The Ultimate Live Bait

in Salt Water
or Fresh Water

The Black Salty

The Black Salty baitfish is specially bred and pond-raised by I.F. Anderson Farms, Inc., a 50-year-old bait hatchery located in the scenic little town of Lonoke, Arkansas. I.F. Anderson biologists and staff utilize a proprietary, patent-pending process that enables the Black Salty to stay alive on the hook in saltwater for up to 1-1/2 hours.

On the average, inshore-size Black Salty baitfish measure from 2-1/2 to 3 inches long, with approximately 30 fish to a pound. Offshore Black Saltys measure around 4 to 4-1/2 inches, with roughly 15 fish per pound. Extensive field testing has proven both sizes to be extremely effective on a broad variety of gamefish.

Rigging Your Black Salty

Inshore or offshore, anglers can cover most all bases by utilizing one of several popular terminal rigging methods. With all of these it is standard procedure to hook the Black Salty through the body, below the rear of the dorsal fin and immediately above the backbone. Occasionally, fishermen hook the Black Salty through the lips or eye sockets, particularly when bottom-fishing inshore baits for flounder or drifting and trolling offshore baits for king mackerel and other surface species. Many striped bass anglers, both freshwater and saltwater, also prefer through-the-eye-socket hook placement in order to enhance proper bait "tracking." It's always wise to experiment with various rigs and rigging in order to determine the most effective presentation on a given day for a given species of gamefish.

Freeline Rig

"Freelining" is just that, simply fishing a Black Salty baitfish without a weight. This setup works extremely well around offshore oil rigs and pipe stands. Inshore, particularly near jetty rocks, freelining is the best way to probe heavy structure for large speckled trout and other predators without hanging up and losing tackle.

In freshwater, freelining is also very effective for approaching largemouth bass on the edges of weedbeds, boat docks, rip-rap and other structure.

Affix a black barrel swivel to the mainline, then a short leader (preferably fluorocarbon) of sufficient pound-test. Tie on a wide-gap single hook with a loop knot so the bait can swim freely and with minimal resistance.

click photo to enlarge

Carolina (Fishfinder) Rig

A fishfinder rig is essentially the same as a freeline rig, the difference being the addition of an egg sinker and plastic bead above the swivel. The amount of weight is determined by a combination of bait size, desired depth and the amount of current.

For both color attraction and knot protection, thread a plastic bead to the mainline after affixing the weight. Add a popping cork or rattling plastic Alameda float to the fishfinder rig for surface-fishing applications or when working baits over shallow and abrasive structure such as rocks and oyster shell.

click photo to enlarge

Shock (Surf Rod) Leader

Popular among beachfront anglers who use long, 10- to 12-foot rods to cast baits into the surf, the shock leader is actually a leader within a leader. Coupled with a wire-pronged "surf spider" weight, it is designed to hold even large live baits in place despite fast-moving tidal currents between nearshore sand bars.
Tie the mainline (25- to 30-pound-test) to a heavy black barrel swivel. Affix an 18-inch length of leader material (50-pound-test) to the bottom of the swivel; then add a plastic bead, thread on a snap swivel, add another plastic bead and tie the end to another large black barrel swivel. Tie a two-foot length of leader to the lower swivel and affix, with a loop knot, the appropriate hook.
Use either a large wide-gap single hook or circle hook. Circle hooks are preferred by many fishermen, especially catch-and-release enthusiasts. A circle hook sets itself in the fish's jaw upon the strike and subsequent "shock," and very rarely causes serious injury to the catch.

click photo to enlarge

Species You Can Catch

Inshore, the Black Salty is deadly on speckled trout, redfish, flounder, black drum, gafftop catfish, Spanish mackerel and a broad variety of sharks and other incidental species.

Offshore-size Black Salty baitfish account for all the popular surface species, including king mackerel, cobia, dorado and bonito, along with red snapper, grouper, amberjack, yellowfin and blackfin tuna and wahoo.

In freshwater, the Black Salty has been proven extremely effective for striped bass, hybrid stripers, largemouth bass and virtually all species of catfish. Catfish anglers after large yellow cats (a.k.a. "ops" or "flatheads") and big blue cats selectively target trophy-size fish with offshore-size Black Salty baitfish.

These baits are also irresistible when sight-casted to cobia, and make superb tarpon baits as well.

The bottom line?
If it eats baitfish, you can catch it on a Black Salty.

FedEx is a Registered Trademark of Federal Express Corp.