7 of Our Favorite Bait Types

Fishing requires mastery. It is not as easy as casting a line and pulling it in once a fish gets caught by the hook. It means knowing your environment, your target, your equipment, and yourself. Choosing the perfect tools especially baits and lures are essentially part of the process, one that you should never skip if your goal is to capture as many fish as possible either for fun or for your next supper.

To help prepare your arsenal, check out this list enumerating the best natural and artificial baits you can use in your next “fishcapade”.

Natural Baits: Nothing Beats the Living

1. Follow the Minnow

These baby fish are an absolute treat for any game fish out there in the sea. This is best for freshwater fishing (muskellunge, bluegill, crappie, Northern pike, brown trout, and walleye especially love this bait!); the best thing about minnows is they are available all-year round in any bait and tackle shops. If you want a more personal touch to your angling experience, you can catch the minnows yourself if it is legally permissible in the state where you live.

When angling using minnows as bait, make sure that the baby fish keep moving on their own. If you want some more thrilling fishing experience, you better hook the minnow upside down using a light jig. It will make it struggle, making it a more lively bait that could lure your next big game fish into your boat.

2. Worm Your Way In

If you have a green thumb that is willing to dig through dirt, then make sure that you collect worms for your next angling activity. Worms best thrive in your garden soil or in a damp, shaded area. If you cannot find any in your lawn, you can also buy them from fishing tackle stores and bait shops.

Worms are the best bait for bass, walleyes, trouts, sunfish, and panfish.

3. Insects in Sync

If you think insects are just a nuisance, think again. These little creatures may deserve your thanks the next time to reel in your world record game fish. Caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and ants are amazing baits for trouts, sunfish, panfish, and smallmouths.

Bigger fish prefer the immature hellgrammites, caddis, stoneflies, and stoneflies.

4. Leeches for Fish

These are excellent fishing bait for freshwater fish species like Northern pike and walleye. Fortunately, you can readily buy leeches from bait shops near you. When using leeches, note that they have suckers at both ends; they must be hooked through the sucker in the tail.

Here’s a trick when using leeches as bait: allow them to adjust to the new water temperature by immersing them in the body of water for at least an hour. This will also allow them to stretch and swim naturally, ready to ensnare your targets.

Artificial Baits: Hook the Crook, err...Carp

1. Spinners for the Win

These artificial fishing lures have a heavy weight at the end of a single hook. This works by having metal blades spin and skip across the water’s surface. This movement, along with the vibrations created and flashes of light, imitate small fish in the water, making your target game fish go after them.

This handy artificial bait can be used almost everywhere; it is most suitable for targeting bass, walleye, pike, bream, and blue kurper.

2. Jig the Deep

A jiig is a small hook; it is considered a versatile artificial lure since it can be used in any type or body of water at any time of the year. One of its distinctive features is the lead ball found near the eye of the hook often decorated with tinsel, rubber legs, artificial eyes, or most commonly: feathers. It also has an attachment that looks like a plastic grub.

This kind of lure attracts pike, perch, and bass. Note that jigs are best utilized for short casts, targeting only the surface or subsurface of the water.

3. Spoons Full of Fish

These artificial lures are definitely shaped like a spoon; they have a wide and round end which is used to catch water and force some activity. They imitate a fast-swimming minnow darting and flashing. 

When the spoon is retrieved, it wobbles from side to side, mimicking an injured large fish in the water, ready to be devoured by your prized game fish. Interestingly, spoons have been used since the 1840s.

If you want to capture large species of fish like largemouth bass, northern pike, salmon, and trout, then grab some spoons from the bait shops for your next fishing charter booking!

Here are some bonus facts. If you want a quirky fishing experience, you may use the following hilarious baits you can find in your fridge or house: mini marshmallows, candy, chewing gum, raisins, chicken liver, dog food, canned meat, soap, hotdog, bacon, cheese, cigarette butts, corn. However, just to make sure that you have some fish to bring home, you can always stick to the best baits listed above. Enjoy fishing!