ive been 2 lots of lakes & canals and have seen alot of bait fish around,lil minnow/sardine looking fish,i was wondering if i put a casting net in the water & use some of those minnows as live bait, with a bobber or to the bottom,would those minnows be an effective bait for all sorts of fish,especialy bass?..ive done this in salt water for sardinze/mullets and they make great bait fish.....your comments is very appriciated.thank u

Very bad idea as in florida its not legal to castnet in fresh water.

Very bad idea as in florida its not legal to castnet in fresh water.

Whoa etommy, Castnetting maybe illegal where you are in FL. but here in central FL, we cast net shiners for live bait all the time, it's legal and you don't need a licsence to net them but don't try to sell them. Now granted it's illegal to use bream for live bait if they've been caught in a cast net.  But if you catch the bream on hook and line he's legal bait.

Do it all the time in Tenn.  Bait for Stripers, crappie, bass, catfish, etc.  Beats the heck out of buying bait and you know you have what the fish are feeding on.  My PB 12 lb bass was caught using a live minnow under a bobber!!!

Idk what the regs are but if legal then yes, it is very good bait. I have used them for Pike with success. You can also put an egg sinker on and use it on the bottom for flatheads

Castnets in Florida are legal for catching baitfish in freshwater for recreational use, I believe there is a mesh size requirement. 

everybody is sooo concerned about the legal part of it,geeezz the US gov, has done a great job at scaring its people with laws about everything (but we r a 100% free country)hahaha....anyways i dont care about the legal end of it..i just thought it would be a great idea to  feed the fish on the same bait fish they feed on while in the lakes/canals..ive done it in saltwater and   it works great,better then any bait u can buy..4those of u that use casting nets do u throw anyt type of bait in the b4 the casting net 2 attract the bait fish???

everybody is sooo concerned about the legal part of it,geeezz the US gov, has done a great job at scaring its people with laws about everything (but we r a 100% free country)hahaha....anyways i dont care about the legal end of it..i just thought it would be a great idea to  feed the fish on the same bait fish they feed on while in the lakes/canals..ive done it in saltwater and   it works great,better then any bait u can buy..4those of u that use casting nets do u throw anyt type of bait in the b4 the casting net 2 attract the bait fish???

 

 

Let me guess you don't believe in purchasing a fishing liscense or obeying slot and creel limits either SMH

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Regarding netting and live bait fishing:

 

I fish live bait for both smallmouth and striper. I don't use a bobber, but that might be the ticket in Florida,

depending on where you are fishing. On the Tennessee River I fish a split shot rig for smallmouth and a

3-way swivel for striper. The key is ticking the bottom without getting hung-up. Let the bait swim on it's own

for a natural presentation.

your correct non game fish, I never considered it since the only live bait I use are bream.

Fishing from shore in South Florida lakes and canals I'd probably use a bobber, most I have fished are fairly shallow.  If I were to fish with weight using a live shiner I might try a trolley rig or variation of.  

ive done well in salt water with a bobber and a live sardine or shirimp,but have never tryed it in freshwater,,hey has any body used these lil minnows u can buy to eat in stores called ( smellts) they look like a  thin sardine,i used it once (dead) with a sinker to the bottom of a 30ft lake and something big hit it and popped my 15lb..line,im assuming it was a big cat fish.

Good idea if it you are within the rules. We fish for stripers and largemouth with llive shad all the time here in NC. We catch them in cast nets and place them in shad barrels. Very effective for cats too.

I don't know about other states but in NC, cast net can be used to catch NON GAME FISH. A buddy of mine got a ticket for getting bream in his net and he didn't release them. Game warden saw it and wrote him up. Just make sure you know the rules

here in miami i see folks using casting nets all the time in saltwater from the beach,docks, bridges u name it..if i were 2use it in freshwater.id do a few cast and hide the net 2 be safe in my boat or truck to be safe,if the warrden sees the bait offcorse im gonna have a rods in the water 2 justify  the bait...i realy dont think they r gona bring  casting net sniffing dogs hahah..