Fishing With Live Bait

[Brett's_daddy]

My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?

[Jake the Cake]

Live bait will out fish lures, worms, jigs, etc. all day every day. 

[Choporoz]

My opinion is worthless.  Try it and let us know.  Some despise it.  Some do it all the time. 

[the reel ess]

My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?

Give us a report. And you might want to use a circle hook to keep it out of the fish's gut. Nothing worse than killing a large fish unless your intention is to put it on the wall. But they aren't all trophies.

 

There are golden shiners and some very big bass in the primary place I fish. I'd like to give live bait a try there to see if I can break my PB. I see no reason it wouldn't work as it does on Okeechobee. But I do enjoy casting for them way more than free-lining.

[scaleface]

Both have their pros and cons  I have had a" lot"  of 100 bass days with lures , not exaggerating . Lures  will cover more water   .  Sometimes lures will be more efficient .

[the reel ess]

Both have their pros and cons  I have had a" lot"  of 100 bass days with lures , not exaggerating . Lures  will cover more water   .  Sometimes lures will be more efficient .

I agree. There's an artificial for every situation. I've been crappie fishing many times when jigs flat outfished minnows.

[Raul]

Live or artificial, you still gotta find the fish.

[WRB]

Bass anglers are divided on this topic and can get very emotional discussing this.

Circle hooks are the answer to using live bait if catch & release is the goal.

Pinning a live minnow on a hook under a bobber is 1 technique and doesn't represent live bait fishing for bass.

There is a lot to learn about live baiting fishing just like there is about learning various lure presentations.

You can go to a store and buy bait, however going out and catching, netting or trapping the live bait is educational and a good learning experience about the bass prey.

I went through a long time period condemning the use of live crawdads, waterdogs (tiger salamanders) and large baitfish to target big bass during the spawn cycle, as being unsportsmanlike. The reason was I used those live baits back in the 50' and 60's and it was easy to catch big bass, too easy. Our local small lakes could be seriously over harvested by skilled anglers using those specific live baits, during the spawn period.

Today, waterdogs and large baitfish are no longer legal to use in most of our local lakes, the problem is no longer an issue.

If you use light tackle similar to finesse fishing and fly line live bait using circle hooks, live bait fishing with big night crawlers, 3" to 4" crawdads ( beak hooked) or live Shad takes a degree of skill. Just don't bed fish using live bait and I am OK with it.

Tom

[FSUMF333]

Minnows are great when fishing with kids my son always gets the biggest fish with them when we go with my dad. But that's the only time we use em 3-4 year old's will lose interest fast if they're not catching fish.

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Lure making companies would have you believe live bait doesn't work. Don't believe the hype. 

[roadwarrior]

Big minnows are VERY effective. I fish them on a split shot rig using Gamakatsu

#6 Octopus Circle Hooks. On the Tennessee River we need to hook them in the

mouth (lower jaw through upper jaw) to keep the minnow from drowning. The

small hook keeps them alive and active much longer than using bigger hooks.

DO NOT be frugal with your bait, the minnow MUST be fresh and frisky.

[MIbassyaker]

My dad suggested that I try using live minnows for bait and that he thinks I'd catch a lot of bass with them over lures. He said bass are used to seeing and eating minnows so they know they are food unlike a lure where sometimes they have to think about if it's edible or not before striking. He said take a small hook like maybe #6 and stick it under the dorsal fin of a 4" minnow/shiner and use a bobber and cast out. He said the minnow will swim all around but not for long before a bass takes it. This makes sense to me but my wife is against it saying that it's "old school" and the new lures they have out now are proven just as effective if not more than live bait...so, which is it in your opinion?

 

Clearly, this calls for a "Fish-Off" between your dad and your wife...

[scaleface]

I dont know  man. I think a texas rig would be more efficient fishing brush piles 20 foot deep.  If all one does is cast and reel at visible targets then live bait may  be better , sometimes. 

[the reel ess]

Minnows are great when fishing with kids my son always gets the biggest fish with them when we go with my dad. But that's the only time we use em 3-4 year old's will lose interest fast if they're not catching fish.

My dad started me off with a cane pole and worms. Then we moved on to pole and minnows for crappie. Finally, we started using jigs to compliment the minnows. He did  a good job of keeping me interested by making it easier. We probably would have stopped there, but I wanted to start bass fishing so he got the right kind of boat and indulged me. Since then I don't think I've ever intentionally bass fished with live bait. I just like casting and "fooling" them more.

[bigbill]

Here's my true story. We always fished for trout in the springtime. But just a few times per year for bass. My son broke his leg on a motocross track in the woods. Everyone stepped up and took him fishing. I was spending up to $50++ a week on live bait fishing just about everyday with the kids. One night we were fishing the swamp just before the front hit the rain was two hours away. I just purchased a mepps #3 Anglia bass kit.

We were using night crawlers and culprit 10" worms two setups. As I reeled in the night crawler I had a strike. They(the bass) told me they want something moving. I put on a mepps #3 Anglia silver blade gray dressed and caught two bass right away. I tossed the mepps red/silver babe Brown dressed #3 Anglia to my son. We caught doubles for about 45 minutes till it got dark.

Now I'm throwing lures more and a live bait setup. Once I learned the presentations my lure setup started out fishing the live bait setup, night crawlers and live minnows. I stopped using live bait and used the extra money I saved to buy lures.

Focus on your presentations, and how many different presentations you can do with one lure.

The skill and education comes in when figuring out which pattern will produce success.(what style lure) one pattern may catch a few bass while another pattern may load the boat.

Trust me lures will out fish live bait once we understand what pattern works matched up to the correct presentation. A shot of bass scent/attractant helps too.

I throw about 12 different lures in my ritual of baits. It's a challenge to me to get the pattern. Trying different colors and sizes works too.

In fishing it's all skill.

I carried a few lures all my life in my tackle box. I didn't know how to use them for 30 years. Bass fishing to me is way more fun than trout fishing. I like all types of fishing.

Get a rapala original floating minnow F7 in blue. Go out and try all the different presentations with it. First try a slow reel.

I think the biggest problem we bass fisherman have is we tend to fish too fast. Don't rush, relax, fish slow.

Read all the articles on this site, watch every fishing video here. Do it over and over all winter and spare time you have. Hone your skills. Now hit the water to advance your skills. Nothing teaches us better than time spent on the water fishing.

You will soon figure out that lure size and color does matter.

[stk44]

I think if you are unskilled, live bait will catch more than artificial bait. However, there are times when artificial lures are better. Like this weekend. I caught 5 white bass and 3 freshwater drums in Lake Erie on a lipless crank. Everyone else was using worms or minnows and caught NOTHING.

 

Also, I think the biggest thing is that its more satisfying catching a fish, knowing that you are the reason the fish took your lure. Instead of sitting in a lawn chair, drinking a beer, and reeling a fish in.

[Dogmatic]

A time and place for both.

[Last_Cast]

depends on your style of fishing..

 

no skill in using live minnows.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

I posted a parallel thread, here: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/162983-fishing-with-live-bait-my-experiences/

 

Posting that as a response here felt like threadjacking to me, so I made it a separate thread out of consideration for Brett's Dad, but it's absolutely pertinent.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[F14A-B]

Use your live bait.. It's legal, ( on most water )

I've used golden shiners, hybrid & minnows ( for crappie ) I don't believe it's unethical & couldn't care less who thinks it is, in my opinion, neither should you. Golden Shiners = Big Bass in Florida

[routeman007]

"Interesting topic!"  (smiling)

[bassguytom]

I thought fish hold on 10 times longer to powerbait products? I also heard gulp out fishes live bait? No? Fish however you want as long as you are having fun and enjoying what you are doing. Try to stay conscious of your surroundings and keep an eye on your line while using live bait as to not gut hook them if you are going to let them go. For me there is much more to fishing then catching fish. Have fun.

[Jrob78]

I don't live bait fish but to do it right there's way more to it than simply sticking a minnow under a bobber.

 

I've got nothing against live bait fishing, it's just not the way I enjoy bass fishing.

[Brayberry]

I don't live bait fish, as I believe it takes no skill.  I mean if I stick a cheeseburger in front of you with a hook in it, you'd eat it, and be hooked, no technique or skill involved

[Jrob78]

I don't live bait fish, as I believe it takes no skill.  I mean if I stick a cheeseburger in front of you with a hook in it, you'd eat it, and be hooked, no technique or skill involved

Then you aren't doing it right.