One of those things sitting in wait just to eat you up is the marine lizard fish (Caretta dactilifera). This aquatic terror of the ocean is mostly composed of powerful jaw and mouth elements, which means that once it gets you in its mouth there’s really no escape: once you struggle inside its mouth the only way out is forward: the further you go the more it eats you. It will tear off your flesh as it goes; breathe in fresh air as it sucks all the oxygen from you and gulp it down; swallow all the blood that it can (there are few exceptions to this rule). You’ll be in terrible pain before you realise what’s happening, but once you are in the mouth you’re already suffering: the lizard is tearing and eating at you with its prehensile teeth.
This is why it’s very important to have a suitable bait in the right hand as you approach a lake in order to catch a great number of inshore lizardfish. To fish for inshore lizardfish you generally need to use a bait that lives in the shallows (that’s right: it swims along the top of the water column until it bumps into a bump and sticks to it) and that moves slowly and easily in the water. There are few types of bait that can do both exceptionally well. I like the black night crawler because it is not only very fast and easy to move; it also moves along the bottom of the water column easily, making it ideal bait for inshore lizardfish.
Some other very good lizardshark baits are the cylinder Cayenne roe, the small blue devil shrimp, the silver or black anemone shrimp, and the small purple anemone shrimp. All of these are excellent lizardshark baits, because they are all very effective at bringing home the big one. That’s why they are so often used by fishing anglers. The cylindrical body of the cylinder Cayenne roe is especially adept at driving the little lizardfish up to the bait and then letting it drag it across the bottom of the lake in search of the meal that is waiting there. And the anemone shrimp is equally adept at drawing the attention of the lizardfish.
Some other good lizardshark bait that you should know about are the snapper, the small white sturgeon, and the tiny rainbow trout. All three of these are capable of drawing in trout from different distances. For example, the snapper can easily be lured up to the bait using a jig lure, and the sturgeon can be lured in using either a live or dead worm. The small rainbow trout is quite capable of moving around from one place to another and will even feed on small crustaceans, worms and insects that might fall into the water. These are some of the better lizardshark baits and will usually attract the trout that inhabit the lake most effectively. But if you want to venture into the deeper waters, such as 20 feet or more, you’ll find that the big largemouth bass, walleye and other large predatory fish are really the best baits.
There are some common characteristics that all of these lizardsharks have in common, and you should be aware of them. They all have a cylindrical body, which can measure anywhere from twelve inches to twenty-four inches across. Their heads will also be short, but can grow to be quite long. Their eyes are located in the center of their head, behind their almond shaped mask. And they all have webbed hind legs, for swimming.
The color of your lizardfish is also an important thing to keep in mind. It’s best to get one with a color that has been bred in captivity, such as the bright blue of the common silver-banded albacore, or the reds, pinks and oranges of the spotted light gray albacore. The best colors to obtain are the brighter ones, as they will stand out more when you’re fishing. You may also try getting a captive bred blue albacore or even a red, green or orange one if you can. Their mouths shouldn’t be hooked at the edge, and they should look for places where the water is choppy and deep. This is a very important aspect of catching deep-sea fish, and it’s something that you absolutely have to keep in mind.
When you’re trying to locate the best lizard shark bait, you need to pay close attention to the temperature of the water. If it’s warm, then live rock and other live food are ideal. If it’s cooler, then dead fish, shads and chicken livers are great bait. Catching fish on live bait is much more likely than catching them on artificial lures, though.
A good test to determine which fish a particular lake or pond has is to go looking for the same fish in a different lake or pond two days later. That way, you’ll know if the water has gotten any warmer or colder compared to normal. If the water temperature has gone up, then you know that there are plenty of shallow waters where you can catch lots of lizardfish. On the other hand, if the water temperature has dropped a lot, then you’ll know that those same waters are not going to be as suitable for stocking.
