden and live shrimp but if you want to target the better quality fish, big mullet or croakers are the way to go. Now if you're fishing Dixie Bar, or down around the Destin bridge and jetties, you can jump up to 12-14" croakers and mullet and still be fine on the reds. Biggest trout I ever caught ate a 8-9" mullet free-lined.

Live croakers are awesome big trout bait. I like to freeline them with a small circle hook. No cork.

That's the ticket right there.

Damn 12 inches?

You talking about a croaker 12-14 inches or using one for bait that big. On the bar the reds are huge and have no problem with a big bait.

Thanks for the advice. I've always had em on the bottom but what y'all are saying makes perfect sense.

When free lining them, hooking them in different spots also makes them do different things. When they are suspended, I like to hook in the nose and when I want them on bottom or closer to bottom I’ll hook them below there back bone between butt and tail fin

Y'all salt lifers need to remember that us Hillbillies, or at least some of us don't know what a croaker is. Post a dang picture.

Up here if somebody said croaker, you'd get two thoughts. A burlap sack, or a frog.

Atlantic Croaker.

What Fur said!

croaker looks like a redfish but with different markings. it depends on where you're fishing for them, if the current is ripping through a spot, you're going to need some weight, if the current isn't moving the free lining them would be fine. Specs and Redfish are also finicky when it comes to the size leader and or line your using. I don't use anything over 12 lb mono with about a 15lb florocarbon leader. try using different colored line for different water clarities also. We catch the piss out of them around OBA. My favorite time to fish for them is when the current is coming in at night around the lights. you basically ride around until you find a good light with fish popping around and sight fish for them

I've heard them called Ronkers, too...

Catch one and you'll know why they call them croakers.