Pigfish fishing in Florida

Pigfish are small grunts, rarely longer than a hand, with bronze spots and blue lines on the head, and they grunt when you lift them from the water. They live over grass beds, oyster bars, docks and piers all around Florida's bays and are easy for children to catch through the warm months. Their real value is as bait: a live pigfish is one of the best offerings for big spotted seatrout, and snook, redfish and grouper eat them readily too. Catch them on a sabiki or a small split-shot rig with a size 6–8 hook baited with a speck of shrimp or squid, fished over grass or along the pier. Keep them lively in an aerated bucket and hook them lightly through the lips or behind the dorsal fin. They have sharp spines on the back, so hold them with a wet hand sliding from head to tail. Tackle is just an ultralight rod and 6–10 lb line.