Experienced fishermen know about the gastronomic fastidiousness of some fish. Today a fish can literally rush to a crust of bread floating on the surface, but tomorrow it won’t even pay any attention to it. With this in mind, experienced fishermen, when going fishing, always play it safe with several bait options, since you can never say for sure which bait will work best for fish. Fish baits are conventionally divided into two types based on their origin: animal and plant. Bait of animal origin includes various insects, invertebrates, crustaceans, amphibians, and fish. And the list of plant baits includes plant seeds, bread, cereals, various fruits of trees and shrubs, etc. The purpose of this article is to help the reader a little understand this diversity with the choice of bait for fishing.
Standard bait
The most common 4 types of bait are, as mentioned earlier, earthworm, maggot, bread and poppy seed. Some of them are focused on catching non-predatory fish. For example, semolina and bread are ideal for catching crucian carp. Semolina is also well suited for silver carp - it bites on it just fine.
Cooking "Monkey"
Semolina bait can be prepared in two ways. The first of them consists of adding the required portion of cereal in a ratio of 1 tablespoon per serving.
Then it is filled with cold water and kept for 1-2 hours. After time, the finished “solution” must be moved until everything becomes homogeneous. Now the bait is ready. In some cases it is used as bait for fish.
The second method is less common. It consists of the usual preparation of cereals without adding salt. Moreover, it stays on the fire until the porridge is boiled. Which cooking option to choose is a personal matter for each fisherman. One thing we can safely say is that semolina is an excellent bait for fishing, which is easy to prepare and affordable. The only drawback that can be noted is the possible stringiness. That is, a situation is possible when the fish carefully pulls off the bait and the hook remains empty. This happens extremely rarely, but it still happens.
Bread bait
Bread is usually used for bait. It is simply perfect for such purposes. Some fishermen go further and use it as bait. To do this, it is simply soaked in water until it reaches a homogeneous consistency, then molded like dough. As experience shows, in this way you can easily and simply catch many crucian carp, which should be caught well with such bait. The main advantage of bread in this situation: it can be prepared immediately before you start fishing.
Earthworm
Gudgeon, perch and roach can be caught well with a regular earthworm. Such a bait can be used several times with the right approach. Its main disadvantage is the need to prepare in advance. We must not forget about the proper storage of such bait. With reasonable organization this should not be a problem. You can find them in ravines where it is humid. Another favorite place for them to live is a pile of manure. For these purposes, you will have to travel to the nearest village, find a mountain of manure there and dig up the required number of worms. You can, of course, take the simplest route and buy them on the market.
Getting the worms is only half the battle.
They also need to be kept in proper form until the end of fishing. For these purposes, they are placed in a glass bottle, or in a tin can, or in a plastic container. Any option is suitable. To prevent them from drying out, add a handful of damp soil. As a last resort, you can use a damp cloth (it should be damp, but water should not run off it). Another advantage of such bait is the ability to divide one worm into several parts and thereby achieve greater efficiency from its use. It also cannot be easily removed from the hook and this almost completely eliminates the possibility of the fish being torn off the hook.
Maggots
The last type of bait that is very common is scabs. An ordinary fly larva, not difficult to grow at home, can be stored for quite a long time in a cool place, in the refrigerator. In fishing, they also use tinted maggots with food paint for a brighter color and to increase the interest of the fish. Designed for catching most freshwater fish, it has proven itself very well when added to groundbait.
The previously listed baits for different types of fish do not reflect all the diversity. If you use your imagination, you can find more easily accessible options that can give even more tangible results.
Plant-based bait for fish
This type of bait consists of various grains intended for sowing, bread and specially prepared cereals. Sometimes even the fruits of certain trees are used to attract fish.
Most experienced fishermen are inclined to believe that hemp, or rather its seeds, can be a good bait. Roaches usually bite on this food. This is explained by the visual similarity of this plant food for fish with a shell of some type, and the enchanting aroma of hemp extract.
Fishermen often take prepared semolina porridge with them, because crucian carp and roach are hunted for this delicacy.
Bread is the most popular plant-based bait among fishermen. This fact is explained by the fact that getting such food for fish does not represent much effort. Carp, roach and crucian carp are usually caught using dough and bread.
Bait based on experience
Experienced fishermen know that any fish bites well on insects. These include flies, caterpillars, larvae, butterflies, and grasshoppers. Any of them will be an excellent bait with which you can catch almost any fish. Their main advantage is the possibility of fishing on the way to fishing or just before it starts. Any clearing, grove or bush is a place where you can find many different insects and catch them. Such bait does not require complex preparation. It is enough to cut it up (divide it into parts, if it is large, and if it is small, then you can simply put it on a hook) and start fishing. It bites excellently, both carnivorous and non-predatory fish. Overall, insects are a great solution that requires no special preparation and is easily accessible.
Snails and clams can be used in a similar way. But here everything is not so simple, since the question arises: “How to make bait for fish from such spineless ones?” The answer is very simple. The shell needs to be destroyed or opened.
The situation with sea mussels is simplest. Just put them in a hot frying pan and they will open on their own. But with snails it is much more difficult. Their shell must be destroyed. For these purposes, you need to take a hammer or stone when fishing. This type of bait is not used very often, since it is not always possible to catch mussels or collect snails.
But one thing is certain – using them for fishing is very profitable. Especially if you plan to catch a goby - it bites perfectly on any type of similar bait.
Fish bait
Almost any insects and their larvae, as well as worms, meat and small fish can be used as bait for fishing. Many of the baits used by fishermen live in the bottom soil, or are carried into the reservoir by water flows and wind, and fall from trees. These animal feeds are natural for fish and are therefore always effective. It does not cause suspicion among underwater inhabitants.
Adding animal components to plant bait greatly increases its value. Try adding bloodworms to regular store bait at the rate of 100 grams per 1 kg of mixture, and then also attach bloodworms to the hook.
Surely, instead of the former sluggish twitchers, you will immediately get a normal greedy bite. A moving bait on the hook is what the fish want, especially in cool water.
Bloodworm
This mosquito larva looks like a small red worm about one centimeter long, very mobile. Bloodworms live in the mud of almost all bodies of water. The lifespan of this larva is about a year, after which it turns into a mosquito and floats to the surface.
It is considered one of the most effective baits for catching fish. Often used as bait in fishing spots. For winter fishing it is actually the main bait.
Bloodworms are obtained by washing the bottom silt on a fine mesh. Large bloodworms can be separated using a mesh with a certain mesh size, through which small bloodworms can escape, but large ones remain.
To do this, the mesh is placed in a container of water and the extracted bloodworms are poured onto it.
Small bloodworms will pass through the mesh to the bottom of the container. It is used as independent bait or added to a bait mixture, and large bloodworms are used as bait for fish.
Storing bloodworms for a long time while fishing is always a problem. A simple way to store bloodworms for a long time is in the water of a reservoir. To do this, you need to use a special container with very small cells, or some kind of jar with holes, covered with a durable stocking. You can also store bloodworms for several days in a dampened cloth placed in a cool place.
Before use, part of the bloodworm is selected and dried.
Wet bloodworms placed in a box (jar) can quickly die. To dry, the bloodworms are simply laid out on paper for half an hour, after which they are transferred to a carrying container.
At sub-zero temperatures, the bloodworm quickly dies, so during winter fishing, it is often stored in a box under clothing.
Place the bloodworm on the thinnest hook by the head, or use special hooks with a spring clip.
How to do this correctly - see below, we will return to bloodworms later
Maggot – blowfly larva
White, very mobile small larvae. Along with bloodworms, they are an excellent bait for catching most types of non-predatory fish, and are also added to groundbait.
Typically, maggots are bred independently and not collected anywhere. The larvae appear on rotten meat waste 5 days after eggs are laid by a green blowfly. To breed maggots, pieces of meat and fish placed in a container with sawdust are exposed for one day in the open air in the sun, then this container is closed with a lid with a vent. holes and leave in a warm place for another 2 to 4 days.
Once the maggots appear, they are fed with meat, fish, and cottage cheese. When the larvae grow up, they are transferred to sand in a jar, through which they are cleaned of dirt. The procedure with sand must be repeated several times.
Grown-up larvae are kept in a cold place in order to delay their development, in a buried container with ventilation holes. Cannot be stored in the refrigerator. The larvae are very mobile and easily crawl through accessible cracks.
Caddisfly (shitik)
This water-dwelling butterfly larva is an excellent bait for catching many types of fish. The caddisfly is found in almost all bodies of water, in quiet coastal places.
The larva exists in a special shell-house glued together from soil and plant debris, which has the shape of a tube. The length of this shelter is 2–3 centimeters, the larva itself is 2 times smaller. The lifespan of the larvae is about a year. In summer, the larvae turn into butterflies and emerge from the water.
Therefore, they can be obtained in spring and early summer in quiet shallow areas, collecting larval houses by hand. Driftwood and stones are also removed from the water and inspected. The house is broken down just before the larva is placed on the hook. You can also plant a bunch of larvae. It is necessary to store the larvae along with their shelters in water or in the shade in damp matter.
Mayfly larva
Lives in bottom clayey soil in burrows. It is extracted using a spatula. The extracted soil is broken and the larvae are removed from it.
Store the larvae in a container with water, or in a mesh container at the bottom of the reservoir. The larvae can be stored for several days in a cool place in slightly damp matter. Placed on a hook, usually several pieces at a time. A large larva is planted alone, starting from the head.
Mayfly larvae transform into butterflies almost simultaneously on a summer evening, forming the so-called mayfly hatch. At this time, huge flocks of small butterflies fly over the water, quickly dying, and accumulating along the banks.
They can be easily caught with a net and used as bait. During the release of the mayfly, the fish stops being caught on other baits except the mayfly for several days.
Larvae - bark beetles
There are many beetles whose larvae live under the bark of trees. They are obtained by breaking off the bark of old stumps, in dried bushes, and in old wooden buildings. You should not look for larvae in dried or rotten stumps; they are not found there. The larvae should be stored in a container with sawdust.
Rhinoceros beetle larva
Commonly called “oil seal”. This is a large, whitish larva that lives in the soil and under boards and fallen leaves. It is used only for catching large fish, and small and medium-sized larvae, up to 2 cm long, are used. The caught larvae are usually fed with cottage cheese, after which they become white and elastic.
Mealworm
It's actually a beetle larva. It has a brownish color and pectoral legs, an excellent bait for catching many non-predatory fish species. The larva develops for about a year, feeding on wheat grains and flour. You can breed this larva yourself by filling a container with flour and bread crusts and putting it outside.
Muckworm
This is one of the most commonly used baits. The reason is high efficiency and accessibility. The dung worm is small, thin, up to 6 cm long, and has a brownish-reddish color.
It can be found in the ground fertilized with manure, in heaps of last year's manure, under half-rotten boards or heaps of rotten straw, etc. It is quite strong and holds well on the hook, maintaining good mobility.
It is better to store dung worms in a container with small ventilation holes, in the shade, and do not leave them in the sun! Into this container you need to pour a little of the same soil from which the worm was obtained.
Depending on the size of the fish being caught, a piece of a worm, a whole worm or a bunch of worms is baited onto the hook. A single worm is usually baited in such a way that it forms an accordion, piercing the worm with a hook in several places.
It is better to leave the sting of the hook in the body of the worm, since cautious carp, crucian carp, and bream fiddle with and taste the bait for a while before swallowing it. An exposed sting usually causes the fish to spit out the worm. With active biting, you can attach the worm with the sting outward, which increases the likelihood of hooking.
White earthworm
It is found in the ground, most often in damp and humus-rich places. You can dig up such a worm simply with a shovel in the garden. Has a whitish color. Less mobile on the hook than the dung one. Stored in the same way as other worms.
Worm - underleaf
This worm can often be found in gardens and forests under last year's fallen leaves, under boards, sawdust and straw. The color of the worm varies along its length - from reddish in the head to light in the tail.
Compared to the dung worm, it is a larger and less durable worm. Easily torn. It is stored in the same way as a dung worm. One worm should be attached, since the bunch does not hold well on the hook. More often used for catching larger fish.
The worm crawls out
The largest worm is up to 20 cm long and more than 10 mm in diameter. Used as bait for catching large fish - carp, catfish, etc. More often found in rich black soil. At night it can crawl out completely or partially to the surface of the earth.
To collect worms, it is necessary to discover their passages (tunnels) in the ground before dark, and at night, by the light of a lantern, to collect the worms that have crawled to the surface of the earth. In this case, special silence and caution should be observed, since the worm is afraid of noise and quickly hides in its hole. The crawled worm is carefully grabbed by the head and removed from the hole.
Can be attached to several hooks at once. Stored in a fabric bag with primer.
Worm - iron ore
Found in clay soils. It is obtained with a shovel when digging up the soil. The body color is grayish, and the head part is brownish-black. Durable and very large (up to 16 cm long). When baiting, the tip of the hook should remain free. Store the worm in a container with the same soil from which it was taken.
Green worm
It is found in the floodplains of Azov rivers, in meadows and marshy places. It can be found in the top layer of soil and between the roots of plants, when digging the soil with a shovel in meadows and pastures. The color of the worm is gray-green.
It is considered one of the most effective attachments. For long-term storage of worms, you must use a container with holes. You can also prepare worms in the fall for winter fishing. You can store them for a long time in a spacious wooden box filled with soil with humus, wood chips, plant roots, in a cool place at a temperature of 4 - 6 degrees. WITH.
Chafer
Mainly successfully used for fly fishing, primarily for chub. Appears in late spring and early summer. You can catch cockchafers on the fly, or shake the branches of a tree early in the morning, causing the chafer to fall from the branches to the ground. The larvae of the May beetle, also called “Khrushchev”, live in the ground and are also used as bait for catching large fish.
Dragonflies
Many species of dragonflies are found everywhere, especially near water bodies. It is a good bait for catching many fish near the surface of the water. Dragonflies are caught with a net and used mainly for fly fishing.
Dragonfly larvae vary widely in size and habitat among different species. Some live in the bottom soil, others on aquatic plants. Dragonfly larvae are usually collected from the stems of aquatic plants, where they crawl before pupating.
Grasshoppers
They live in large numbers in the grass. Grasshoppers can be caught with a net or simply with your hands. This is a good bait for fly fishing for chub and rudd, as well as other types of fish.
Before attaching the hook, when fishing with a float rod, the legs and wings of the grasshopper must be removed; when fly fishing, the wings are not removed but straightened.
Medvedka (kapustyanka)
This is a large insect, 4–5 cm or more long, living in fertile soil. It flies out at night. It makes holes in the ground through which its presence can be detected. Usually mined at night, by the light of a lantern, by inspecting the ground and digging up the top layer. It is considered an excellent bait for catching catfish, as well as large carp.
housefly
You can catch flies with a net with a fine mesh. The fly is an excellent bait, especially for catching small riding fish - roach, bleak, rudd.
Perlovitsa. Shells
Perlovitsa is a large bivalve shell that lives at the bottom of most bodies of water. Shell meat, cut into pieces. It is considered a good bait for catching medium and large, especially river fish.
Other various types of shells are found on driftwood, rocks and the bottom. The shell meat is separated from the shell and placed on a hook. The extracted shells are stored in a container of water in a cool place.
Frog and tadpoles
An excellent bait for catching catfish and large pike. Frogs are usually caught along the banks of reservoirs with a net. The hook is usually baited by the skin on the back or the lower lip.
Cancer
An excellent bait for catching large river fish. The molting crayfish is baited on a large hook or treble as a whole. Crayfish meat taken from the tail or claws is also used. For strength, the meat on the hook is wrapped with thread.
Chicken intestines, fish pieces
They are successfully used for catching predatory fish, primarily perch, chub, pike, etc.
Lard
Excellent bait for catching carp fish. Often used in conjunction with a feeder. Ordinary salted lard without spices, is placed on a hook so that the sting is visible, and is inserted into the food in the feeder. The main contender for lard is crucian carp, as well as other carp….
Predator bait
Now we will try to figure out what bait to use to catch fish from a predator in freshwater bodies, for example in a lake. There can only be one answer - cancer. Its meat is an excellent bait with which you can catch large predators (pike, for example). And catfish bite well too.
Before fishing, they try to catch the required number of crayfish. There are no problems with this, you just need to look well in the nearby reeds. Then you need to cut them up and select the meat, cut it into small pieces and pack it. Before you start fishing, you need to lower it into the water on a hook in order for it to harden. This procedure lasts a maximum of half a minute, after which the hook is cast and you can start fishing.
Leech
Another type of bait that is not widely used, but is very effective, is the leech.
It is best to use them in this role in the spring. At this time of year, it behaves actively; the constantly changing water level greatly simplifies the process of catching it. The largest number of leeches gather in quiet river bays, where ideal conditions have been created for their life. It is excellent for bream, roach and perch. The best bite for such bait is observed either in the morning or at night. This can be explained very simply: at night and in the morning the leech goes out to hunt, but at the same time it itself often becomes prey for fish.
Fish bait is an important part of any successful fishing trip. The result depends on the correctness of its choice.
The choice is made based on what is found in the pond, river or sea. For example, it is good to catch a goby using an earthworm or mussel. But for crucian carp, semolina or soaked bread is better. Taking into account these not very complicated features, you can achieve quite tangible results and get a truly fantastic catch that will delight your fellow fishermen.
