Catching Bait Hidden in Sand like a Pro

Hundreds of people walk the beaches of South Florida each day but how many actually know what lives in the sand that is beneath their feet?
Sand Fleas are arguably the best surf fishing bait but do you know how to catch them on your beach and how to store them properly for later use?
No problem if you don't because I explain everything in this short video. If you love to catch Pompano, like I have done in a few of my previous videos, Sand Fleas are a must! Follow along as I uncover these little burrowing bait fish from the surf and bring them home to package them for use on another day of fishing.
Remember to follow on Instagram @captmattbudd
For charter booking: www.jupiterfishingacademy.com

[@user-ov9ye3ys5h]

Friendly tip. We catch a lot of them in Hawaii. Instead of raking the shoreline at random, get a handful of 2ft sticks(we use branches). Take a 3ft string or fishing line, and tie it to one end of the stick. Tie the other end of the line to a piece of calamari squid. Now shove the stick down a foot in the shoreline where the water recedes near the shoreline. Place the other prepared sticks 4-5 feet apart along the beach. Just wait and watch as the water recedes. You’ll see a bunch of these sand fleas crawl towards the bait. Scoop them up with a scoop net. You’ll fill up your bucket in no time.

[@modest5312]

Thanks a lot for this tip I will be sure to use it soon. 👍

[@scottmichael3745]

Great tip bud, thank you!

[@eliraven8502]

You can also put sardines in a bottle and fill it with water then put a whole on the cap and spray it on the sand …..that’s how we do it in Barbados 🇧🇧

[@shashaw.324]

@@eliraven8502 thanks for sharing

[@aaronwright-miller5235]

Sand fleas are like the worms of salt water fishing

[@CaptMattBudd]

👍

[@Mustangs...their_Tuff]

I love sand fleas

[@Mustangs...their_Tuff]

Bc they don't harm you

[@ryanocfc8010]

The worms of salt water fishing is lug worms so many types of fish eat it so it catches everything É.G. Bass, shark, flat fish, Ray, ect

[@a.s.3.q]

@@Mustangs...their_Tuff small ones can go inside your foot skin and grow its super harmful and I'm scared from it

[@maces1405]

That's my son's job as I set up the rods. He loves sand flea hunting. My son and I are going to Daytona Beach probably next week to see if we can Max out on Pompano. I never thought about saving sand fleas. Good idea 👍

[@valattard5011]

I thought this was a joke. I had no idea those things even existed. Very cool video 👍🏻

[@robinsoto2700]

Fr man, qnd there's so many

[@doanngo1702]

Idk know how people are this dumb THE MORE YOU KNOW

[@doanngo1702]

People even think guava is not a FRICKIN FRUIT

[@benstrike9117]

I swear, I never see these things in my country.

[@alexismoraleszepeda.1697]

@@benstrike9117 theyre alot of fun to catch lol have some here in california newport beach and lots of fun 😂.

[@Beachnative42]

Thanks for posting this video and reminding me to prep for the cooler weather. I love all of your videos and the wealth of knowledge you share. Keep up the great work!!!

[@CaptMattBudd]

Thank you. I appreciate it! 🤙

[@chewie2055]

@@CaptMattBudd you are wrong in your information on what these are…they are sand moles…part of the crustacean family…sand fleas on the other hand are an insect that can be found in sandy soil in your own yard…your pets can bring them inside your home and they give a nasty bite…

[@BackgroundNi__er]

Wish I would have saw this video earlier before I went to the beach

[@beverlycriqui1103]

SAME

[@bhmbreezy5669]

Also SAME

[@bennyrowe7747]

OMG SAME

[@brandywine454]

Did you need that much?

[@connorchavez4950]

Me to

[@sgtz113ang]

Capt Matt . very well done tutorial !

[@CaptMattBudd]

Thank you!

[@cjjuddaustralianartist]

I get all the fleas I need from my ginger cat. Gawddammit!

[@mohammedmehdi1940]

😂 Lol

[@lt5444]

04:05 i died laughing How he tosses the little guy back and says here go back to your friends 😂😂

[@ONeillsOutdoors]

Nice video. Keep up the good work. We love #fishing in south Florida and hope to see you on the water sometime soon!

[@bexrightnow8052]

I love this! I will bring one of them rake things with me next time I hit the beach. Last weekend I forgot to bring a little net and ended up kneeing in the sand for quite a bit of time digging these guys up by hand

[@realinvestor222]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing!

[@jasesohard]

my friends wanted to catch crabs but I explained to them that were going to find sand fleas, i’ve only got two so far, and i still don’t understand when they come up. it was a helpful tutorial though, thanks!

[@sawyeralexander06]

Very helpful!

[@cobiemartino5662]

Sawyer Alexander short and simple. I like it

[@mrbueno3156]

Right on that was really good 👍🏽

[@Dragonrage1oo1]

intros like these bring me back to 2014.

[@vladfish]

When I grow up, I wanna be like you man 😉 excellent video.

[@CaptMattBudd]

💪

[@habibullahusaahmad9485]

So much intrested to try the tip 😍😍😍, I just frezzing and think, how stupid me in 20 years ago and now I found this video... Thank you, hope your channel bigger

[@alfa-rebel]

Really underrated channel, with you luck!

[@judgeandthejury6156]

We call them sea lice and it's tasty.

[@cupidkoii4738]

I thought those were baby crabs and one time I found one and cried the whole day because I thought I'd die😭😂

[@TheAdianne]

@@bonitahartman5537 i think low

[@cobrasquad4018]

There called sand crabs

[@chapinharrington3123]

They technically are crabs, real name is mole crabs

[@tomfrens8910]

Im glad I'm by the great lakes instead. Nothing has been able to creep me out till I seen this. Not snakes, spiders, scorpions ... but sand fleas. NOPE!

[@kenanmammadov7281]

ive caught hundreds with my hands in like an hour, they are everywhere!!!

[@CaptMattBudd]

Best bait!

[@hoangasam896]

@@CaptMattBudd whats the name of that rate, where to buy them>. I couldn't find them at all in home depot? lol

[@williamcontreras8710]

hoang asam you catch them on the beach not buy them

[@QuakAOats]

Where are you located? I’m trying to find some

[@kenanmammadov7281]

QuakA Oats in new jersey

[@davisroseee309]

I LOVE catching these but I use a net to dig in the sand and almost every time theres at leat two in the net 😊

[@EvergreenOG]

Thk u for sharing

[@AR.K.051]

Excellent video....mate..

[@CaptMattBudd]

👍

[@jorge2861]

Great 👍🏼 Video!

[@CaptMattBudd]

💪

[@renealbaladejo3698]

Great tutorial on Sand Fleas. I enjoyed your video. I subscribed to your channel. Thank you. Can you catch sand fleas in the winter? Did you make the sand flea rake? If so do you have a instruction vídeo on how to make one?

[@CaptMattBudd]

They're seasonal here in south Florida. I see most in winter time. No, I don't make my rakes. They sell them at local tackle shops.

[@aaronjrobin]

FYI - in CA, if I’m understanding the regulations correctly, there’s a bag limit of 50 on these.

[@moviemania1137]

Commiefornia

[@propbraker]

Nice video, thanks! Did you make this screen or did you buy from a store?

[@CaptMattBudd]

I bought the rake fully made from a local tackle shop.

[@Jeasira]

Those birds are mad brave

[@ForgorenWolf]

That's pretty cool, never thought off using thoses as bait

[@scottmichael3745]

Awesome bait for pompano sheephead and drum! And free when I get them myself. Freeze em by the bag. Have bait for months!

[@filegumbo]

I bought a sand flea rake to use in Santa Rosa on 30A. Literally thousands…40-50 with every scoop. You have to look at the edge of the water as it recedes and you will see little V shapes as the fleas dig in as the water recedes past them. The sand will look pockmarked like the top of a pot of boiling rice. They feel you coming though.

[@turkeytrailhoneybeefarmgeo6292]

Use to scoop em at Fort Walton Beach pier. Always a ton. Probably still.

[@lovinhouse374]

I wondered why blanch when you can go surf to freezer. Blanching hardens the shell and/or makes them last longer on the hook?

[@CaptMattBudd]

Helps them hold up better. If you don't blanch then they turn black when frozen.

[@mason9921]

Legend

[@BloominOnion1]

Used to dig these guys up when I was a kid in Virginia Beach. Got 'em by the hundreds .Now we go to the outer banks. Hard to find 'em there, don't know why. I've struggled to locate any sometimes.

[@nitrojunki4249]

informative TFTV

[@matheusdeluna1409]

Here in Brasil, we call these as Tatuí. Its tastes like shrimp. 👍

[@CaptMattBudd]

🇧🇷💪

[@an10nee]

sweet video

[@CaptMattBudd]

👍

[@landychen9027]

Waiting for a new video update

[@CaptMattBudd]

Wait is over. Using the sand fleas I caught in this video I made a new video catching pompano on them!

[@Austin-rh8su]

Live in Jupiter too nice to see a creator from the same place

[@CaptMattBudd]

😎

[@raveprod.7079]

As a kid, whenever I went out to Santa Cruz for family vacation we would go to the waves and when the waves went back into the ocean we would dig into the sand we would find a ton and then put them into buckets with sand and water lol

[@hectorcoria3650]

That's awesome! I live here in East Tx and go to the Gulf coast every once in a while. Wondering if you would be willing to send some here like a bag of them, frozen, to give them a try. Of course I will pay for shipping. Just asking. Keep Safe!

[@klinqzgaming2594]

Sure

[@coopercozen4098]

i will for sure

[@unfilterednation825]

Him : I promise none were harmed Also him : They will die immediately

[@landenmurray2068]

Was at the beach today and was digging a couple feet away from the water just digging a random hole and next thing I knew I couldn’t stop finding them so I started using them as bait

[@CaptMattBudd]

That's how it's done ✅

[@landenmurray2068]

@@CaptMattBudd next thing I knew i caught a 14 inch sea mullet with it then with that caught a 6 foot shark

[@alexmasak7735]

Lmao this guy just boils dozens of sand fleas alive. Brutal

[@Doxymeister]

Okay, that's just weird. Many years ago, I (confirmed land-lubber) went to my boyfriend's graduation from Air Force course held at, Biloxi, MS. We took a walk along the beach just after dark, did the whole romantic "watch the Moon rise over the water" bit. LOL, when I got back to my hotel room, my legs were covered with bites, and someone said they were sand flea bites. Are we talking about the same critter here? Whatever bit me was so small I didn't feel anything crawling on me. Ended up not mattering anyway, we waded way out in the Moon-lit waters, it was really shallow, but I couldn't get the theme music from "Jaws" out of my head long enough to have fun, LOL. Cool video, thank you!

[@Chuck_Carolina]

The actual name of what he was catching for bait is a Mole Crab. You got bit by Sand Fleas. No See Em's is a Chigger.

[@just_cardiff8827]

Lmao where I come from we call them sand crabs and there much easy to catch lmao

[@PeakPH]

My childhood memory is now unlocked i love to dig for that i also called them sand piggies

[@danielserrano5462]

the lower east coast is a great place to catch those guys

[@CaptMattBudd]

💪

[@joewagner5046]

I take the grandson out to catch sandfleas while on vacation in Destin Florida. Catching them is fun and a lot less cheaper than buying them

[@joellegendre8891]

In my trinidad we call them sea tatoos

[@TheAdianne]

Yep

[@JesusRodriguez-ft5oe]

Bro did any one else see that bird get tooken by the wave😂😭

[@imcupcake5602]

I did learn something now I can get my owe Bait😁

[@sunghan6136]

My ninja, why boil the fleas? Preserve better that way? Or snack perhaps.

[@CaptMattBudd]

Yea they hold up better.

[@lopooqwuyt]

Yum snacc

[@ebro-salvaje30]

Es algún tipo de crustáceo o insecto marino??

[@odinforce86]

They are huge over here in long branch nj

[@michaelcastillo5896]

"I promise no sand fleas were harmed" as he pours boiling hot water into the bucket full of live sand fleas 😂😂😂

[@cootabang0971]

lol

[@miamiwax5504]

whats the best tide to catch them?

[@CaptMattBudd]

I like outgoing because there's alot less water moving up the beach to get me soaking wet 😂

[@Easybagz]

Thx for tip im catching so much fish

[@carljohns5557]

Lol who is watching this in covid 19

[@joannegilbert7947]

Dats bad turns out I have it

[@ThePadLynx]

Me lmao

[@sherwinsatorre1263]

Me

[@Aguanga_cowboy007]

Me

[@lbproductions5246]

Me

[@kimberlycisneros1153]

HOLY SHIT REMEMBERED ALL THE TIME WE WILL ALWAYS GET THESE IN RHE SAND AND WILL BE SAD BECAUSE WE WANTED TO KEEP THEM BUT COULDNT

[@stjohnsriverrat]

Great video

[@carlosramos2662]

I need to learn cause i went for forst time incoming tide and i didnt get nothing using for first time the rake im a new guy with this so what r u think happened to me i am from New jersey

[@cauebahia]

I've fried them and eaten them once. Pretty crunchy.. not as tasty as shrimps of course. But definitely edible.

[@Lydia_lovers]

Same

[@lindamacchi3553]

Wow I like it

[@JESSICASKAMTheRealJessicaKam]

How many sand crab can you keep per person.

[@FISHONBROS]

Do you think they have em here in Galveston beach?

[@CaptMattBudd]

I'm not sure. I've never been to the beaches in Texas but it may be worth a try!

[@FISHONBROS]

@@CaptMattBudd cool, hoping it gets warm one of these weekends so I can go.

[@kevinf4606]

Which tide is better? High or low?

[@martinvalencia3410]

Me gustó lo que diseñas te para atrapar muy muy ,acá en Perú así le llamamos,

[@cptnobvious0555]

I caught a huge white one at dark thinkin it was a little crab or something and I looked it up and found it was a sand flea and I was just weirded out😂

[@gmansjewels]

One time me and my dad went to the beach and there were hundreds of sand fleas everywhere. The next day we realized we got ate up and we think it was sand fleas. Was it?

[@CaptMattBudd]

😂 not this type these don't bite

[@gmansjewels]

lahokc59 ok thanks

[@coldmidgetts]

cool video

[@JohnLocke94321]

This video gives sand fleas more credit than they deserve. You walk on them all the time while playing on the beach. You literally just scoop them up where you see the “V’s” in the sand.

[@joanmorris4052]

I hope I can #spot them & catch them now I tried yesterday but no luck

[@beaubaggenstoss9650]

i just wait for the tide to come in and as the wave comes back i put my hands in the sand and drag and i get so many that way

[@KomodoDrano]

“ this is what we do we make a hole and fill it with water and swish our hands making them come out”

[@corygocray7059]

Fun Fact if you dig deep enough after a wave comes in you can dig them up with your hands

[@MsCeCe-mn7mz]

? we caught so many sand fleas by hand on vacation. i wouldn't touch them myself but had a rake. the kids had no problems.

[@shannonfishkill8957]

Shit we used to catch and sell to the bait shops sometimes we would catch almost 100 pounds . He said they won’t bite wait till he catches a male they will bite the shit out of you ..he’s technically doing it almost right you dig the rake drop it behind where are you just dug ,move your feet in the sand that scares them out and you can feel them hitting the rake letting the water wash the sand out lifting the rake before the next wave blows out everything you’ve caught.. Tip for the poster You can also eat them if you get the big golf ball size ones especially on a molting moon they taste like a combination of softshell crab and fried shrimp

[@CaptMattBudd]

✔️

[@v33zy79]

Where did you get the rake?

[@CaptMattBudd]

At a Local fishing tackle shop.

[@hoangasam896]

where do you buy that rate? what's the name exactly to find

[@snookid13417]

Any bait store near the beach have them.

[@chrisz.9974]

Do live fleas work any better than dead?

[@CaptMattBudd]

Live bait is always best!

[@princesoraru7268]

omg if kid me new that i wouldve fainted

[@andrewwhite9739]

You can catch about 100 of those with your hands in 30 seconds. Just scoop them up with your hands they don't bite. 2 minutes on the beach and I've got enough for myself and everyone else on the beach or pier. Just need a bucket to keep them in.

[@christopherort2889]

Where can you get one of those rakes?

[@CaptMattBudd]

I bought it at fishing head quarters Jupiter

[@hardrockminer-50]

I bought one at Walmart. $22

[@HellfrozeoverDitto-lj1rm]

Garlic salt and peanut oil, deep fry it and you’ll never use them for bait.

[@CaptMattBudd]

Tasty

[@lucasmorgan5550]

How did you seperate the sand leas from the little rocks

[@lucasmorgan5550]

O they were lighter so they went to the top and the rocks sunk to the bottom

[@CaptMattBudd]

Yes exactly!

[@zingzing8915]

may be we can eat that bait too...looks delicious

[@nikkemcooper6043]

Nice

[@clayrobinson7803]

Today I found huge ones like damn boy

[@suleimalopez9599]

Do u also catch the shrimp :o

[@coltonhart8018]

Yeeee

[@CaptMattBudd]

🤙

[@WorstCowboyEver]

Where'd you get the rake?

[@CaptMattBudd]

Local tackle shop

[@AWallgren]

So, here's a question.....do I have to be quick and sneak up on them?

[@CaptMattBudd]

Yes they're actually very spooky

[@xxnonamexx1623]

I cought one or more with my hands and then it was medium fast

[@777sgiles]

Can I still catch them in January in South East Florida?

[@snookid13417]

Yes

[@quantaechandler5670]

Sand Fleassssss