who never baitfishes?

[basshunter]

this morning we were catching bass and bluefish on mullet in the OC surf, while guys were plugging and getting only sea robins and small fluke. Sometimes they are plugging and we get nothing. I talked to one of them after and he said he never fishes bait. Why not, if it gets you a fish?

[DarkSkies]

Basshunter, I know some guys who will never use bait. They are so against it that if they are ever caught using bait during the season, all the guys who know them will BB them big time.

Why should it be that way? Sure there is a breed of fishermen who consider it a challenge to get a fish on an artificial. Fly fishermen are keen on matching the hatch, the ones who do it successfully will be the ones to fool the fish and hook up.

What do you do when "matching the hatch" means giving the fish exactly what they are feeding on? Fish bait, naturally!

Early spring when the water is cold, after a severe storm, when clams are washed up on the beach, or in the doldrums of summer, when there don't seem to be many fish around...would you rather go out there, present an artificial to them that no matter how enticing it looks, is not exactly what they are eating? Or would you rather give them the very same thing that they are eating, knowing that it's your best chance of hooking up?

I love the thrill of catching fish on artificial presentations. However, I'm not too proud to use bait, I'll admit it freely here and to anyone who asks. Some of the biggest fish have been taken on bait, and eels. There is no bait in the surf world that can exactly match the taste, movement, and scent trail of a wriggling eel.

Here's an exerpt from a report fr0m 9-17. The only guy who got fish that night was adaptible enough to start using the large 7" peanuts that were coming by. He hooked up 5 times, while everyone else was killing themselves trying.

"Ended up fishin a favorite spot in the back, got hits on our first few casts, and then no hookups, bite died as the tide slowed. At slack we met a guy I've seen a few times before. We compared notes. He said artificials weren't working. He was one of the only people in that area to land a fish by snagging and floating the large peanuts that were swimming by. He nailed 5 bass, one keeper. "

So embrace your inner bait fisherman, I say, when in Rome do what the Romans do!!

[williehookem]

I have no problem using what it takes to get the fish (other than a net )

[dogfish]

I say, when in Rome do what the Romans do!!

So if I go to Greece, do I have to do Greek?

[Monty]

I never use bait. Makes my hands stink.

I get a rush out of fooling a bass, blue or albie with an artificial. I'll throw, wood, pencils, metal and rubber but no bait, not even snag and drop.
I used to fy fish for trout, (again no bait), so this was a natural progression.
I have no problem at all getting skunked while some one fishing clams is catching.
I like walking the beach, going out on a sand bar, throwing everything in the bag. Of course I lam trying to catch fish, but the complete experience of plugging a beach, finding and fooling a fish is what I enjoy.

[Stripercoast1]

I have not thrown a chunk of meat attached to a sinker, or floated freely in a long time, for Bass.
It has been a progression for me, I fished both surf and boats all my life. I gave up boats 6 years ago. I still have one in the winterized stage where it was parked 6 years ago. The other 2 were sold. I really don't know why i kept the one I have now, with the exception it is the favorite boat I ever owned. Not to sound arrogant, but I gave up boats because ot was just too easy to get bass that way. I know my home waters so well that i can catch a Bass 99.9% of the time here no matter what day during the season or time of day.
I also would rather hunt for a Bass than to sit waiting for a fish to find my hunk of meat. getting skunked on occasion is all part of the game. I also make my own plugs, and swap with fellow builders. there are very few commercial plugs I would buy, with the North Bar Bottle darters being one of them. It's more of the challenge to me now, taking things to a newer and more exciting level, Like skishing has become. as time has passed, and you continue to learn, you get more and more success with fish. I have hooked up on fish while bait dunkers watched me with unmoving rods. You learn that sometimes you ned to get close to what they want in size and color, other times it's retrieve speed and the Bass would rather have an easy slow meal, but sometimes they want to chase it at full speed. That is the addreniline rush, when you get it figured out, and feel the slam of a quality fish take a piece of wood you turned and painted, tuned and created. It's actually the same with my rods, and that I have been a custom builder for over 35 years. I can't get myself to ever buy a production rod, no matter what anyone else says about them, they just aint as good as what I can build.
It's proggression, and a lifestyle, it's the next level if you really want to call yourself a true Striperman.
But then again the guys that I fish with that are just like me, really aint right in the head either.

[Frankiesurf]

I will throw bait when the wife wants to sit by the water and wants me to actually sit with her instead of roaming the beach with my plug bag.

This has only happened three times in the last three years though.

[fishinmission78]

I read a few responces about letting bait sit in the water. Does baitfishing only include clams and fish parts? What about eels?

[Stripercoast1]

Eels, in my circle are referred to as the super plug.
Dead sticking an eel will almost never result in a fish, Bass tend to spit them when they feel the weight of the sinker.
Eels are best fished with a slow, stay in contact type of retrieve, that allows you to set as soon as the hit is felt.

[rockhopper]

Eels, in my circle are referred to as the super plug.

What fishinmission said. Call me crazy, but I don't see the difference here.
If you fish plugs or artificials, you are fooling the fish with something that is not bait, it is an artificial copy of what they are eating. I don't see how it is accurate to take eels out of the bait category. It is still bait, whether it is live or dead, no?

[Stripercoast1]

I guess because they are fished in the same manner as plugs.

[baitstealer]

If I decide to fish bait I still bring an extra set up for plugs. I don't like to sit around, so I try to keep myself busy.

[surfwalker]

Nothing against anybody who baitfishes, it's just not for me. I admit that after a long winter being cooped up the itch is unbearable, then I'll try some bait in March or early April, just to see the Stripes. But my mind is on plugging. I'll set up, deadstick and then I'm bored, right off the bat. I chase seagulls, walk in circles, kick sand, move from spot to spot, throw rocks in the water, stare at the dunes opposite the water, growl at people that set up too close to me, I just can't get into it. Especially if I start pulling in the robins or skates. Seems to me the only time I really get a hit is when I'm 50 feet away from the stick for a nature call. So, after one or two trips like that, it's plugging time for the rest of the year. Sometimes I'd rather plug and get nothing than go through my ritual of soaking bait. That's just me.

[Monty]

Sometimes I'd rather plug and get nothing than go through my ritual of soaking bait. That's just me.

All the time for me (hate those stinky hands )