Bait Fishing

Colorado bait fishing for trout and perch

Colorado rainbow trout fishing photo

DUMPIN' THE SKUNK

At one time or another, every fisherman goes through lean times. It doesn't seem to matter what you put in the water... it comes back empty. You go to your favorite fishing holes, try methods that always work, but you don't catch fish. The following is a set up that has worked wonders when it comes to catching trout, when nothing else will. It has put fish on my hooks, when nobody else in the vicinity was getting a nibble.

First, use ultra light gear...fishing line no larger than 4lb test. Second, tie two small loops into your fishing line a foot or so apart, beginning about 18" above the end of your line. Next, attach 8" of the same fishing line to each loop. At the end of these leaders tie on a size 14 treble hook below, and a size 6 bait holder type above. At the end of the fishing line attach a 1/4 oz swivel sinker. On the treble hook put chartreuse, yellow, or hatchery Powerbait. On the size 6, slide a garlic marshmellow over the hook and up on to the fishing line, then slide a baby night crawler onto the hook. Finally move the marshmallow back down to cover the top of the hook. I always start with chartreuse Powerbait. It very rarely fails. If you do not catch fish within 15 minutes or so, bring your line in 4 or 5 feet, then wait. Repeat this until your line is back in to shore. Don't get impatient...some of the best fish are caught within a few feet of the bank. If you use two poles, I'd recommend using chartreuse PB on one pole, and alternating the other colors on the other. Good Luck!

BAIT FISHING JUSTIFIED: Part one of three: HISTORY

by Louis Bignami

BAIT FISHING HISTORY

FISHING IN PRINT

Fishing hasn't always had good press. Plato called it "a lazy deceitful occupation, unworthy of a gentleman . . ." Romans felt fishing a suitable occupation as it "encourages contemplation." However, the first literary mention of fishing was by Aelian who used natural flies to catch fish. One wonders how, for he talks about converting pesky mosquitos into bait. Maybe, like some of today's fishermen, his imagination exceeded his dexterity, or perhaps he used crane flies or maybe he flat lied. Aeolian also started the glut of fishing literature on artificial like flies. Why do so many fishermen look down on bait even though most experts agree that baitfishing is, at it's most sophisticated, both the most productive and the most subtle form of the sport? Why do many claim some higher art exists with lures and flies? After all, Dame Juliana Berners published her BOK OF ST. ALBANS or TREATISE OF FISHING WITH AN ANGLE in 1496, and she meant angle worms, not ways to skirt fish and game regulations! Shortly after Dame Berners, and there's argument that she actually wrote the book, men took over with Isaak -- that's how it's spelled on his grave in Winchester Cathedral -- or, if you like, Izaak Walton's, THE COMPLETE ANGLER. Fishing's been a mess ever since. Don't get it wrong. Within the limits of the day's technology the old boys had some good ideas about tackle. For example, they used tapered leaders up to 20 feet long. Cotton the rather raffish fellow who held up the other end of the dialog of THE COMPLETE ANGLER, popped for a line that tapered from two horsehairs next to the hook, then three horsehairs for three links, or sections, and so on. Horsehair, assuming the proper horse, and horse players know all horses aren't equal, runs about 0.5 to 1.3 pound test. A two and a half pound leader on the pole of the day must have been fun with a big brown! That's why most fishermen of the time used six or eight hairs and, if a big fish hit, would toss their poles into the water until the fish wore down. Granted that not all bait fishers used horsehair. Wire lines became popular for pike after a German invented a way to draw wire for chain mail. It seems warfare created technological advances early on!

PART TWO PART THREE

Live Bait Fishing... Dispelling the Myths
by "Fish Chris"

myth #1 Live bait fishing is a giveaway

Right from the start I must say, If I did not think that live bait offered me distinct advantages, in many situations, I would not use it. But big fish, and lots of fish, on every trip, under any circumstances ? Oh how I wish ! I can not tell you how many times, probably thousands though, that I have had big bass cruise right up to my crawdad or night crawler, only to inspect it, and then turn there nose up, and swim away. Often this happens many times on a single trip. Talk about frustrating ! Maybe there were other red flags involved. Maybe the fish was thrown off by my presence. Maybe it saw the line or the hook. Maybe that fish was as full as it could be, and quite simply was not in the feeding mode. In any case, the fact remains, if that fish does not want to eat, you are not going to "force" it to eat, regardless of the live bait, or artificial lure tied to the end of your line.

myth #2 Live bait will always out fish artificials

In the sport of angling there are few, if any absolutes. Even as great as I believe live bait can be, and as much as I enjoy fishing with it, I have come to realize that there are always exceptions. (see my article: When Are Artificial Lures a Better Choice )

Several cases in point come to mind. On one night time trip with my good buddy and night fishing pro, Dee Cowgill, about two years ago, I was very determined to catch a fish on a live dad. Meanwhile, Dee gave me the worst whipping I had ever had while he was fishing plastics ! The final count: Me, 1 bass of about 3 lbs....... Dee, 14 bass, with the biggest 5 going 39 lbs 10 ounces ! Why didn't I switch to plastics you will certainly ask ? Mostly because of my own stubbornness. I eventually did make the switch, but by that point the bite was pretty much over. I chalk that trip up as a tough lesson well learned.

Then on at least a couple of other occasions, during day trips, I had hammered an area hard for at least a few hours straight, putting few or no bass in the boat, only to have Dee pull up to the same spot in his boat, and proceed to stick a fish on the first or second cast with a soft plastic bait ! Keep in mind that Dee is awesome with soft plastics, and simply switching to soft plastics myself, would not guarantee me the same results. Still, there must be something to all of this.

Myth #3 Only novices or "non-pro" anglers use live bait

On the contrary, many, if not most of the big names in trophy bass hunting, have used live bait as a large part of there angling practices. One of my long time fishing idols, Bob Crupi, predominately uses live bait, namely crawdads, and is the only man alive to have caught two Largemouths over 20 lbs ! Another huge name in trophy bass fishing is Bill Murphy. Although Murphy uses all types of artificial lures, as well as live baits, he certainly advocates the use of live crawdads as a very strong tool. Of course everyone knows about Doug Hannon, "The Big Bass Professor". He has also used all types of artificial lures, but has caught many of his biggest bass on live shiners. Then there is Mike Long, the big bass king from So cal. Although Mike caught the largest bass in the last 10 years, a 20 lb 12 oz behemoth on an artificial lure, he has fished, and continues to fish with live bait for certain situations. By the way, all four of these bass fishing greats are strong advocates of the "Catch and Release of Trophy Bass".

Many people simply overlook the fact that with live bait fishing, just as with any other technique, there is a lot to learn. The anglers who know this, and who put in the time and effort required, will always be the ones who excel.

Myth #4 Live bait fishing kills more fish, and therefore is not a good choice for the "catch and release" angler

This is quite simply not true. A very large percentage (somewhere near 95%) of the fish that I hook with a live dad, are perfectly hooked in the top lip, or towards the front of the roof of the mouth.

I find that more fish will be deeply hooked with shiners and crawlers, or with tiny dads and more aggressive bass. Education is the key here. For starters, it helps to set the hook quicker if you are having a problem with deeply hooked fish. Maybe the most important thing to keep in mind is that if you cannot quickly, and easily remove a hook, without causing further damage to the fish, it should be quickly released, as digging around in the fishes throat, and keeping it out of the water while doing so, will almost certainly result in the death of that fish. One nice thing to remember is that a very large percentage of the fish released with a hook still in them, will be able to expel that hook later, as long as it has not damaged any vital organs. Contrary to popular belief, the hook will not usually rust or corrode out, but rather, the tissue surrounding the point of penetration will soften, allowing the hook to simply fall out. Keep in mind, the hooks used for live bait fishing are much smaller, and of much lighter wire (usually anywhere from a size 6 to a size 1) than those used for soft plastic artificial lures. The fact that I have caught numerous bass which were successfully dealing with huge worm hooks of 5/0 or more, or in the process of expelling one of these giant hooks from the rectum, leaves me with much confidence, that if I should happen to leave one of my tiny hooks in a fish, it will probably not be much of a problem.

You must remember that bass have evolved to be able to handle having the spines of a fish, or claws of a crawdad, broke off in the mouth or throat. Generally speaking, this, or a hook, is not usually fatal to the bass.

So where do these myths originate ?

I think an angler must realize that the sales of artificial lures are a multi-million dollar business ! Of course these manufactures want you to believe all of the myths previously mentioned here. These companies also spend millions of dollars promoting the use of there lures, and also in the sponsoring of tournaments, which of course, do not allow live bait. There lively hood depends on "your" money!

An interesting divide among anglers

I have found that there are two major groups, and one very small one, concerning the thoughts and attitudes towards live bait:

The first group are the victims of the "corporate brainwashing" that I mentioned above. These anglers have little, if any, firsthand knowledge or experience with the use of live bait, but rather, choose to base there thoughts and decisions on hearsay and propaganda.

The second fairly large group are the anglers who did believe, at one time, that live bait was in fact "a giveaway" ! So they went into it with unreal expectations. These guys hit any ol' water, at any ol' time, with any ol' live bait, just knowing that they couldn't possibly miss ! But nearly all of these guys end up walking away sadly disillusioned.

So what about that final, tiny group ? ...........

The bottom line

There is a very small group of anglers who realize that live bait is just another tool, albeit, a strong one at the right time and place. These guys put in the time and effort required to learn how to use live bait to the fullest extent. And finally, this group is not concerned with "looking cool" or "hanging with the in-crowd", but rather there concern lies, in catching the biggest fish, and the most big fish that they possibly can!

Until you give live bait a solid shot, you won't know what your missing ! Always keeping an open mind is the key.

Angling for wigglers, worms and hoppers How to bag the baits fish will bite.

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Bait works best! At most times and in most places. baits take more fish than artificials. The advantage bait offers widens as conditions get tough, fishing pressures increase, or the angler wants to concentrate on trophy fish results rather than fashionable techniques that use artificials. Clearly, a properly selected, fresh live bait presented in a subtle manner on appropriate tackle, suits today's conditions for the beginner and expert alike. For example, nothing beats a big live shiner for bass in the summer heat when the fishing's slow. No nymph pattern works better than a live hellgrammite drifted to a picky brown trout on a rocky mountain stream. Otherwise, if baits did not work best they would not be banned in so many places? The reason baits work best is simple. While incredible amounts of ingenuity and tons of technology focus on lure shape, color, action and, yes, taste, fish know the difference between the real thing and imitations. That's not just piscatorial. In life is any imitation ever better than the real thing? Margarine may look like butter, but gourmets know the difference. Gourmet fish, the survivors of today's piscatorial wars, know the differences too.

That's why early man, as far back as Neanderthal days, used fish hooks baited with who knows what, to take fish. Unfortunately, not too much primitive fishing tackle survives. The earliest tackle seems to be some stone age hooks from Czechoslovakia, or whatever they're calling it by the time this sees print. Clearly early man fished with bait. It's easy to see their hair lines and wood poles wouldn't survive. Language might solve the problem. In Latin, and in Hebrew, the same word means both "thorn" and "hook." So it's easy to see that the fur garment set used for hooks.

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