Baits to Use for Different Kinds of Fish
There are so many kinds of fishing bait available that it's hard to know what to use. The season, the body of water, and what the fish you're after are hitting on determine what bait you use. Asking people that you see catching fish what they're using is a good way to choose bait, but not everyone will tell you exactly what's working. To figure out what bait to use for different kinds of fish, you need to know what those fish usually eat.
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Instructions
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Buy live bait to catch bluegill, crappie, perch, walleye, sauger, sunfish, gar and rock bass. Bluegill like grubs, worms, maggots, flies, crickets and grasshoppers. Crappie hit on minnows, worms, insects and insect larvae. Perch go after minnows, worms, crayfish, insects and insect larvae. Walleye bite on nightcrawlers, minnows, leeches, shad and other small fish. Sauger like leeches, insects, crayfish and small fish. Sunfish eat leaf worms, insects, maggots and grubs. Gar go for minnows, frogs and suckers. Tempt rock bass with worms, crayfish, minnows, insects and insect larvae.
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Use different kinds of minnows. Walleye, crappie and bass eat fathead and bluntnose minnows. Northern pike and bass go after chubs and golden shiners.
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Try nightcrawlers or chicken livers and other prepared bait like stink bait, corn, hot dogs or bread balls to catch catfish. Bullhead and carp also like prepared bait.
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Catch salmon with plugs, spoons, spinners, jigs, lures, and even bare hooks painted in bright colors. The baits will be larger than you use for most fish since salmon are large and put up a big fight. If you want to use live bait for salmon, try anchovies, herring, shrimp, smelt, crayfish, flies or worms. They also bite on salmon eggs.
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Use worms, crayfish, flies and artificial lures to catch smallmouth bass. For largemouth bass, try grubs, worms, flies, spoons, plastic worms and spinners. Striped bass eat shad and worms, and go after spinners and streamers.
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Make trout bite by using worms, flies, salmon eggs, cocktail shrimp, plugs, spoons, spinners and artificial bait.
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Tips & Warnings
You can catch almost any fish with worms or nightcrawlers on a small jighead.
