Done Better With

[Squirmin Wormin]

This has to do with the tackle you use as far as artificial and live bait goes , Now i've used both and i think you get the same results with artificial bait in my opinion , maybe faster too depending on certain factors , i haven't used live bait in sometime now, But when i did sure i caught fish and their were big fish as well. Not that live bait doesn't do it's part ,just that in my opinion they do the same , and how you work your artificial's play a part in getting the fish you target or just too fish like live bait does. And with that being my opinion ,what's your's ? if you were to do a fishing contest against another person and he had live bait and you had artificial , who'd win as far as catching a bigger fish . he might have a slight advantage but doesn't mean he'd win in my opinion. it would be a underdog the artificial bait might be, but i've caught the same as far as more and just as big with artificial bait than with live bait does . I rate artificial bait 49% live bait 51% imo!

[Oregon Native]

Don't like to mess with bait....period.  Messy, stinky, takes more time to get and take care of.  Artificials have come a lonnnnnng way.

[flyfisher]

while there are times artificials will be ab ether presentation for the most part live bait will win.  it is much easier to convince a fish to bite something that is alive and that they normally see that happens to have a hook in it than something that is made to mimic the real thing or illicit a reaction strike.  This is not to say fishing live bait is easy because that is not the case.  Much like using artificials and catching big fish, the same applies to live bait.  Sure you can toss out a minnow on a slip bobber rig and catch some big fish but to do it consistently is not easy but it does up the odds in your favor.

 

All that being said, i'll take the ease of artificials any day but i will say that in the winter time i am not opposed to chucking out a minnow while i am working other baits painfully slow in the hopes that I can catch something  

[Raul]

In my neck of the woods you can´t walk into a tackle store and purchase a bucketful of minners or worms, there ain´t no such thing here.

 

In my neck of the woods in order to fish with live bait you gotta dig it out, grow it or capture it, from out of those three the only one I practice is the second ( I grow mealworms to feed my kid´s pets ), the other two I´d rather spend that time fishing.

 

In my neck of the woods once you have gone through the ordeal of digging it out or capturing it in order to fish with live bait YOU HAVE TO KEEP LIVE BAIT ALIVE ! hell, that´s more challenging than trying to ketch something with it ! Down here it ain´t like Colorada, down here when it´s hot it´s ----->  HOT ! and it´s hot most of the year.

 

I fish only with artificials and seriously doubt you can catch more or bigger with live bait.

[Catch and Grease]

I think live bait has an advantage if your proficient in using it.

[rippin-lips]

Live bait will win everytime in my opinion. A nose hooked minnow to be exact.

[Darren.]

Just ask FishChris (where is he lately, by the way?) about using live worms, craws and catching monster bass. Dude's a master at it.

 

While I use artificial 98% of the time these days, I absolutely will use night crawlers if I have them around.

 

The biggest problem is not so much the mess (to me), but the durability. Ya think GYCB Senkos don't last long, LOL.

 

Nibblers destroy the worm quickly, and you can't just chuck a night crawler wacky rigged very far without weight otherwise it'll tear up and be a free meal to those you're trying to catch.

[Raul]

There are several reasons why I say I doubt your catch more or bigger:

 

 You have to place the bait right and that is right on the spot, ( just like artificials )

 

You put your bait and wait for the fish to bite it, in the same time you have waited for the bite you could have made several casts ---> more chances of your artificial bait to be bit.

 

In many places live bait won´t last long on your hook  If it´s tiny fish like minnows baby bass and crappie will eat the bait before anything bigger will have time to inspect it, if it´s worms then it´s bluegill that will eat your bait in an eyeblink ( the good thing about mealworms is that they last several bluegills ) . so quite soon you´re out of bait and fish ain´t gonna bite a bare hook. Perhaps the only bait that will last enough would be something like crawfish.

[Heron]

Artificial vs. Live.   I have not encountered any instance where one "consistently" catches fish better than the other.  

 

Not saying thats how it is......thats just been my experience thus far.  But I do prefer the durability and longevity of artificial baits over live ones.

 

However, I do love leaches.  Leaches are beautiful.

[rboat]

Around here a live wild shiner will catch a big bass faster and more efficient than anything else you throw. Heck, you could chuck your whole tackle box in and let them pick what they want and you still won't beat a shiner. That being said, I still prefer artificial lures. To me, it is more sporting to know that I have tricked a primary predator,  in his domain, into biting something that is not a real prey item. So many lures and presentations add to the fun of the sport we all love. Plus, the bait monkey loves lure collectors!