Fishing with Bait
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
There are times when live bait can out produce
almost any type of artificial lures. Bass, stripers and crappie can
hardly pass up live bait. Cold weather usually means slow presentations.
Weather
changes, fronts, rain or even muddy water can have an adverse effect
on all game fish. And when another set of conditions shut the action
down
head to the bait shop. There is just something about fresh food to
get a hungry fish to bite. There are some neat ways to present baits
to these
game fish. Bass and stripers will take a live shad or bass minnow
when they will not look at any other food. Use a small Kahle style hook
and flip these baits wherever the fish live. Light sinkers will drop
the baits
into the right locations.
The new drop shot rig is popular with artificial
bait anglers. But take live bait and add it to the drop shot rig
and
now live bait can be fished just off the bottom. Depths can be adjusted
easily
so the fish can see the baits better. Hook a live minnow or herring
in the nose and use a small hook. For bass, use a small lead head
jig on a
spinning reel with 8 pound test. Take a whole night crawler and
find the egg sack. Feed the whole worm on the hook and put it around
points,
docks
and even on the ends of trees laying in the water. Let the fish
eat the worm and don't set the hook until the fish swims off with the
bait.
Live
crawfish are excellent big fish baits all year. All game fish
love crawfish. It is not uncommon to find crawfish inside bass and stripers.
Crawfish
are found in creeks all around and some grocery stores carry
or
can order live crawfish. Use a super sharp Gamakatsu treble hook and
hook
the crawfish
with one barb. The hook should go just behind the head in the
shell. Flip this bait with little or no weight in the same locations.
A
bass cannot
pass up what they would call a steak and baked potato dinner.
Stripers feed on almost any kind of meat. They will eat shrimp, livers
and
almost any kind of cut bait. In the dead of winter, huge stripers
will eat
cut bait that is right on the bottom. Be sure the cut bait is fresh.
When crappie
are slow get the lights and a bucket of minnows and drop the
bait in front of a crappie. He'll bite it. Live bait rings the dinner
bell
for
almost
any game fish.
