Live bait vs. lures
When I was a kid, fishing was a spur-of-the-moment decision, with fishing rods and tackle box at the ready for a Saturday morning and an impromptu trip to a nearby lake. Bait was likely to be freshly dug worms, but mini marshmallows or corn doubled as bait and snacks for the kids.
What's the best bait to use today? There are no hard and fast answers, except for one, says Dick Wilkening of Witch Bay Camp in Kenora, Ont.: "The best bait is the bait that works."
But what works?
Live bait vs. lures
"Live bait is pretty much a no-brainer," says Wilkening. "You can fool fish with artificial bait or lures, but it takes a little finesse. You need to learn how to use the lure and often it's small things that make them work. Live bait is probably the easiest way to go, and the best way to learn how to fish because if they are going to eat, they're going to go for the live bait."
Live bait includes worms, minnows, salmon eggs, squid, crawfish, grasshoppers and crickets. It's not for the squeamish, but then neither is cleaning a fish. The cheap and plentiful live bait choice is, of course, worms. The easiest way to place a hook on a worm is to push the hook through the smooth section (called the collar) of the worm. Store your worms in a container filled with loosely packed dirt.
"In places like the Regina area, where lakes are warmer longer, fish have more natural food," says Greg Prokopetz, owner of Pokey's Tackle Shop in Regina. "You have to use live bait because the fish are going to be selective. But when you go up north they don't have that food source, so if something goes by, they're going to try to eat it."
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