Making a decision to use live bait or artificial lures.

Fishing bait

The most frequently asked question about fishing is what bait to use. When making a decision, you need to consider whether you want to use live bait or artificial lures. A beginner often starts with live bait. The more experienced, and those fishing in tournaments often prefer using artificial lures. The type of bait you use is down to personal preference and depends on your fishing style. On balance though, if a fish doesn’t want to eat, you can’t force it to eat, regardless of what bait you use.

Water conditions can dictate what bait to use as well. If the water is murky, live action of a minnow will attract more action than the sluggish movement of a grub. Fish strike based on their sense of smell, sound, and taste of the water. Live bait often appeals to all three senses.

While experienced fishermen may not prefer live bait such as minnows, they often use crawlers (night crawlers, worms) because it has been proven since the first man put the first hook in the water, that, when all else fails, there are few fish that will pass up a nice juicy worm. Of course, like any good meal, presentation is also important.

When bait fishing, you hook live or dead bait and then cast, letting the bait sink. Depending on the fish you want to catch, you might let the bait sit on bottom, jig it up and down; or reel the bait in.

Almost every type of fish may be caught with bait. Live bait is more attractive than to predatory game fish, which can smell and see the difference. Dead bait, is easier to store and place on the hook.

Live Bait

Live bait is any natural, living organism used for catching fish. Fishing with live bait is effective because of the authentic action and odor that induces fish to strike. The size of live bait used is usually proportionate to the size of the fish sought. Small bait, such as worms, grasshoppers and crickets, are used to catch small fish, while large bait, such as frogs, mullets, and crayfish, to catch larger fish. Trout, walleye, crappie, bass, sunfish, and catfish are some of the most popular freshwater fish caught with live bait. In sea fishing, anything can be targeted using live bait. Not only beginners and non-competitive anglers use live bait, some use a mixture of both depending on the type of fish. Live bait fishing doesn’t kill more fish, although that is a popular myth. The hooks used for live bait fishing are smaller, and of lighter wire than those used for soft plastic artificial lures.

Live bait use is banned for one or more species of fish in thirty-one states (often for trout or bass). Some states completely ban live bait (Alaska and Idaho) and others ban it during spawning seasons (New Hampshire). To be sure live bait is legal in your state, you need to check with the local state fish and game department. 

There are over one thousand different live baits possible. Making the right choice of bait for the fish, the hook choices to suit the variety of live bait, the addition of dead or preserved baits, and the bobbers designed for different techniques in still and moving waters, make live bait fishing complex. It isn’t necessary to master all of this at the start – if ever – but when fishing with live bit, you never stop learning. Live bait fishing also costs less.

Fresh bait yields the best results, so buy fresh bait and change it often. During the summer, bait shops often sell out. Live bait can be ordered the night or even the week before fishing. 

Keeping live bait in peak condition is extremely important. Fish are much more likely to take active bait. After you've bought good bait, you'll want to keep it that way. A key to using live bait is to change it often. Live bait eventually slows down and its capabilities become diminished.

To keep bait alive

Wet hands help to avoid removing the bait’s protective slime layer. Keep the bait out of the sun. Hot water can kill some bait or make them sluggish.

Keep the bait in a steady environment close to the water temperature being fished in.

Make sure the bait gets plenty of oxygen. (Aeration systems keep oxygen in the water.)

Be careful of chlorinated water. (If using ice to help keep the bait cool, the melted ice will have chlorine in it.)

Save the dead bait in a live well or bait bucket. When the live bait runs out, place a dead one on the hook, cast it out, and move the rod tip. Some fish won’t notice, and some, such as (large trout and catfish) like the occasional dead fish. 

Fresh Bait

Crawlers

Crawlers should be fat, and healthy. Crawlers are easy to keep in top condition, but there are a few things you need to do to ensure their well being. They need to be kept cold, at refrigerator temperatures. The bedding that comes with a box of crawlers should be sufficient for long-term storage. Commercial bedding is also available. As bedding loses moisture, so do your crawlers. A little moisture needs to be added from time to time. They should be kept moist but not soaking wet. A problem with using crawlers is all the dirt. To get around the problem, you can remove them from their containers and drop them directly into a mix of water and ice. They can be kept in this manner for several days. Another effective method involves layering crawlers with wet newspaper.

Minnows

Minnows can be difficult to keep alive. To keep minnows in peak condition, they must be kept cool and oxygenated. It’s important not too cool them down too fast. Most bait shops aerate their minnows with well water, which runs at approximately forty degrees. If you change the temperature too quickly, you send them into shock. The water temperature should be kept constant, and near the holding temperature. Put the bags in a cooler with a small amount of ice, and add more as necessary.

Another method for keeping and transporting minnows includes a cooler and an aeration system. Minnows need an oxygen rich environment to have even a chance of surviving. Bubblers, use a small air pump that forces air through a hose filled with thousands of tiny holes, and rests on the bottom of the well. This highly efficient system transfers oxygen to the water, with the least amount of stress on the bait.

Pinfish and bull minnows can live a long time in a five-gallon bucket of salt water. Both of these fish are easy to catch and can be used effectively for cobia, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, redfish, jack crevalle, flounder, grouper, snapper and lots of others.

Leeches

Leeches can be extremely easy to keep. All they require is clean, cold water. To keep leeches for an extended time, you need to change their water every couple of days. Avoid chlorinated water. Leeches don’t last very long. Fresh leeches are firm and lively, while old ones become soft, and develop a ring around their nose. Late in the season, good leeches can become difficult to find.

Shrimp

Shrimp are a staple in the diet of almost all saltwater game fish. Not all shrimp have to be alive to be good bait, but the fresher the better. Small pieces of shrimp can be very effective for pompano, redfish, and speckled trout. Cut shrimp can also be effective around oyster bars, creek mouths, and passes.
Baitfish

Baitfish comprises the second most popular bait for saltwater fishing. Small baitfish is everywhere and almost every game fish will eat one. Chose the bait that is available and prevalent in the area being fished.

Live Bait Fishing Techniques 

1. For bait around three inches in length a 3/0 or smaller hook works best.

2. For bait 8 to 10 inches in length, a 5/0 or 6/0 hook works best.

3. Use weed guards sparingly, only when fishing in heavy cover.

4. Keep balloons and bobbers small and use camouflage colors when possible. When casting, remember the bait need to get to the target area in good shape.

5. Watch the bait's actions. If it is struggling or trying to swim away, a fish is likely moving in to strike.

6. Give the fish extra time to take the bait completely in their mouth.

7. After detecting a strike, let the line straighten out before setting the hook, but not more than 30 seconds, so as not to allow the fish to swallow the bait.

Live bait is preferable over dead, but sometimes chumming can make the difference if live bait isn’t available. Some bait is difficult to keep alive for long, but if it dies, it can be cut or ground up into small pieces and tossed into the water. The scent will create a feeding frenzy where the game fish will readily take a whole dead baitfish.

Artificial Bait

Artificial lures are broken down into a few categories. The main categories include jigs, spinner baits, buzz baits, crank baits, soft plastic worms, minnow baits, and top water. Using the same types of baits in all waters reduces the amount of tackle needed.

Most anglers targeting largemouth bass use artificial lures. Under tournament regulations, only artificial lures are permitted. Fishing with artificial lures is more challenging than using live bait. Summertime is a good time to use artificial lures, as so many different baits can be effective.

Artificial lures are a better choice in certain conditions. In stained or murky water, fish rely less on sight, and more on feel and smell. If a meal comes within range, they feed while there’s a chance. You can also to cover much more water with artificial baits. This is particularly useful when fishing for bass, as they tend not to move around as much in murky water. Most artificial baits give off more sound and vibration than live bait, which can help a fish to zero in on its prey. As the biggest attraction of live bait is visual, murky water negates its positive effects. A similar logic applies to night fishing.

As big bass eat planter trout and fishing with a live trout for bait is illegal, large trout pattern lures are available. They are realistic in appearance and have a swimming motion.

During the height of the spawn, fish such as bass don’t rate feeding as a high priority. Any foreign item stands a good chance of being attacked. As feeding is not the motivation, the type of offering is of little consequence.  

No Bait

It’s unlikely that you’ll plan to go fishing with no bait, but it’s all too easy to head out finding that you left your bait behind. Or you simply haven’t brought enough with you. There are also times when no bait can be found! Being prepared can allow you to fish without your bait.

There are plastic substitutes that can work well. Using a piece of white cloth as bait has caught fish. You only need to fool one fish and you’re already got yourself a supply of bait.

Fly-fishing is used mainly for salmon and trout, and sometimes for pike, bass, and carp. Artificial flies are tied onto a hook with thread, fur, feathers, and other materials, in sizes and colors to match naturally occurring food or to excite a fish. Fly rods are light and long while the lines are relatively heavy. The fly may weigh very little and is usually attached to the line by leader, which may taper to a fine line, called the tippet. The main difference between fly-fishing and casting is that in casting, you use the weight of the lure and in fly-fishing, the fly you use the weight of the line to place the fly where you want it to be.

Noodling is where you use your bare hands instead of tackle to catch a fish, usually a type of catfish. Noodling is also known as "grabbling," "hogging, "dogging" and "stumping." Officially, it’s known as "hand fishing." Noodling is only legal in certain states, mostly southern states including Arkansas and Oklahoma. Noodling was made legal in Missouri in 2005 after pressure from adherents. It’s now legal in fourteen states.

It’s recorded that southern American Indians used to dive down and catch fish by hand and rural settlers took up the tradition. Noodling is thought by many to be the ultimate fishing sport. You need a special permit to noodle.

Conservationists oppose noodling as it could reduce the fish population. Female catfish can take seven years to become mature. However, because of the danger involved, few people actually fish this way.

Noodling isn’t the only way of catching fish by hand. In Britain, a more sedate version of hand fishing is “trout tickling.” This is the art of rubbing the underbelly of a trout with your fingers. The trout goes into a trance state after a minute or so, and can then be flipped onto the nearest bit of dry land.

Spear fishing is an ancient method of fishing where you use an ordinary spear or a specially designed variant. Traditional spear fishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the advent of the spear gun has made it more efficient.

Small hand nets have been used since antiquity to sweep up fish near the surface. In England, hand netting is the only legal way of catching eels. Trawling is a method that involves pulling fishing nets through the water behind one or more boats.

It is possible to fish without bait, but most methods require a high degree of skill, a certain amount of bravery, and in methods such as noodling, a high level of physical fitness. This isn’t for the faint hearted!