Please tell me about bait stores in the Florida Keys.

When you visit the Florida Keys you will notice many different bait shops. Most of them are top rate and most of them carry the same forms of bait. Depending on the time of year you will find the following baits to choose from. Live shrimp are the primary staple for fishing with live bait. In the summer only small shrimp are available and generally sell for about four dollars per dozen. In the other months of the year you can pay more and receive larger handpicked or jumbo shrimp which usually catch larger fish. More importantly when you use larger shrimp you will avoid catching pesky little snappers that are all over the place in the keys. Live pinfish are the most common bait fish sold. They generally cost about one dollar a piece and will catch a wide variety of fish. They are much like a bluegill in shape and share a very sharp spiny dorsal fin with their freshwater cousin. Blue crabs are sold at time at most bait stores. They are definitely the favorite bait to use when fishing for large permit and are also very excellent bait for Tarpon as well. They will range in size from the size of a quarter to much larger than, as big as your hand. Generally you should expect to pay two dollars each for live crabs. For the real big game fisherman some bait stores offer live blue runners and mullet. These fish are often eight to twelve inches long and sell at market prices, usually four to eight dollars each.