There’s nothing wrong with using live bait when fishing

A hot-button subject in the world of fishing is the use of live bait. I’m talking about minnows, worms, leeches and all of the other critters that fishermen use to try to coax an unwary fish into turning it into a meal.

Why is it a topic of discussion? I’m not exactly sure but mention that you use live bait to catch fish on social media and you’ll get attacked almost as badly as if you said you enjoy eating muskies.

I think there may be a group of fishermen who think it is not sporting to use live bait. I don’t get it. I say that if you have a license and follow the rules regarding sizes and limits, then use whatever you like to catch fish.

I guess there are people out there that feel that using live bait makes it too easy to catch fish. Well, it’s never “too easy” to catch fish and I hate it when people say that it is. Live bait does, at times, turn on a fish’s appetite, but not always.

I’ve used live bait, although not too frequently. I’ve interviewed many of the top fishing pros and will sometimes ask them when the last time was that they used live bait. As soon as I get the question out, the response is usually one of shock. I probe deeper and they will usually admit that they use live bait quite often when they are fishing with family and friends. Of course they do, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Why do I not normally use live bait, you ask? I find using artificial lures to be much more challenging than using live bait. Unless you lose lures, artificials are much more budget-friendly than having to buy live bait. Artificial lures are much harder to work with. You have to keep casting and reeling, over and over again. You need to determine how to retrieve a lure to get it to run at a certain depth and at the right speed. With live bait, you normally toss it out there and wait for something to happen.

Live bait must be handled properly and kept cool or aerated. Not taking care of your bait is like throwing your money overboard.

I know anglers who don’t use live bait because tournaments never allow the use of live bait. I rarely fish tournaments, so that is not a factor for me. I was talking to living legend Spence Petros one time after I spent a slow day of fishing with a tournament pro for smallmouth bass. He asked why our day was so unsuccessful. I told him what lures we were using.

He said, “Why didn’t you try using live leeches?” I explained I was fishing with a tournament guy who didn’t use live bait. Spence replied, “Well, if you weren’t in a tournament why not use leeches? I thought you were trying to catch fish, not just practice your casting. What’s wrong with you?” I had to admit that he was right.

I have always thought that if you were to put a nightcrawler on a hook and tossed your line anywhere on Lake Geneva, you’d get a bite before the bait hit the bottom. It might be a crappie or a perch or a rock bass, but some type of swimming creature would bite your offering before it hit the bottom. I can’t say that is true about artificial lures.

I’ll have more on live bait next week. Now get out there and catch something.