Live bait vs lures

[Luccon]

So I thought I would share that I went with a buddy fishing today and we caught four peacock bass. The thing is he’s really big on using live shiners and obviously they are the best way to catch fish but honestly I felt like I didn’t have as much fun as I do running lures even if I don’t catch a thing. To me something about the constant action and the random hit the gets you going. Anyone else feel this way?

[Scott F]

Uh....I think nearly everyone on this forum feels that way.

[DitchPanda]

I use live bait for fish I eat like bluegills,perch,crappie and walleye. For me the pursuit of bass is about the sport...I don't know if I've ever targeted bass with live bait. Much more satisfying to catch them on artificial.

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Luccon said:

Anyone else feel this way?

If I caught my PB on live bait it wouldn't count. I'd put a bag on my head for the selfie.

[Bluebasser86]

I'm guessing the OP is fishing one of the ultra clear residential ponds in Florida where getting bit on anything but live bait is pretty difficult.

 

I don't have any issue using live bait and do it myself on occasion, but it isn't my preferred method.

[Ryan024]

Myself, I like lures. But when I'm in the shop, everyone that comes in gets live bait. I'm there for about an hour looking through lures and probably 20 people come in and all get live bait and leave.  I always think I'm the dummy and doing it wrong.  Lol.    

[roadwarrior]

4 hours ago, Ryan024 said:

Myself, I like lures. But when I'm in the shop, everyone that comes in gets live bait. I'm there for about an hour looking through lures and probably 20 people come in and all get live bait and leave.  I always think I'm the dummy and doing it wrong.  Lol.    

Live bait outfishes  lures about 10:1

 

[Luccon]

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'm guessing the OP is fishing one of the ultra clear residential ponds in Florida where getting bit on anything but live bait is pretty difficult.

 

I don't have any issue using live bait and do it myself on occasion, but it isn't my preferred method.

I wish I could fish those ponds unfortunately I have to do most my fishing in local canals. Everglades probably the best place to go but I have to be in the mood to drive over there. 

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Live bait outfishes  lures about 10:1

 

I think this is true as long as people know what they are doing. I saw a guy with a few kids the other day fishing minnows down the bank from me..they caught a cat and what looked to be a few small bass. In that time I caught 10 bass on a Ned and shallow crank.

[BrianMDTX]

Some of my fondest memories were catching anything from bass, bluegills, pumpkinseeds, yellow perch and channel cats casting whole or half nightcrawlers, or crappies on minnows. On the bottom or a bobber. Just cast it out...and relax. 

 

But it while it can make a relaxing and enjoyable fishing trip, it’s not truly comparable to catching fish on something that’s not really food. Yeah, sometimes you cast a lure and get a strike without doing a thing, but most of the time it’s the angler working the lure, and that makes for a more satisfying experience. 

 

To me lol. 

[newriverfisherman1953]

I like both. As most here on this forum, I have caught lots of fish on both live bait and artificial baits. I have been fishing for 60 years. There are times now when I enjoy a good relaxing fishing trip just sitting back watching my line move or watching the float disappear. I don’t have anything to prove either way. 

[Guitarfish]

Well I think catching stripers in the delta in dense fog with minnows is one of the most fun days I ever had.

 

But I have boxes and boxes of artificial lures I love to trick a bass with.  

 

I'm officially retired after next Wednesday,  I'm going to do like Dink and go float somewhere next Thursday!

[Captain Phil]

Live bait has it's place in bass fishing.  Twenty years ago many of my inexperienced customers struggled to catch bass on artificials.  Most of them preferred that I fished with them.  I would cast a plastic worm into a likely spot and pull out a bass. Some could never duplicate the process.  Customers are paying to catch fish not watch someone else catch them, so I always carried some live shiners.  No one can catch bass where they aren't, so it took more than a live well full of shiners to be successful.  

 

A skilled angler fishing with artificial lures can catch more fish in a day than someone fishing with live bait.  This is true because the artificial lure angler can cover more water.  The problem with shiner fishing is bass often swallow the shiner.  Shiner fishing kills too many fish. 

 

Those little farm raised shiners are worthless.  The best shiners are native to the water where you are fishing.  Back in the day, we used 9"-10" golden shiners under a balloon with 30 pound test.  We didn't get many bites.  The bites we did get were worth the wait.

[NYWayfarer]

There’s not much in my local waters I can’t catch with a live worm. 
 

If I am out past 11am and the bite slows down I will throw on a live worm for Panfish. Many a surprise Smallmouth or Largemouth have been caught during these times. 
 

Today I caught a Redbreast Sunfish on a live worm and as I was reeling it in a Smallmouth attacked it over and over. I was able to get my T-rig pole in the water and he nailed that.perfect mix of live and artificial bait action.

 

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[gim]

The problem with using live bait is that it has been proven to result in much higher mortality rates than artificial lures, especially in the warm summer months. Not that big of a deal if you intend to harvest the fish, but if you plan to release them, artificial lures will help that cause greatly.

 

The other problem is that you have to actually keep the bait ALIVE. Dead bait isn’t much good unless you’re targeting catfish.

[Bluebasser86]

15 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

I think this is true as long as people know what they are doing.

This is very true. A poorly presented live bait is just as ineffective as a poorly presented lure. There's times live bait might be much more productive, but there's times when lures are going to be way more productive. Fish buried in heavy cover, going to be hard to get a live bait to them. Fish that are schooling and biting quickly, live bait works, but a lure can be presented much faster and without constant rebaiting so it's much more efficient. When fish are scattered and you can let a bait sit and soak, being able to cover more water with a lure is going to be a big advantage. Keeping live bait alive and lively is not always easy either. 

 

There's times during the winter I know I could go net some shad and free line them in the same places I'm fishing a jerkbait or shakyhead and catch way more fish, but just the hassle of dealing with them isn't worth it most days.

[N Florida Mike]

I like both. I fish with artificials a lot more because I catch my own bait and it takes up too much time usually.

Its relaxing to sit on the dock and throw out a live bream or  shiner and wait for the bite that will inevitably come.

Circle hooks can be used and you dont gut hook many fish with them.

I sometimes fish live bait just like I do artificials. As you move, just cast the bait to likely spots and let it do its thing. You need a lot of baits for this kind of fishing, but it pays off.

If I catch a nice bass on a live bait it doesnt bother me to share the picture. The bass on my profile pic was caught on a 3 inch bream.

[DitchPanda]

20 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

This is very true. A poorly presented live bait is just as ineffective as a poorly presented lure. There's times live bait might be much more productive, but there's times when lures are going to be way more productive. Fish buried in heavy cover, going to be hard to get a live bait to them. Fish that are schooling and biting quickly, live bait works, but a lure can be presented much faster and without constant rebaiting so it's much more efficient. When fish are scattered and you can let a bait sit and soak, being able to cover more water with a lure is going to be a big advantage. Keeping live bait alive and lively is not always easy either. 

 

There's times during the winter I know I could go net some shad and free line them in the same places I'm fishing a jerkbait or shakyhead and catch way more fish, but just the hassle of dealing with them isn't worth it most days.

This is a huge reason for me. I use live maggots for panfish thru the ice but they are very hearty with almost no care required. But things like minnows and shad especially are a pain in the a@# to keep alive...particularly if it's hot out which is when I would turn to live bait to help a tough bite.

[king fisher]

It all depends on what you are fishing for and where you are fishing.  I have been fortunate and fished for many species of fish, in many different places with a variety of techniques.  I still have just as much fun fishing with a bobber and worm on the creek I fished when I was a kid, as I do catching saltwater fish on a fly rod.

       Catching fish with bait can require as much skill as artificial lures in many situations.  A skilled bait angler is as talented as a skilled lure fisherman.  Where I live the skilled anglers are the ones using bait.  They know how to catch the bait, how to keep it alive, how to hook it, and which one to use in every situation.  They use anything from sardines, to 10 pound tuna for bait.  The variety of presentations is as varied as any lure fisherman techniques.  Methods include, slow trolling bridled large baits, fast trolled dead baits, fly lined live or dead baits, Live or dead baits below kites, or helium balloons, and many other techniques.  There are even over a dozen ways to hook or rig each different bait. 

     The people without the live baiting skills, simply troll lures hoping to get bit.  The good charter captains all are proficient at bait fishing, the weekend boaters, usually just troll lures.

      Other places are the exact opposite.  The bait fisherman simply puts a worm under a bobber opens a bear and waits, while the lure fisherman skillfully works different lures in different ways ultimately finding the presentation that catches fish.

     I would never tell someone his way of fishing is inferior to mine.  It takes experience and skill to be best at your game with both bait, and artificial. Even if a person has no skill at either, as long as they are having a good time, than  that is what it is all about.  That is why at least once a year, I grab my old Zebco outfit, call up an old friend to come along, soak a worm from the bank and catch something for dinner.      

         

[soflabasser]

The easiest way to catch a peacock bass is when they are on a nest. It is way too easy. In fact you can catch them on a bare hook when they are nesting. What I find hilarious is that some fly fishermen I have met have bragged to me about how they catch peacock bass on a fly and they admit these where peacock bass that where on a nest. There are times live bait works best and other times lures work best. You have to give both styles of fishing an equal amount of effort to truly know which style will work best on any day.

[billmac]

I'm an impatient fisherman, so I prefer lures to live bait.  But I also prefer catching fish to not catching fish so I'm absolutely willing to use LB when that's what they want.

[soflabasser]

There are times that a reaction style lure will outfish live bait. For example I once fished a Central Florida lake with shiners and did not catch a single bass on the shiners but did catch them on lures. This is a lake that is hit hard by people using live bait so the bass have learned to be wary of live bait. I spent hours fishing with live bait without getting a single bite until I switched to a reaction style lure and quickly caught a limit in less than 30 minutes. 

[billmac]

I was out of fishing for several years.  When I got back in I learned about drop-shotting.  It was something I was doing with live worms decades ago!

 

When I was a boy, catching the live bait (grasshoppers,frogs, minnows, crayfish, hellgrammites) was almost as much fun as catching the fish.  Once we went turning over old corrugated tin to catch mice for muskie fishing and one ran up my friend's pant leg.  I don't think we ever ended using mice, but that was pretty fun too.

[ArthurLK11]

I've got no problem with it, but I just don't enjoy it as much. Others don't enjoy artificials as much. I still use shiners maybe 2-3 times per year though. I do so on the days where I want to fish, but I'm feeling lazy and don't want to move around too much and make a million casts. It's just easier to make a single cast, sit, and wait.