Live Bait...your Opinions 2024
CoBass reply :
Living in Colorado, the majority of fisherman here target trout or walleye. The bass community is pretty small but for some reason the idea of using shiners or any other form of live bait is seriously frowned upon. Last year a 12 year old kid caught the state record smallie on a minnow. He got blasted on our local forums for setting a record with live bait. This year, his record was broken by a friend of mine using a jerk bait. The local forums were very busy with guys who were so happy that the record was broken by a "real fisherman" because he caught it on a lure instead of live bait.
I've been to Fla. several times and have seen some monster bass caught on live shiners. In your opinion, does live bait fishing for bass make you less of an angler? I fish artificials 99% of the time, but if the bite is dead and others are catching fish on minnows I have no problem throwing a shiner on and going that route. I have also bass fished in other states and have never seen the level of animosity towards live bait that I see here. I'm not sure if it's a byproduct of all the fly fisherman here or if we just have a bunch of elitist ****** bags here who think their way is the only way. What do you guys think?
Bassn Blvd reply :
This topic has been brought up before, but I'll give you my answer. NO! Live bait fishing does not make you any less of an angler.
senile1 reply :
Live bait provides advantages and disadvantages and there are circumstances when artificial baits will out-fish live bait. Ignore the naysayers. Fish the way you want to fish, within the law, and have fun.
deaknh03 reply :
I personally prefer lures, to me it seems like more of a challenge, and it sort of prohibits me from catching species I am not targeting. That being said, you shouldn't give 2 poops about what other fisherman think, use whatever you want to catch whatever you want.
Avalonjohn44 reply :
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using live bait so long as you follow your local laws.
The only reason I do not use live minnows more often is because I am a shore/kayak fisherman and lugging around a bucket of minnows is just not going to work for me...
JigMe reply :
This is a personal preference; I like using lures because it is more fun for me and don’t need to take a minnow bucket everywhere. I do fish with live baits from time to time, when I fish for crappies and walleye. Don’t worry about what other peoples think, just go out and have fun. I don’t intend to over complicate things, so I do what feels right.
Fishing Rhino reply :
I've used live bait years ago on the Cape, and it worked quite well. Three years ago I bought a twenty foot minnow seine to get some chubs from the sandy flats in the salt marshes around here. My buddy was going to help me and he'd get a bunch to use for fluke in Nantucket Sound and other haunts around here.
Haven't got around to it yet, three years later.
If ya got 'em, use 'em.
CoBass reply :
I rarely fish minnows, maybe once or twice a year when the bite is really slow. I guess my real question was about the attitude towards it where you live. I'v lived in Colorado pretty much my entire life and I've never seen as much animosity towards live bait as I have here. Not sure why that is.
Grey Wolf reply :
Use what you want as long as it is legal.
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 10/11/2011 at 3:44 AM, CoBass said:I rarely fish minnows, maybe once or twice a year when the bite is really slow. I guess my real question was about the attitude towards it where you live. I'v lived in Colorado pretty much my entire life and I've never seen as much animosity towards live bait as I have here. Not sure why that is.
Could it be the strong fly fisherman influence within your state & region?
NoBassPro reply :
On 10/11/2011 at 3:44 AM, CoBass said:I rarely fish minnows, maybe once or twice a year when the bite is really slow. I guess my real question was about the attitude towards it where you live. I'v lived in Colorado pretty much my entire life and I've never seen as much animosity towards live bait as I have here. Not sure why that is.
Around here there is animosity between various subsets of fishermen. I don't see it amongst bass fishermen so much as steelhead and salmon guys . Some guys think if you aren't fly fishing you're snagging without considering you are merely triggering a reaction strike most times and need to do so without spooking the fish. And then there's the walleye guys who thumb their noses at bass and hate on musky.. the list goes on.
I most certainly wouldn't consider the vocal group on the internet to be the voice of the majority though.
roadwarrior reply :
Hmm...
I lived in Colorado for 17 years. Everyone I knew was a meat hunter.
My pet smalljaws prefer farm raised green minnows to the native yellow
tail (threadfin). I'm a big fan of live bait, "cathin" is a lot more fun
than "fishin".
:D
North Ga Hillbilly reply :
On 10/11/2011 at 10:08 AM, roadwarrior said:Hmm...
I lived in Colorado for 17 years. Everyone I knew was a meat hunter.
My pet smalljaws prefer farm raised green minnows to the native yellow
tail (threadfin). I'm a big fan of live bait, "cathin" is a lot more fun
than "fishin".
:D
X2
NGaHB
CoBass reply :
Roadwarrior...I agree that there are a lot of meat hunters here but they tend to be more in the walleye/stocker trout crowd. Both species are stocked in the tens of millions yearly with the expectation that many will be kept. For example, the lake that I do most of my walleye fishing at receives 3 million walleye fry every year and it's only 800 surface acres.
The bass community is small by comparison and most guys realize that with the limited stocking of bass here, C&R is the way to go. Likewise, most of the serious trout guys are C&R and they don't bother fishing for stockers in the lower elevation put and take reservoirs. You'll find them up in the mountains hunting bigger fish in the rivers and streams.
It's really unfortunate that with all the snow we get here, most of the water winds up in other states. It's all about water rights. So much so that in order to satisfy water rights that Kansas and Nebraska have, one of our best warm water fisheries (Bonny Reservoir) is currently being drained and will not be refilled so those two states can have the water. I'm really envious of you southern boys who have what seems to be an endless supply of water to fish in.
NorcalBassin reply :
If it comes down to me catching 1-2 per day at Clear Lake with plastics when things slow down or catching 8-10 with a minnow... get me some minnows!
Glenn reply :
I've used both, and prefer artificial baits. But if you enjoy live bait fishing, knock yourself out!
Khong Y. reply :
There is nothing wrong with using Live Bait. It's just a different technique of fishing.
As for me, I like to develope other technique of fishing. This is why I use lures. You never know when there is a situation where you would use a lure instead of live baits.
NBR reply :
Anybody that blasts anyone for using a legal method for taking fish or game should have a brain check. Blasting a youngster should also require a heart check.
Steve K reply :
I am a fan of live bait in certain conditions. For example we use a splitshot and chub in Sturgeon Bay between all the bass boats in spring and catch a lot more smallies than the guys throwing jerks, grubs, and tubes. If you do it right it's lights out! It's all about stealth or finesse. IMO I would rather be catching fishing than wasting my time throwing my tackle box at them. Personally, some of my largest smallies have come on 4-5in chubs and suckers drifted behind the boat.
If you look at bassmaster.com's list of record bass most of them came on live bait anyway. If you want, fish both at the same time. In spring and late fall I will fish two sucker rods (dead sticking) and then casting artificials in front. Let the fish tell you what they want. There are days when it will go one way or the other.
OkobojiEagle reply :
You asked what I think... Fishing with live bait is trapping. If my objective was to bring home a meal quickly then live bait will help accomplish this. Bass fishing is a game to me and I don't eat my advisary in this game... artificials only, most often barbless. If you are deep hooking multiple bass because of using live bait and releasing them to die... that is morally wrong in my eyes.
oe
grimlin reply :
I use live crayfish from time to time. Nothing wrong with it. I catch more channel catfish with crayfish than I do Bass.
Granted i fish more artificial than I do live bait.
If somebody holds it against me for using live bait once in awhile,oh well,I really don't care.
I've yet to deep hook using live bait this year,just like fishing artificial you have to watch your line and be ready to set the hook.
CoBass reply :
On 10/11/2011 at 7:42 PM, NBR said:Anybody that blasts anyone for using a legal method for taking fish or game should have a brain check. Blasting a youngster should also require a heart check.
Couldn't agree with you more NBR. That is what really bothered me. Twelve year old kid catches a state record fish and instead of congratulating him and encouraging him people were blasting him because of his method of catch.
Raul reply :
Live bait is just another way of fishing, nothing wrong in that, it´s like trolling, just another way to fish. I don´t use live bait, I like artificials, there´s something about live bait that I don´t like, you gotta leave the bait and wait until somebody comes and gets it, for me that´s boring.
grimlin reply :
On 10/12/2011 at 12:38 AM, Raul said:Live bait is just another way of fishing, nothing wrong in that, it´s like trolling, just another way to fish. I don´t use live bait, I like artificials, there´s something about live bait that I don´t like, you gotta leave the bait and wait until somebody comes and gets it, for me that´s boring.
Not entirely true,I rarely leave my live bait in one spot for more than 5 minutes,plus I do work it a little bit.If you don't your bait will just hide under a rock LOL.I did this versus somebody doing the way you just said and I outfished him 20-1. I had to buy him lunch to keep him from being mad at me that day. LOL
It's still about location and locating where the fish are. I apply live bait just like i do artificial baits.
Only downside to live bait is everything will eat it....you never really know what you will catch.
hookingem reply :
I'm happy to see anyone out fishing, and enjoying the great outdoors. Wether they are fishing with a live bluegill or a jig is solely their decision. With that being said I have more fun fishing with artificial baits.
WRB reply :
When I statred bass fishing back in early 50's catch & release was very rare, catch and eat was the goal of 99.9% of every angler. Jason Lucas the editor of Field & Steam changed that concept for me, he was the first national fishing editor to promote what has become known as selective harvest; releasing the big bass and keeping a few 2 lbers for the table.
I became and advocate of C & R and agianst live bait fishing for bass with crawdads, waterdogs and large bait fish like shiners and (planted trout) during the pre-spawn & spawning periods in our small local lakes; bass fishing was closed during the winter back in those years.
I still feel the same in regards to fishing small local trophy bass lakes with live bait. I base this on my success during the 60' and early 70's catching hundreds of DD bass using live bait; it was too easy and believed it was damaging the big bass population.
The C & R anglers today take killing a bass for any reason to extremes. When someone catches a big bass and kills it the catch treated like a crime. If the big bass was caught on live bait, it's a bigger problem and one reason the current world record from Japan is frowned on by some anglers.
The logic that if it's legal it's OK and I agree as long as it is done with a spirit of good sportsmanship.
Anyone chastising a 12 year old for catching a record bass with live bait is either jealous or stupid.
SirSnookalot reply :
What ever your preference is go4it. As WRB stated that using live bait was easier, I agree, but if one takes pleasure in doing so it's ok with me. Bass are but 1 of a number of fish I target, I choose only to use artificial lures, no plastics, with the exception a weedless fluke when it's a must, and never use any type of aroma enhancement. My normal MO is sight casting. I do catch less fish, but I appreciate the rewards when I score. For me, nothing beats casting to fin and getting slammed by a hefty fish.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I don't think the main issue here is livebait, I think it's the fact that it was a 12 year old that caught the fish. Fishing livebait makes catching fish easier, and making it easier is a good thing to help get kids hooked on fishing. We have to do our best to pass this sport down to future generations and blasting a kid for using livebait is for sure not the right way to do it. Personally, keeping livebait alive is too much of a hassle for bass fishing but if someone else wants to use it, then that's up to them.
breezy reply :
Bashing a 12yr old for catching a state record probably stems more from jealousy than any moral objections to live bait fishing. Here in KY it's fairly common to fish with live bait for Crappie, Walleye, Striper, and to a lesser extent bass. As long as the angler is within the law and keeping fish responsibly I have no problem with it. My only concern fishing with live bait is a higher mortality rate but it's dramatically reduced with circle hooks.
For me, the vast majority of bass fishing is with artificial lures. We catch a lot of suckers/chubs out of creeks with cast nets to use when trolling for striper and sometimes I'll use extras for bass fishing. Usually the only time I'm bass fishing with live bait is if I'm taking new/inexperienced people along and want to make sure they catch fish or I'm heading to a pond simply to relax and catch a few fish.
Mattlures reply :
I use what gives me the best chance at catching a big bass. I ocasionaly use live bait but I catch more big bass on artificials. If Live bait produced more big bass for me then I would use it more often. Crawlers is my live bait of choice. I dont care if guys think less of me or less of my bait caught fish. I have caught plenty of big ones on lures. I do think in general live bait is easier but it still takes plenty of skill and many times its not the best choice
rboat reply :
Bass fishing is a wonderful sport. I use artificial lures most of the time because it makes it even more sporting and a bit more challenging to trick a fish into trying to eat or kill a piece of wood, metal, or plastic that he, under normal conditions would never even approach. When I want to try for a larger bass in a limited time frame, I have been known to throw a live shiner. Normally I do not use shiners, because it takes time to catch shiners, they are expensive to buy, and a pain to keep alive and haul around. People around here sometimes look down on shiner fisherman, calling it lazy fishing or no skill fishing. I disagree. You still have to find the fish and present the bait at the right depth. Those same individuals use minnows and multiple rods when crappie fishing and think nothing of it. Use what you like, Have fun, stay within the law. Consider C&R, and don't say anything bad to kid who is fishing. That kid could be involved in much worse activities.
brushhoggin reply :
Give me a link to these forums where they're gettin bashed i wanna go start a fire
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