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Would you like to go hogfish fishing? Do you want to learn how to catch hogfish? Hogfish are a member of the wrasse family of fishes. It is difficult to catch using a regular hook and line because of its pig-shaped snout and also because it only picks at bait which makes it difficult to hook them. In this article, we share information about hogfish, fishing methods, fishing tips, and other information to improve your chances of catching more hogfish.
Table of Contents
How To Catch Hogfish
1. Still Fishing
Still fishing is used by both beginners and experienced anglers to catch fish. When stillwater fishing, you drop your line with bait to the bottom and wait for a strike. When you get a strike, quickly reel in the catch.
2. Drift Fishing
When drifting, you move the boat slowly over with a weighted bait over different habitats to catch fish. With drifting, you cover a lot of areas and can catch a variety of fish as you move over different habitats. You can use drifting over ponds, streams, lakes, and rivers.
3. Chumming
Chumming can be used to fish for hogfish. When chumming, you drop pieces of cut bait like shrimp into the water to attract the attention of fish. When the odor of the bait permeates the water, the fish will come to eat the cut baits. You can drop little bits at regular intervals. It is important that you don’t drop many pieces to fill up the fish; just tiny pieces to get them closer to you. Once they are attracted to your location, you can then send them to bait on the hook to get them.
4. Night Fishing
You can also fish for hogfish during the night. Most fish are less wary during the night as most of their predators are not around because of poor vision. This encourages hogfish to come out at night to feed. Many anglers have discovered night fishing is more productive than day fishing.
Hogfish Tackle Setup
A medium-action spinning fishing rod with a 20-pound test will work for catching hogfish. Use the rod and reel with a 1/2-ounce jig head with a 2/0 hook.
How To Catch Hogfish In The Keys
Hogfish can be found on sandy bottoms around reefs, wrecks, coral patches, and rock croppings. Live shrimps, clams, small crabs, mollusks, and sand fleas are used as bait when fishing for hogfish. Bottom fishing and jigging are fishing methods used when fishing for hogfish.
How To Catch Hogfish In The Gulf of Mexico
When fishing for hogfish in the Gulf of Mexico, look for them over hard bottoms and ledges. Shrimps and crabs are the baits that are often used when fishing for hogfish. Chumming and baitcasting are fishing methods used to catch hogfish.
Best Hogfish Bait
1. Shrimp
Live shrimp is one of the best baits for hogfish.
2. Crustaceans
Crustaceans are excellent when fishing for hogfish as they feed on crustaceans, shrimp, crabs, and other small crustaceans.
3. Squid
Squid also works well as bait for hogfish.
Hogfish Fishing Tips
1. Hogfish is usually found among coral reefs and on sandy bottoms at depths from 10 to 100 feet.
2. The best time to catch hogfish is in the winter from November to the end of February.
3. Hogfish can be caught year-round.
4. Hogfish are not fond of cut bait.
5. Chumming can be used to attract hogfish closer to your boat.
6. Peel the shrimp and hook it from head to tail.
7. Hogfish can be caught using drifting fishing, still fishing, chumming, and night fishing.
8. Light bottom tackle can be used to catch hogfish while anchoring over hard bottoms.
9. Spearfishing can be used to catch hogfish.
10. It is challenging to catch hogfish with a regular hook and line setup due to the pig-shaped snout of the hogfish.
11. If you have little to no experience catching hogfish, you can sign up for a fishing charter to benefit from the experience and guidance of a fishing captain who knows the fishing area and where to find hogfish.
12. Hogfish have the tendency to just pick at the bait, making them hard to hook.
13. When hogfish are hooked, they put up a spirited fight as they drag the line seeking a rock crevice for safety.
14. Knowing the area they are located in, the right tackle and bait are important to catching hogfish.
The Bottom Line
Hogfish is found in the Gulf of Mexico and on the east coast. It is a member of the wrasse family and can be challenging to catch with a hook and line because of its pig-shaped snout and its tendency to pick at the bait making it hard to hook. In this article, we discussed fishing methods, fishing tips, and other information to help you successfully catch hogfish.
If you also go fishing for garfish, bonefish, permit, and bowfin, then read how to catch garfish, how to catch bonefish, how to catch permit, and how to catch bowfin.
