"We'll need some bait,-¿ said Willcox, and he slowed down in an area that to my Northeast eye looked like any other part of the expanse of blue around us. Willcox dropped a bag of chum over the side, told Joe to shake it, and started draping sections of a 10-foot-diameter castnet over his shoulder. After four throws we had about six dozen 2- to 4-inch pilchards and pinfish in the baitwell. "These work well, especially the pinfish,-¿ said Willcox, as we scrabbled around the deck, grabbing the bait that flipped out of the net. "Ow!-¿ said Joe, wincing as one of the sharp-dorsal-finned baitfish snapped out of his palm. "That's why they're called pinfish,-¿ said Willcox. "OK, this is fun, but we have enough bait. Let's go.-¿

TIP: Live shrimp are the default bait for most Keys shore species--snappers, grunts, bonefish, even "baby-¿ tarpon, which means a fish weighing up to 20 pounds or so. Don't take up valuable luggage space by packing a bait bucket; buy an inexpensive one at any tackle shop and give it to a fellow fishermen before you go home.