Live bait vs. Artificials

[GetANet]

I've got boxes of lures cause they're like women and shoes, never have enough!!!! I used to be really bad cause if i caught a fish on a certain lure i would buy every one i could find not only the same size and color but diff colors and sizes as well. And over the years all the lures and bags of plastics i have accumulated i could open a tackle store.......But as time has gone by i've weeded thru most of my stuff and sold quite a bit of it at garage sales and kept the stuff i find works well for me. I also make alot of my own stuff now as well so my stock is always building back up. I really enjoy catching fish on the stuff i make, plastics,jigs,spinnerbaits ect. As far as the bait vs artifical debate i choose to bass fish with lures. The rest of my fishing i generally will use bait. I like fishing both ways but most all of my bigger fish come on bait and i'm about using what works so i won't hesistate to use herring,shiners, worms either. My wife freaked one day when i did a rough estimate of the value of my tackle, It was more than her engagment ring so i kinda keep it to myself now......LOL IF SHE ONLY KNEW............

[basspilot]

That sounds kind of crazy how many lures and other tackle you have but absolutely impressive. I find myself often doing exactly the same thing as you but when I go out and drop 50$ for instance on like 3 lures and then go ahead and lose one on its first cast it kind of puts me in check haha. I don't go for the most expensive stuff anymore I tend to do my research first but one thing I've got from this thread is how successful a lot of guys have been on here throwin musky killers...so I went out and bought a few. I use to throw them all the time but for whatever reason I switched gears to the "more traditional" way of catching bass. This year though I'm kind of at a loss. These fish this fall haven't been commiting to a lure as they usually do. I'm going to try adding a trailer hook to see if that helps my chances any.

[tycomps]

Originally Posted by FASTEDDIE29

Some people like to bait n wait. Some like to keep it moving, use lures, jig, troll, plug, worm.

this is what I do, seem to enjoy going after the fish rather than having them come to me. something about taking a piece of plastic and presenting it in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to a smart fish, to solicit a bite seems more challenging to me.

[lunkertaker]

Originally Posted by tycomps

this is what I do, seem to enjoy going after the fish rather than having them come to me. something about taking a piece of plastic and presenting it in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to a smart fish, to solicit a bite seems more challenging to me.

Agreed. Lure fishing is way more stimulating than bait and wait. To each their own.

We all have our favorites... the go-to-lures. And yes, we all have our tackle boxes full of those lures that, well, caught our eye and never caught a fish

For me, 25% of my satisfaction is shopping and "stocking up" in anticipation of the fishing trip. 25% is actually being out there on the lake, pond, stream, etc, and 50% is catching!

[FASTEDDIE29]

I use lures 95% of the time. The other 5% is when I tip a jig with half a crawler. I also use crawlers and sometimes power bait a couple times a year for the trout. 95% of the time every fish I post up on this board is caught on a lure.

[tycomps]

Originally Posted by lunkertaker

For me, 25% of my satisfaction is shopping and "stocking up" in anticipation of the fishing trip. 25% is actually being out there on the lake, pond, stream, etc, and 50% is catching!

well put, with much in life I find it's not the kill it's the thrill of the chase

[crustyangler17]

only times i use bait in freshwater whether its natural, live or synthetic:
-catfish/carp
-sometimes power bait, for spring stockies
-live shiners (either wild caught or store bought), for cold water bass/pickerel (usually Nov-Dec, March)
-golden shiners at a local pike fishery in the spring

all other times it is artificials for bass, panfish, pickerel and trout and they work 9/10 times, you just gotta know what to use.

[Eskimo]

Using lures is a hell of a lot more convenient. When a brief window of free times opens up for me and I can go fishing, driving all the way to the bait store to buy minnows or catching my own minnows in the creek is a big investment in time. Every minute spent drivging around is another minute not spent on the water.

I do occasionally dig up some little earthworms for catfishing and sunnies.

[NJ219bands]

I throw out a can of corn for chum, cast out my carp rod and put it in a rod holder, then do some ultralight jigging with a second rod until I start to get bites on bait. I caught 3,403 fish this year in 228 trips and won 2 NJ Skillful Angler Awards. I tagged 92 fish in NJ salt water since April. When I use bait and lures simultaneously, I usually miss my best bite for the day though. The big fish always hits at the wrong time on bait.