10 Interesting Facts About Bait

For all you fishing aficionados out there, here are 10 interesting facts about bait.

1. Traditionally, bait that is used for fishing were insects, night crawlers and other smaller fish. Later on, fishermen moved on to using plastic bait and even later, electronic fishing lures in attracting fish.

2. Due to the possibility of transmitting whirling disease, or more scientifically known as Myxobolus cerebralis, salmon and trout should never be used as bait for fishing.

3. The best fishing lure or fishing bait for the Red Fish or the Red Drum would be the menhaden or the pogie or also croakers that could be thrown in the marshy areas.

4. Bait fish would be the small fish that are caught and then used as bait or fishing lures so the larger predatory fish could be attracted, especially game fish. The species which are commonly used would be the ones that have a big population and are able to breed rapidly, as this would make them a lot easier to catch and would always be in regular supply. Some examples of these bait fish or fishing lures would be halfbeaks, anchovies and scad, while some of the more common freshwater bait fish would include fish that are under the carp or minnow family, the sucker family, the killfish family, shad family and the sunfish family.

5. Swimming in the open sea or ocean alongside bait fish could be very dangerous as these fish could easily attract sharks and other large predatory fish.

6. Bait fish sometimes make use of whale sharks to serve as a shield to protect them from other predators like tuna, as tuna usually steer clear of sharks.

7. Cut bait can also serve as good fishing lures. You can use fish that has been cut up into small pieces as these baits could attract other fish differently (but in a better way) compared to using whole bait or live bait and fishing lures. Bigger fish are attracted to the scent of the cut bait and are more likely to hit on them. You could make use of any fish that you caught, which would include bait fish. To achieve the best results, you could try scaling the fish while leaving the skin on.

8. Leeches also make great fishing lures or baits for fishing northern pike and freshwater walleye. They are also readily available at bait shops. To use them, hook the sucker on its tail. Since leeches have two suckers - one for each end, a good tip to make sure that you are hooking its tail sucker would be checking which disk is larger. The head disk is typically smaller than the tail sucker disk.

9. Another type of fishing lure or bait would be prepared bait like dough balls. These are commercially made and can be bought in cans labeled for the specific fish they can be used as bait for like carp, trout or catfish. You could use it by molding it around the hook or you can use it with a treble hook along with an attachment of a bait holder.

10. Lastly, remember to check your local regulations so that you can make sure that the bait you would be choosing is legal for the particular lake you would be fishing in. There are numerous lakes that do not allow using rough fish minnows as fishing lure or bait as rough fish could take over the entire lake, starving out the game fish.