Live Bait and Bass Fishing
08-01-2010, 05:20 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: in the woods or on the water...
Posts: 4,832
Live Bait and Bass Fishing
This topic has came up around these forums a few times over the past summer season and I am curious to see some responses. It is understood that fishing *should* be about personal preference and overall about self-gratification and enjoyment of the sport, so, in essence: to each his own.
Why do people think that using live bait is cheating for Bass, while others often fish for them with the aid or natural baits? Don't bring up some tournament blah blah blah, I'm not talking about that.
Why do people think that using live bait is cheating for Bass, while others often fish for them with the aid or natural baits? Don't bring up some tournament blah blah blah, I'm not talking about that.
08-01-2010, 07:39 AM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Wy
Posts: 9,821
I dont do much bass fishing( not many in the state or close to me)- but i think i have seen the same thing with trout some. There are places here where no bait is allowed for trout- so i assume there assuming bait makes it easyier..
Of course i cant answer for anyone else but myself. I injoy catching fish- no matter the methods used & will use both where legal.
And for fishing in general -including bass & trout there nothing i like better then wetting my worms( where legal) & catching some fish.
Of course i cant answer for anyone else but myself. I injoy catching fish- no matter the methods used & will use both where legal.
And for fishing in general -including bass & trout there nothing i like better then wetting my worms( where legal) & catching some fish.
08-01-2010, 07:46 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Wy
Posts: 9,821
To add- when me & the mate did have the chance to bass fish a bit-( when we had our place down in Ark) we fished more for sunfish, catfish, gar.
But it was lreal fun to take a small live sunfish & catch a bass with it for both of us.
But it was lreal fun to take a small live sunfish & catch a bass with it for both of us.
08-01-2010, 07:50 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: central and east texas
Posts: 4,894
here, i am understanding as long as you dont use a game fish fer bait, its ok..as far as using live bait, i just think thats how its been done for thousands of years, and if there was a way to cheat, i would say its using lures, not live bait.
how bout no bait?
i saw a show on the bloob tube, whale wars, and those guys dont use any bait, just that friggen harpoon.
i saw where they found a 1000 year old arrow head in a whale, how can ya kill somethin a 1000 years old anyways..
how bout no bait?
i saw a show on the bloob tube, whale wars, and those guys dont use any bait, just that friggen harpoon.
i saw where they found a 1000 year old arrow head in a whale, how can ya kill somethin a 1000 years old anyways..
08-02-2010, 05:20 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: in the woods or on the water...
Posts: 4,832
I'm surprised, some response from people who I wasn't really expecting. There are others here who seem quite opposed to it.
As for me, I love fishing live bait for all species. Generally I can outfish artificial bait with live bait in some situations, though the outburst in plastics and bass fishing is incredible. In necesity, fishing live bait really keys me on what fish are looking to eat and what immitations i need to fish with, come tournament time.
As for me, I love fishing live bait for all species. Generally I can outfish artificial bait with live bait in some situations, though the outburst in plastics and bass fishing is incredible. In necesity, fishing live bait really keys me on what fish are looking to eat and what immitations i need to fish with, come tournament time.
08-02-2010, 05:51 AM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Wy
Posts: 9,821
Bait is bait( its also what happens in the natural world around us all the time ( eat & be eatin).
It will never get the glory, attention, massive amounts of money to promote it, the mass marketing campains by companys & there commericals/adds or ppl pushing it- trying to convince fisherppl that they just have to have the latest greatest new color/ flavor shape swim action piece of plastic to come down the pike.
Kinda reminds me of dog & cat food commericals- i have never ever seen a dog or cat asking for or shoping for all those foods/treats ever expanding number of products for pets i see on tv, in mags etc that are out there .
Or mouse flavored cat food
( wish there where more pike , musky etc around me- id be trying to feed them many things if they where)
It will never get the glory, attention, massive amounts of money to promote it, the mass marketing campains by companys & there commericals/adds or ppl pushing it- trying to convince fisherppl that they just have to have the latest greatest new color/ flavor shape swim action piece of plastic to come down the pike.
Kinda reminds me of dog & cat food commericals- i have never ever seen a dog or cat asking for or shoping for all those foods/treats ever expanding number of products for pets i see on tv, in mags etc that are out there .
Or mouse flavored cat food
( wish there where more pike , musky etc around me- id be trying to feed them many things if they where)
08-02-2010, 07:08 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,525
I am not opposed to live bait, but i strongly prefer plastics when fishing solo or with somebody else, unless that other individual would prefer live bait. Dang, this reply is about to get a lot longer than I originally anticipated, but here goes.
Live Bait:
If I am out with my children, or a friend who has never really fished before, I don't hesitate to use live bait because it works, plain and simple. In fact, it works almost too well sometimes, which can make the fishing boring for me. It definitely has it's benifits as BuckHunter has mentioned: allows you to key in on the types of bait fish that the targeted species is going after, and it can also make a really dull day of fishing turn around very quickly. However, to me, fishing with live bait is like having codes for video games when I was a kid. I had no problem using them, because I knew they worked, but after a while, the game became to easy with the codes and I was always a winner. After awhile, it got boring, and I would go back to trying to beat the game without any codes because it was more challenging and brought the luster back to an otherwise lackluster game. I guess another analogy would be how when I was a kid, I would lower the basketball goal so that I could dunk like jordan, pippen, majic johnson, etc. It was really fun for a day or two, but it quickly became boring again once i realized I hadnt really accomplished anything extraordinary, and that i was just an overweight fat kid using a trampoline to dunk on a lowered basketball goal, haha. I hadnt learned or gained anything from it, I just brought the game down to my level.
Now, i dont feel that using live bait is cheating or wrong in any way. Like mentioned above, I use them with my kids and with friends who have never fished before because it makes the fishing faster paced and keeps them interested longer.
Plastics:
I prefer plastics for a few reasons:
1. I dont have to keep rehooking baits
2. I can cover a lot of water a lot faster
3. I can more accurately determine the depth the fish are at (I have no depthfinder)
4. I can more accurately determine structure type and location with artificials, making it easier to locate bass hotspots
5. Most importantly, it's usually more challenging to catch a bass on an artifical lure, but not always.
The waters that I fish have good concentrations of bass, and when using live bait you can really load up on bass, sometimes 5-6 an hour, for 3-4 hours straight, just sitting in one spot. Thats fun for a day or so, but gets old after a while. Rarely will you catch a fish larger than 16-17 inches on the live bait, but you catch a lot of fish in the 14-16 inch range. To get the big berthas, I've had much better luck with artificials.
Again, I like both artificials and live bait, but I think the challenge of imparting your own actions and skills into an artificial, and being able to catch a fish that way, is a lot more challening to me and that is probably why I prefer it more. However, I have no problems using live bait when fishing with my kids, friends, or if I am needing to stock up on bass again for the freezer.
Live Bait:
If I am out with my children, or a friend who has never really fished before, I don't hesitate to use live bait because it works, plain and simple. In fact, it works almost too well sometimes, which can make the fishing boring for me. It definitely has it's benifits as BuckHunter has mentioned: allows you to key in on the types of bait fish that the targeted species is going after, and it can also make a really dull day of fishing turn around very quickly. However, to me, fishing with live bait is like having codes for video games when I was a kid. I had no problem using them, because I knew they worked, but after a while, the game became to easy with the codes and I was always a winner. After awhile, it got boring, and I would go back to trying to beat the game without any codes because it was more challenging and brought the luster back to an otherwise lackluster game. I guess another analogy would be how when I was a kid, I would lower the basketball goal so that I could dunk like jordan, pippen, majic johnson, etc. It was really fun for a day or two, but it quickly became boring again once i realized I hadnt really accomplished anything extraordinary, and that i was just an overweight fat kid using a trampoline to dunk on a lowered basketball goal, haha. I hadnt learned or gained anything from it, I just brought the game down to my level.
Now, i dont feel that using live bait is cheating or wrong in any way. Like mentioned above, I use them with my kids and with friends who have never fished before because it makes the fishing faster paced and keeps them interested longer.
Plastics:
I prefer plastics for a few reasons:
1. I dont have to keep rehooking baits
2. I can cover a lot of water a lot faster
3. I can more accurately determine the depth the fish are at (I have no depthfinder)
4. I can more accurately determine structure type and location with artificials, making it easier to locate bass hotspots
5. Most importantly, it's usually more challenging to catch a bass on an artifical lure, but not always.
The waters that I fish have good concentrations of bass, and when using live bait you can really load up on bass, sometimes 5-6 an hour, for 3-4 hours straight, just sitting in one spot. Thats fun for a day or so, but gets old after a while. Rarely will you catch a fish larger than 16-17 inches on the live bait, but you catch a lot of fish in the 14-16 inch range. To get the big berthas, I've had much better luck with artificials.
Again, I like both artificials and live bait, but I think the challenge of imparting your own actions and skills into an artificial, and being able to catch a fish that way, is a lot more challening to me and that is probably why I prefer it more. However, I have no problems using live bait when fishing with my kids, friends, or if I am needing to stock up on bass again for the freezer.
08-02-2010, 07:40 AM
#9
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Wy
Posts: 9,821
From my limited personal fishing experences( including down in Ark more recently with no boat)
When i have had a boat in the past - i think that changes things a bit for me( depending what im fishing for) & what methods id use most of the time.
Nothing i liked better then standing in the bow- covering a lot of area ,casting lures & catching a lot of pike & a few bass even if they happen along.
That be where the Northern pike ,s mouth bass etc are natives - few ppl , houses are around & a few loons , moose etc are.
(+ black flys)
I have never tryed it but...
I think i could be talked into fishing for barraccuda, tuna etc etc in the same manner( or with bait) or trolling.
When i have had a boat in the past - i think that changes things a bit for me( depending what im fishing for) & what methods id use most of the time.
Nothing i liked better then standing in the bow- covering a lot of area ,casting lures & catching a lot of pike & a few bass even if they happen along.
That be where the Northern pike ,s mouth bass etc are natives - few ppl , houses are around & a few loons , moose etc are.
(+ black flys)
I have never tryed it but...
I think i could be talked into fishing for barraccuda, tuna etc etc in the same manner( or with bait) or trolling.
Last edited by Knightia; 08-02-2010 at 08:02 AM.
08-02-2010, 08:41 AM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Wy
Posts: 9,821
With my 50+ yrs of fishing( limited) but variable some( including 30+ yrs fishing in the greatlakes & canada)-id have to say for myself anyways - givin a choice- bass would not be my first or even a second choice or even 3rd or 4th of what id fish for givin a choice & chance - i plan on eating what i catch( same with most i have hunted)
Never cared for eating them that much or all the rainbows around me now ( though both are fun to catch)- id rather eat other fish. Just personal tastes& preferences.
Never cared for eating them that much or all the rainbows around me now ( though both are fun to catch)- id rather eat other fish. Just personal tastes& preferences.