Lure choice, one of the biggest and most challenging choices for anglers, is more complex than ever. There are aisles of fishing lures at sporting goods stores and anglers are toting overflowing tackle boxes with them on each fishing excursion. In reality, all these artificial lures are only trying to mimic live bait.
Live bait fishing has many advantages, first and foremost you are fishing with exactly what the fish are feeding on. Whether it is worms, insects or minnows, fish are used to consuming natural bait. Instead of trying to pick through tackle box after tackle box, all you need for fishing with live bait is a few hooks, some weights and a good live bait container.
Natural bait has received a bad rap over the last decade or so. Philosophically, live bait techniques for catching fish are thought of as reserved for younger and beginner anglers. In fact, many of us have landed some of our first fish ever using worms and minnows. Fishing with bait should not be thought of as a separate form of fishing, one left for those younger or less skilled, but rather it should be thought of as just a different approach to fishing, with its own benefits and challenges.
No One is Ignoring Artificial Lures
The choice to use live bait when an angler is heading out to the water is often an afterthought. Clearly, there is a push in fishing society to move towards artificial lures and for several good reasons.
First, technologies in fishing lure manufacturing and design have made them highly realistic in replicating just about any type of food fish are feeding on. From minnows to frogs, the variety of lures available provides seemingly unlimited options in your tackle box, which is a big advantage when finicky fish are not biting. An angler can simply change lures until one finds which lure is enticing bites. Second, unlike fishing with live bait, lures can be used repeatedly to catch fish. Bait fishing is almost always a one and done. Catching a fish on a minnow means to catch another fish you usually need to dig into the live bait storage container for another. Finally, many lures have enhanced features added to them such as attractant, rattles and action. All of which can aid in getting fish to bite when natural bait fails to catch a fish.
Live Bait Fishing is Rooted Among Us as Anglers
There is no coincidence most of us have started our fishing careers casting worms and fishing with minnows. Fishing with bait is a technique with its own benefits. For example, learning to fish with live bait teaches us what and how fish actually eat. An important concept that only improves how we evolve as anglers in terms of lure choice. Also, fishing with bait is somewhat rewarding. Being able to gather bait from the ground or the stream rather than buying it and ultimately catching a fish brings a sense of accomplishment more so than tying on a purchased lure.
Reasons to Fish with Live Bait
Fishing with live bait is extremely effective because you are presenting a fish with an option they are already used to eating. It is natural, from the smell to the texture, to what they actually eat day in and day out. Here are three reasons to fish with bait:
Bait is cheap or free. Natural bait, like the name suggests, can be obtained by yourself for free and doing so can be rewarding. If you have to buy bait, either at a bait store near you or buying live bait online, it can still be significantly less expensive than the $5-$10 dollar artificial lures on the store shelves.
You will catch something. Almost no fish will turn down live bait. In just about any waterway or for any species, natural bait will increase your chances of catching something.
Fewer lure choices. Fishing with lures can have you spending all day tying on lure after lure trying to figure out what the fish are biting on. With bait, you know fish like trout or panfish feed on other small fish so it is only a matter of time until you hook into a few when fishing with minnows.
For more tips when fishing with live bait, click here.
When Fishing with Live Bait Excels
Live bait techniques are no different than other fishing techniques, there are no guarantees to catching fish. There are, however, times when live bait fishing can excel over artificial fishing lures.
Fishing at night. Species like trout and walleyes will consistently feed throughout the night and can be caught more frequently on natural bait after daylight hours.
Discolored Muddy and murky water forces fish to rely on their senses other than sight to find food. The natural scents and movements you put in the water when bait fishing will bring more bites in stained water.
Waters that are overfished. In areas that see high fishing pressure, another artificial lure is just noise to a fish. Fish may have been fooled before by spinnerbaits or plastic worms but overfished waters quickly go tight-lipped to many lures. The best fishing bait in these waters is live bait.
Why Not Fish Natural Bait All the Time?
Live bait fishing excels in a variety of conditions and for many reasons, so why not fish with it all the time? Because there are a few disadvantages to bait fishing. The first is supply. Fewer bait shops are around, with most of them giving way to large retailers that often do not carry bait like minnows. It can be hard to just buy bait. Second, fishing bait that is alive requires care. Worms need to be kept cold and minnows need to be in good live bait containers that keep them alive but allow you to access them. Not every angler wants to put out this effort each fishing trip. Lastly, certain areas do not allow fishing with live bait. Tournament fishing is usually limited to lures and also certain waterways are artificial lures only for various reasons.
It is not an either-or question when it comes to live bait or lures but rather which fishing technique makes sense for your situation. Lures will be advantageous in certain conditions but live bait will win out in others. The main point is that live bait fishing should not be left to the kids, but instead kept as a fishing technique to catch more fish.
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