Nothin’ Beats Live Bait… Except This!
By Bob Chochola
Midwest Outdoors, September 2009
If you were to go fishing with a buddy and use only live bait; he on the other hand chucks artificial baits exclusively, you would out fish him (at least) four-to-one. This is, of course, a sweeping generalization, as each situation is different and your bud may be the next Kevin Van Dam and then all bets would be off.
It is, however, true that live bait produces better than artificial bait in a toe-to-toe battle with all things being equal, and there’s really no arguing the point. But as usual technology has turned traditional thinking upside-down and has recreated a virtual reality better and more efficient in order to make life easier for us all.
Let me explain.
Years ago I was bank fishing a popular cooling lake about forty-five miles southwest of Chicago, when a boat with two anglers tossing spinner baits and plastic frogs and top water lures came along. Fishing the same rocky rip-rap shoreline I had been, for presumably the same length of time (the gates opened three hours earlier at first light), the inevitable question, “Doin’ any good?” was bound to come up like hours earlier at the diner when I pleadingly requested a second cup of java from my server, Flo. (Okay, I don’t remember her name, but aren’t all servers working in small town diners named Flo?)
As the boat passed, lures splashing all around my drifting slip-bobbers, one of the boat’s anglers obliged and I replied, “Yeah! I’m doin’ alright. And you?”
“We got four!” He spouted back with pride in his voice. “Three maybe four pounds each.”
Just then one of my bobbers disappeared and I set the hook. Moments later a nice four pound largemouth bass came to the surface rolling and jumping. I pulled her out, removed the hook, and then slipped her back in the water.
“That makes forty, so far,” I said.
“Forty!” His partner shot back. “Yeah, right!”
My partner fishing about ten feet away added, “Well, some of those were smallmouth bass and we got two catfish and a tiger muskie too.”
Through the sudden silence I detected a bit of angler envy. By the time the boat drifted out of ear shot, my partner and I landed about five more fish.
Setting aside the art of working artificial lures for the time being, and realizing the challenge and subsequent feeling of accomplishment one gets from learning how to present a lure just right to trigger strikes regularly, let’s for the purposes of this writing, consider only the real reason anyone goes fishing – the most important reason – to catch fish.
Action is even more important for anglers teaching kids – you try sitting in a boat for ten hours with a six-year-old learning how to cast and see if you don’t go with spinning rigs and minnows instead of bait casters and lures with multiple treble hooks next time out.
If “action” is indeed the universal goal, then live bait wins hands down. Of course, the two worlds aren’t really so far apart anymore – if at all. In fact, they come together in one distinct place.
The popularity of artificial lures that resemble and in fact often feel and smell like something alive, has taken the angling world by storm. These lures offer a great middle ground that in many cases blends the irresistible natural elements of live bait with the convenience and skill of using an artificial lure.
Bass anglers, muskie hunters, and even catfish fisher people have incorporated a heavy dose of soft plastic in their attack and the results are incredible to say the least. Even hard core live bait advocates (like me) have to admit that there are certain drawbacks to using live bait and a good resolution to these problems lies in the soft plastic realm.
In southern states like Texas (my home state), it is virtually impossible to keep minnows alive from June through September without an aerated tank of some kind. The heat is so intense that the shock of transfer from the bait store tank to the boat is usually enough to turn them belly-up before you even have a chance to get them oxygen.
Forget keeping them alive all day. That won’t happen. Chances are, more often than not, half the minnows will die before you ever hit your first spot.
Night crawlers and red worms are easier to manage, as you can put them on ice. But the wiggly critters are not always on the menu (except for pesky little bait-stealers), while minnows are the winning ticket most of the time.
Up north cooler water temperatures allow for placing a minnow bucket into the lake or river, but the shock of transfer from chemically treated clean cold store water to murky lake or river water that will likely be a different temp, is enough shock to kill the heartiest minnow.
What’s a Live Bait Angler to Do?
Several companies now produce synthetic minnows and worms. Most are incredibly lifelike and can be as odoriferous as the real thing. Often injected or “impregnated” with some sort of fish attracting goop, given a natural presentation, the fish really won’t let go.
In order to solve the problem of Texas heat and a bucket full of dead, dying, minnows, and a plastic tub slim-ball of cooked night crawlers that perished because my ice melted, I decided to try a few of these synthetic offerings with the exact same presentation that I have always used with the live stuff. At first I was completely skeptical.
Much to my surprise, they work just as well, if not better, than the real thing. And they store very nicely in a tackle box for the next trip – an added bonus of not having to find an all night bait shop makes road life simpler too.
The Rig…
Two live rigs work the same way with synthetic minnows and worms as they do with live bait – just add a little motion to it and see what happens.
A slip bobber rig on a light spinning rod has produced more fish than any other for me over the course of forty-plus years on the water.
Just slide the bobber on using a bobber-stop (or a knotted piece of rubber band) to vary depth, and add split shot sinkers below the bobber. Make sure the bobber sits low in the water (as opposed to floating on the surface) so you only see about one-third of the float. You want to make sure a biting fish does not feel any resistance. This is a common error easily remedied by adding split shot sinkers until the float is two-thirds submerged.
I use three basic hook presentations with this “live bait” set-up that work very well when tipped with synthetic minnows and worms in place of the real thing:
First is a small spinner with a jig attached. Small gold blades in low light and silver blades in sunlight provide a more realistic approach, but it really doesn’t matter that much. The flash is what counts.
Jigs can be any size, shape, or color and it is advisable to carry a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors in your tackle box. Tube skirts, grub style skirts, and twist tails all work well with this rig, but be sure to provide motion to spin the blade. Strong current can do the work for you, but more often than not you’ll need to work it slowly and react to the strike.
Use the bobber wisely. Twitch it. Jerk it. Drag it. Bounce it. Creep it along. Kids do this all very well – they can’t help but fidget and sway the rod tip back-and-fourth. Do not discourage this – they will trigger strikes naturally without a lick of instruction from you.
Another option is to remove the spinner blade and tie the jig on directly to the line. If they won’t hit the spinner, take it off. Remember to adjust weight to keep that bobber set at the right depth.
Last, but not least, is to just go naked! Take the jig off and use a bare hook. I’ve found that jigs work best during the day, but when “prime time” rolls around (at sunset/sunrise) the finned critters don’t always fuss with fancy tricks of the trade. Suddenly it’s no frills time; they want meat!
Always remember to change your tactics if the fish do not cooperate, or they suddenly stop biting. What works great can stop working too. If they shut-down, or don’t react to a presentation, change it up. One of these three rigs will produce, and if not you should try another spot.
The bobber rig has been a staple for me for a long time and it will always work well fishing along a bank. It also works from a boat provided you are fishing structure in less than ten feet of water.
If you are in a boat parked over a deep spot, or on a dock/pier directly over the structure, you can opt for another rig that works just as well as the bobber set-up, but is much more efficient to get the bait to deeper dwelling fish.
A drop shot rig has no bobber, but weight at the very end of the line. Anywhere from six-to-eighteen inches above the sinker, tie a leader (12-to-18 inches long) with a hook at the end. You can also use any of the three above mentioned jigs at the end of this leader tipped with a synthetic minnow or worm.
Drop the weights to the bottom and crank up a little until your line is tight. Feel the strike as it happens and react to it. It doesn’t hurt to bounce the rod tip, or drag the sinkers slowly. You can also do this while drifting slowly in a boat.
Go Get ‘Em!
Fishing is not complicated. Really it’s very simple to have great success provided you don’t over-analyze things.
You don’t have to travel far or spend a ton of money either. I have fished tarpon in the Florida Keys, hunted muskies on the Canadian Shield, and trolled all over The Great Lakes for salmon and lake trout, but some of my most fond memories and rewarding experiences have come simply by visiting a neighborhood pond or a river smack in the middle of the familiar urban sprawl – places where no one would ever expect to even see a fish, let alone catch one. These are easy to find and cost nothing (except for the price of a state fishing license) to stroll along the bank and explore. And find fish!
The main thing is to get out there and do it. Always catch and release. Take a kid fishing and you will do your part in providing our youth with a life-long passion that is sure to steer them away from trouble.
Don’t forget to pack the synthetic minnows and worms.
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