Catching Bait

Does anyone catch bait while fishing in the Sound?  I believe some Marine areas allow a second pole for bait fish.  Also, rather than trolling, has anyone tried hooking fresh bait like you would a minnow (just below dorsal fin) and drifting near bait balls?  Is that a thing?

Not tying to be too lazy, but thought paddling up current and drifting down might be fun/relaxing way to fish.

Super new, so this may be a really naive question.  Thanks!

All the time.  I used a sabiki rig when I see bait on my depth finder ...sometimes even while on the move.  I usually rig them “choked” rather then cut plugged and either troll or cast.  I haven’t tried letting them swim freely and think it might be illegal to use love bait.

Mooching is the technique of putting baits down near bait schools. I know live baits are illegal in freshwater except for a few exceptions and live fish as bait in freshwater is totally prohibited. When fishing for salmon, you have to use barbless hooks so live bait is problematic. I did not see a reg stating live bait was prohibited in saltwater, but it's a pretty thick reg book so best to ask a warden when you see them. I know live flounder is okay for lingcod and live anchovies are okay for albacore out on the ocean, so my guess it's okay but difficult because of barbless hooks.

I hadn't considered the barbless hook factor.  Would definitely make it harder to keep bait on the hook.  Earlier in the week I called the hotline and they said live bait was legal if used in the same body of water it was caught in. They also said some Marine areas allow a second pole for catching bait....

BUT who knows the quality of info from the hotline... Grain of salt

Here are the lines directly from the reg book.

For fresh water:
It is unlawful to possess or use live aquatic animals as bait, except:
1. Live aquatic animals (other than fish) collected from the water being fished.
2. Live sand shrimp.
3. Live forage fish in the Columbia River (downstream of Rocky Point/Tongue Point).

For saltwater:
FORAGE FISH - Forage fish jig or forage fish dip net only except ANCHOVY and SARDINE may be taken by a cast net in Areas 1-4. Only one net may be used at a time. Dip net gear must be held by the rigid handle at all times and may not be used from a vessel while under power. Cast net gear must be in immediate control at all times with retrieval cord in hand. Anglers with the reduced-fee license or a Designated Harvester Card may use a forage fish dip net with a hand-operated gate. Jig gear may have up to three treble hooks or nine single-point hooks, not to exceed ⅜" between point and shank. While fishing in Areas 5-11 &13, a second line using forage fish jig gear may be used to fish for forage fish.

The tricky part is the first exception for freshwater. You can use non-fish aquatic animals from the same body of water (frogs, etc.) so that means using live fish is unlawful, right? I like what you got from the hotline better, but I don't write the tickets. The rule is probably to keep invasive species from spreading so it makes sense.

On saltwater I have used sabikis to catch bait and then basically trussed up the bait with half hitches and the hook planted in the bait. I have also considered using a swivel to pass through the nose of the bait and hold the bait to the hook. There are bait clips out there, and I guess you could bridle the bait with a rubber band like they do in Florida.

I've used live sardines for Chinook in NorCal.  Rigged em up on a standard 2-hook mooching rig with barbless octopus hooks, top hook in the nose and the bottom hook under the skin near the tail.  They do come off the hooks on occasion.  But as bait, they work just as good as you think they would  .

Thanks for all the responses!  Been youtubing mooching videos and it looks like a lot of fun.  Can't wait to try for salmon where I'm not shoulder to shoulder with a couple hundred of my closest friends

It is legal to use live herring you jigged up in the sound - this comes up all the time.