Be Sure to use the Right Bait

Each fish has a particular diet that they are fond of and the trick to catching a fish is to figure out exactly what he is hungry for.  Fishing bait can be almost anything; insects, worms, night crawlers, giant mealworms, salmon eggs, sand shrimp, cured prawns, smaller fish and nearly every fisherman has a concoction of many things combined to make his own secret bait. 

Bait is defined as any substance used to attract prey.  However, in a fishing scenario it is difficult to distinguish who is the prey; man or fish?  Yes, the bait is put upon the hook to capture the fish but isn’t the real prey the man, woman or child at the end of the fishing rod.

Different Fish Prefer Different Delights

There are specific fishing baits for specific waterways, meaning that the use of a certain type of fish food will more readily result in a higher catch.  Successful fresh water fishing bait is night crawlers, giant mealworms, cured sand shrimp, salmon eggs, and specialty items that can be bought online or in sportsman retail outlets.  For Saltwater fishing, cured prawns and prawn tails, mini shrimp, cured sand shrimp, clam necks, and again, specific specialties that can be made at home or purchased online and in retail outlets. 

Man Made Fishing Bait offers Great Variety

Weights, floats, swivels, lures, flies and other man-made tackle are also used as fishing bait.  These items can be brightly colored or in muted earth tones, have feathers, shiny silver spinners, given the appearance of a small rat, frog or tiny fish.  Each of these things, while unreal, offers a realistic image once in the water.  It is often the fish’s curiosity of the fishing bait that draws it to the hook initially and then instinct to eat is what pushes the fish to take the bait.

Catch and Release

Today many fishermen are practicing the “catch and release” method of fishing.  This is a method of fishing with a barbless hook and once catching a fish, returning it back to the water from which it came.  Fishing is becoming more and more a sport rather than a quest for food.  While many lakes and rivers now require the “catch and release” fishing practice, the idea of catching “the one that got away” keeps bait companies in the business of perfecting the perfect fishing bait.