Bait or Lures?

[Gwydion]

What do you mainly fish with, bait or lures?

For the most part I use lures, spinners for mackerel, pollack and school bass, feathers if I'm after lots of mackerel and sand eels (the lure kind) for deeper swimming fish.

On occasiona I'll add a lugworm or strip of fish on a flying lead if I can get flatfish as well as free-swimming predators.

It's only if I'm specifically going for larger fish like codling or rays that I use bait.

How about you, bait or lures? And what do you fish for.

 

[r. zimm]

You should have both I think. Lures are usually much more work to fish than live bait so there's that issue if you want to relax.

 

[NickJ]

I think bait is better. Live bait preferably. It's traditional and still works.

 

[bigal3]

I think bait is better. Live bait preferably. It's traditional and still works.

I too am mostly a natural bait fisherman. I have had more luck with natural bait than with lures although I have had some success with artificial lures. To me there is nothing better than good ole' mother nature.

 

[crossunitedfate]

I go for bait, preferably because I can get that freely. All it takes is for me to do a little digging in my backyard and presto, worm central

 

[Esperahol]

Live bait - generally shrimp and sometimes worms or nightcrawlers. That said when in doubt I use pieces of chicken cutelet, bits off of catches I won't eat, and once part of a rabbit I had manage to get earlier. On a different note - always carry your shotgun.

 

[NickJ]

Part of a rabbit?! You mean it was just lying out there? Or you trapped the bunny yourself?

 

[Esperahol]

Part of a rabbit?! You mean it was just lying out there? Or you trapped the bunny yourself?

I get bored sometimes... so I set my line and I go off to set traps or maybe get a quick shot(s) in. My favorite spot has a bit of a rabbit problem... so yeah.

 

[happyflowerlady]

I prefer using bait, but now that I am older, I do not like putting love bait on the hook, and certainly not anything like a water dog or salamander. Even worms are getting hard for me to use. So I mostly stick with a piece of chicken liver, or salmon egg, or at least something that is already dead.
Lures are great, and a lot of fun to use, but they are expensive, and easy to get caught on something and then you often lose the lure, and have to replace it, so I mainly stick to using bait. At least when it gets tangled up, you can just put another hook on and be good to go again.

 

[Esperahol]

What exactly do you catch with salamanders and how do you get a hold of them in the first place? I've never tried with anything like that, but perhaps I should expand my horizons a bit. By the by where were you fishing at?

 

[keepitreel]

I know live bait is better, but I'm a bit of a wuss and after poking several little fish eyeballs out (yeah, they were alive) I decided that that wasn't the thing for me. I use lures. Sometimes they're really successful, and sometimes they're not, but I'd rather take a chance at not catching anything then be poking out eyeballs.

 

[JoshSmith100]

For salt water I definitely prefer bait, that always seems to work the best for me. I have caught some nice fish off lures, but alot better quantity using bait. For freshwater however, I do alot better with lures than bait.

 

[Writer]

I use both bait and lures. When I'm fishing from the beach or from a pier I usually use bait. I'll usually use mussel or sand crabs when on the beach, and mussels or anchovies when on a pier. I prefer lures when I'm in a boat. I didn't have much faith in them when my Dad first told me and my brother we were going to use them. He put one on his line and let it sink to the ocean floor. Then he said to raise the pole about 2 feet and then let it sink to the floor again, and then do it again until you feel a bite. He demonstrated a couple times, then reeled it back in and there was a fish on the lure. I've been stuck on lures ever since.