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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Live Bait Fishing
by Mike Guarino As the heat of the summer begins to take hold, anglers need to adapt their presentations to up the odds of catching fish and nothing catches fish like good-old-fashioned live bait. With all the options for artificial lures and plastic baits on the market these days, we sometimes have a tendency to overlook the easiest and most productive baits of them all. Fortunately we have an abundance of bait choices right in front of us if we take the time to catch or purchase them. For example, one of the hottest trends in fishing is using a "drop shot" rig to catch suspended bass. This actually isn't a new technique at all, but it has been modified and perfected for artificial lures. Basically, a drop shot rig consists of a weight at the end of your line with a hook tied on about 2-feet above the weight. Live bait fishermen have been using this set-up for generations! As the water warms and fish spend more time suspending over deeper water, it's a great time to tie on a "drop shot" rig tipped with live bait to catch some of the biggest fish of the season! Here's some information on just some of the hot live bait options in the Belgrades. MinnowsIt's best to start our live bait list with the king of all fish catchers. Live minnows have been used in fishing for ages and for good reason. The easiest way to get your hands on some prime live minnows is the drive to one of the excellent live bait shops in the area. The bait shops here provide quality bait for a fair price. However, if you want to catch your own, you can either purchase a live bait trap and stock it with either dog food or dough balls and set it in a location where bait is active. During this time of year, minnows frequent the many streams that flow in and out of our lakes. You can also catch your bait on a hook by throwing out some small balls of white bread and then cast either a small fly or a size 12 or 14 hook tipped with a piece of hot dog. This can be a lot of fun for the kids. CrayfishAside from live minnows, crayfish have to be the most prolific live bait in our lakes and ponds. Each lake in the chain is FULL of these little lobster imitators. Because there are so many in the lakes, they are easy to trap in a basic store bought crayfish trap. Simply put either a dead fish or chicken leg in the trap and set it in shallow water near rocks or gravel. It's best to leave the trap in over night because the crayfish seem to be quite active after the sun goes down. If there's a better smallmouth bass bait, I don't know what it is! WormsThe good old fashion earthworm has somehow fallen out of favor with modern fishermen, but fortunately the fish don't care about current trends in fishing. Night crawlers are relatively easy and fun to catch too. After sunset take a flashlight and slowly walk through any field in the area. School ball fields are prime locations for catching worms. Slowly scan the moist grass with the light, but be careful not to keep the light on the worm for very long because they can sense the light and will dart back underground. In one swift movement grab the worm and slowly pull it out of its hole. On a good night it's easy to pick a couple of dozen in a short period of time. I can remember back in my youth picking worms with my dad and now I've passed the tradition on to my girls. They have a blast trying to catch the critters. HellgrammitesIf you don't know what a hellgrammite is, don't feel bad — you are not alone. This is an often overlooked bait because they are difficult to find and even harder to catch. Sometimes local bait shops will have some in supply. A Hellgrammite is a larva of the Dobsonfly. The bait is about 4" long and just about as gross looking as anything you'll ever see, but what they lack in looks, they more than make up for in fish-catching attraction! You can catch your own in just about any fast moving water in our area. The best way to catch them is to place nets or screens downstream, then walk above the nets and kick over the rocks and gravel. The larva will drift downstream and get caught in the screen. They actually last for a long period of time in a bait bucket, but don't last very long when fished anywhere near a smallmouth bass. Freshwater MusselsWe've all seen these on the bottom of the lakes near docks and boat launches, but for some reason mussels are often overlooked as bait. It's a shame really, because just about everything that swims in our lakes will eat one. Last weekend at our house the kids all went diving for mussels, coming up with about a dozen. From there, the kids build a small rock ring a few feet off the shoreline and put the bait in the ring to keep from losing them. After cracking the shells, they put the bait on a #2 hook and cast off the dock. In a short period of time, they caught smallmouth bass, sunfish and luckily five big humpbacked white perch. What a blast they had! I was surprised at how fast the perch took the clams, but they were extremely aggressive when presented with the bait. Mike Guarino can be reached at | ||
