Fishing With Live Bait 2024
Brett's_daddy reply :
My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?
Jake the Cake reply :
Live bait will out fish lures, worms, jigs, etc. all day every day.
Choporoz reply :
My opinion is worthless. Try it and let us know. Some despise it. Some do it all the time.
the reel ess reply :
On 9/9/2015 at 11:48 PM, Brett said:My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?
Give us a report. And you might want to use a circle hook to keep it out of the fish's gut. Nothing worse than killing a large fish unless your intention is to put it on the wall. But they aren't all trophies.
There are golden shiners and some very big bass in the primary place I fish. I'd like to give live bait a try there to see if I can break my PB. I see no reason it wouldn't work as it does on Okeechobee. But I do enjoy casting for them way more than free-lining.
scaleface reply :
Both have their pros and cons I have had a" lot" of 100 bass days with lures , not exaggerating . Lures will cover more water . Sometimes lures will be more efficient .
the reel ess reply :
On 9/9/2015 at 11:57 PM, scaleface said:Both have their pros and cons I have had a" lot" of 100 bass days with lures , not exaggerating . Lures will cover more water . Sometimes lures will be more efficient .
I agree. There's an artificial for every situation. I've been crappie fishing many times when jigs flat outfished minnows.
Raul reply :
Live or artificial, you still gotta find the fish.
WRB reply :
Bass anglers are divided on this topic and can get very emotional discussing this.
Circle hooks are the answer to using live bait if catch & release is the goal.
Pinning a live minnow on a hook under a bobber is 1 technique and doesn't represent live bait fishing for bass.
There is a lot to learn about live baiting fishing just like there is about learning various lure presentations.
You can go to a store and buy bait, however going out and catching, netting or trapping the live bait is educational and a good learning experience about the bass prey.
I went through a long time period condemning the use of live crawdads, waterdogs (tiger salamanders) and large baitfish to target big bass during the spawn cycle, as being unsportsmanlike. The reason was I used those live baits back in the 50' and 60's and it was easy to catch big bass, too easy. Our local small lakes could be seriously over harvested by skilled anglers using those specific live baits, during the spawn period.
Today, waterdogs and large baitfish are no longer legal to use in most of our local lakes, the problem is no longer an issue.
If you use light tackle similar to finesse fishing and fly line live bait using circle hooks, live bait fishing with big night crawlers, 3" to 4" crawdads ( beak hooked) or live Shad takes a degree of skill. Just don't bed fish using live bait and I am OK with it.
Tom
FSUMF333 reply :
Minnows are great when fishing with kids my son always gets the biggest fish with them when we go with my dad. But that's the only time we use em 3-4 year old's will lose interest fast if they're not catching fish.
Bluegiller reply :
Lure making companies would have you believe live bait doesn't work. Don't believe the hype.
roadwarrior reply :
Big minnows are VERY effective. I fish them on a split shot rig using Gamakatsu
#6 Octopus Circle Hooks. On the Tennessee River we need to hook them in the
mouth (lower jaw through upper jaw) to keep the minnow from drowning. The
small hook keeps them alive and active much longer than using bigger hooks.
DO NOT be frugal with your bait, the minnow MUST be fresh and frisky.
MIbassyaker reply :
On 9/9/2015 at 11:48 PM, Brett said:My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?
Clearly, this calls for a "Fish-Off" between your dad and your wife...
scaleface reply :
I dont know man. I think a texas rig would be more efficient fishing brush piles 20 foot deep. If all one does is cast and reel at visible targets then live bait may be better , sometimes.
the reel ess reply :
On 9/10/2015 at 12:35 AM, FSUMF333 said:Minnows are great when fishing with kids my son always gets the biggest fish with them when we go with my dad. But that's the only time we use em 3-4 year old's will lose interest fast if they're not catching fish.
My dad started me off with a cane pole and worms. Then we moved on to pole and minnows for crappie. Finally, we started using jigs to compliment the minnows. He did a good job of keeping me interested by making it easier. We probably would have stopped there, but I wanted to start bass fishing so he got the right kind of boat and indulged me. Since then I don't think I've ever intentionally bass fished with live bait. I just like casting and "fooling" them more.
bigbill reply :
Here's my true story. We always fished for trout in the springtime. But just a few times per year for bass. My son broke his leg on a motocross track in the woods. Everyone stepped up and took him fishing. I was spending up to $50++ a week on live bait fishing just about everyday with the kids. One night we were fishing the swamp just before the front hit the rain was two hours away. I just purchased a mepps #3 Anglia bass kit.
We were using night crawlers and culprit 10" worms two setups. As I reeled in the night crawler I had a strike. They(the bass) told me they want something moving. I put on a mepps #3 Anglia silver blade gray dressed and caught two bass right away. I tossed the mepps red/silver babe Brown dressed #3 Anglia to my son. We caught doubles for about 45 minutes till it got dark.
Now I'm throwing lures more and a live bait setup. Once I learned the presentations my lure setup started out fishing the live bait setup, night crawlers and live minnows. I stopped using live bait and used the extra money I saved to buy lures.
Focus on your presentations, and how many different presentations you can do with one lure.
The skill and education comes in when figuring out which pattern will produce success.(what style lure) one pattern may catch a few bass while another pattern may load the boat.
Trust me lures will out fish live bait once we understand what pattern works matched up to the correct presentation. A shot of bass scent/attractant helps too.
I throw about 12 different lures in my ritual of baits. It's a challenge to me to get the pattern. Trying different colors and sizes works too.
In fishing it's all skill.
I carried a few lures all my life in my tackle box. I didn't know how to use them for 30 years. Bass fishing to me is way more fun than trout fishing. I like all types of fishing.
Get a rapala original floating minnow F7 in blue. Go out and try all the different presentations with it. First try a slow reel.
I think the biggest problem we bass fisherman have is we tend to fish too fast. Don't rush, relax, fish slow.
Read all the articles on this site, watch every fishing video here. Do it over and over all winter and spare time you have. Hone your skills. Now hit the water to advance your skills. Nothing teaches us better than time spent on the water fishing.
You will soon figure out that lure size and color does matter.
stk44 reply :
I think if you are unskilled, live bait will catch more than artificial bait. However, there are times when artificial lures are better. Like this weekend. I caught 5 white bass and 3 freshwater drums in Lake Erie on a lipless crank. Everyone else was using worms or minnows and caught NOTHING.
Also, I think the biggest thing is that its more satisfying catching a fish, knowing that you are the reason the fish took your lure. Instead of sitting in a lawn chair, drinking a beer, and reeling a fish in.
Dogmatic reply :
A time and place for both.
Last_Cast reply :
depends on your style of fishing..
no skill in using live minnows. 
Josh Smith reply :
Hello,
I posted a parallel thread, here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/162983-fishing-with-live-bait-my-experiences/
Posting that as a response here felt like threadjacking to me, so I made it a separate thread out of consideration for Brett's Dad, but it's absolutely pertinent.
Regards,
Josh
Alonerankin2 reply :
Use your live bait.. It's legal, ( on most water )
I've used golden shiners, hybrid & minnows ( for crappie ) I don't believe it's unethical & couldn't care less who thinks it is, in my opinion, neither should you. Golden Shiners = Big Bass in Florida
routeman007 reply :
"Interesting topic!" (smiling)
Bassguytom reply :
I thought fish hold on 10 times longer to powerbait products? I also heard gulp out fishes live bait? No? Fish however you want as long as you are having fun and enjoying what you are doing. Try to stay conscious of your surroundings and keep an eye on your line while using live bait as to not gut hook them if you are going to let them go. For me there is much more to fishing then catching fish. Have fun.
Jrob78 reply :
I don't live bait fish but to do it right there's way more to it than simply sticking a minnow under a bobber.
I've got nothing against live bait fishing, it's just not the way I enjoy bass fishing.
Brayberry reply :
I don't live bait fish, as I believe it takes no skill. I mean if I stick a cheeseburger in front of you with a hook in it, you'd eat it, and be hooked, no technique or skill involved
Jrob78 reply :
On 9/11/2015 at 9:33 AM, Brayberry said:I don't live bait fish, as I believe it takes no skill. I mean if I stick a cheeseburger in front of you with a hook in it, you'd eat it, and be hooked, no technique or skill involved
Then you aren't doing it right.
MIbassyaker reply :
You guys know there is more to live bait fishing than putting a worm on a hook below a bobber and making it sit there for 3 hours, right?
Fishing a ned rig or other grub on a jighead is not much different than fishing a small shiner or other minnow on a jighead, a very common northern rig for smallmouth and walleye.
Think your strike-detection is pretty good? OK, come fish some crawlers with me on on a live-bait split-shot rig with light spinning tackle.
If a bait company created an artificial shiner or nightcrawler that squirmed around on its own like real live bait, and smelled and tasted like the real thing, I'm sure you'd never buy one and use it, right? Right?
Alonerankin2 reply :
Hahaha.. Apparently you have never fished for Florida largemouth bass with golden shiners..
By your own admission you state you don't fish live bait.. ( have you ever Brayberry? )
Suit yourself, but it takes more skill than chunkin plastic crawdads aimlessly .. ( just keeping shiners alive can be a helluva challenge.. Anyways..
scaleface reply :
There is little doubt in my mind that I can take a shiner , a bobber and a weedless hook { I would use the old PorkO hooks } go to some downed trees along a dropoff at my favorite lake and catch some impressive bass . I just dont want to go though the trouble of acquiring , transporting ,and keeping the bait healthy .
Daniel My Brother reply :
Learning to cast a throw net out in the yard, then stalking a school of minnows, making a perfect toss and watching that net open over your target will put a smile on anyone's face, and it's a great way to find out what's swimming in the rivers you like to fish. I would use live bait more often, but opening a package of soft plastics is so much easier.
scaleface reply :
On 9/11/2015 at 11:12 PM, Daniel My Brother said:Learning to cast a throw net out in the yard, then stalking a school of minnows, making a perfect toss and watching that net open over your target will put a smile on anyone's face, and it's a great way to find out what's swimming in the rivers you like to fish. I would use live bait more often, but opening a package of soft plastics is so much easier.
I'm a catfish angler too . I use a castnet to catch shad . I dont try to keep them alive . I bought a nice aerator from bass pro but they still died . Now I just drop them in an ice chest to keep them fresh .
Daniel My Brother reply :
On 9/11/2015 at 11:16 PM, scaleface said:I'm a catfish angler too . I use a castnet to catch shad . I dont try to keep them alive . I bought a nice aerator from bass pro but they still died . Now I just drop them in an ice chest to keep them fresh .
We catfish some, we'll catch shad and put them in one bucket, then after they finish stressing out in that bucket, we put them in a second bucket of fresh water and this seems to keep them alive longer.
Lendiesel22 reply :
On 9/10/2015 at 1:56 AM, roadwarrior said:Big minnows are VERY effective. I fish them on a split shot rig using Gamakatsu
#6 Octopus Circle Hooks. On the Tennessee River we need to hook them in the
mouth (lower jaw through upper jaw) to keep the minnow from drowning. The
small hook keeps them alive and active much longer than using bigger hooks.
DO NOT be frugal with your bait, the minnow MUST be fresh and frisky.
Although I agree, and fish live bait in clear lakes in MD when 1 cove can hold bass,walleyes,and pike anglers spend time making our artificials appear hurt or dying. i.e. the slow fall of a fluke or a weightless senko. When live bait has caught one or 2 fish it gets beat up and stops producing. Putting on a fresh bait can start the action right back up on species mentioned above as well as panfish. Take the live bait away in the same situation and you find yourself trying to fish similar size and close to the same colors as the live bait....and more times than not you are going to fish those baits as wounded or dying. Go figure.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Lures will out fish live bait at times just because of how time consuming live bait fishing is. Bass do not just automatically attack a live prey item just because it's there. I've watched bass examine a live bait fish for an extremely long period of time, and occasionally they'll turn and swim away. Of course there will be times when live bait produces a few fish when lures strike out.
I fish livebait specifically for bass a few times every year (usually shad). My preferred method is to freeline live shad in likely areas. I use a small octopus hook through the nostrils and they'll swim well and stay alive for quite awhile.
bigbill reply :
Once u learn the presentations you will out fish live bait.On 9/9/2015 at 11:51 PM, Jake the Cake said:Live bait will out fish lures, worms, jigs, etc. all day every day.
My buddy was using live minnows dropping them in the weed pockets. I was dropping the mepps timber doodle in the weed pockets I surpass his numbers. The size 0 silver blade with the 4" split double tail grub timber doodle weedless bait works awesome.
Once we master every bait with its different presentations trust me the catch numbers will go way up. The bass like baits moving.
I was fishing two rod setups, one live bait and one lures. As I became better at picking the correct pattern with the right presentation I out fished the live bait setup.
Bluegiller reply :
My Dad caught his personal best Largemouth this Sunday. He was slow reeling a nightcrawler drop shot.
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.