There has always been a big debate over what catches more fish: live bait or artificial lures.
The answer depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Live bait is better when fishing with young children, or when conditions are tough. Artificial lures are better if you’re able to move around to “power fish,” and are required in most fishing tournaments.
I’ve spent many days fishing with both and decided to write this article to help you understand the difference between the two as well as when you should consider using each. Let’s get started.
The Difference Between a Fishing Lure and Bait
A fishing lure is essentially a man-made object that was invented to try and entice a fish to bite. Bait, on the other hand, is something that lives (or lived) and is an actual food substance.
You might think that live bait would always be better than artificial lures, but there are times when this isn’t true.
Types of Bait
You can put just about any type of prey or food substance on the end of your hook that you’re comfortable with and the law allows for, but the most common bait are probably worms, minnows, corn and bread.
Worms
The classic nightcrawler is probably the bait everyone started with (it certainly was for me, and for my kids). For some reason, fish love worms, and are quick to eat them.
Worms make a great bait to bring along with the kids because they’ll attract every fish in the lake. When you’re just trying to catch something, it’s hard to beat them.
While worms do pretty well in storage for a few weeks, they will die if you let them get too warm. I recently wrote an entire article on using dead worms vs. live ones. In it, I reached the conclusion that you’re better off trying to keep them fresh.
One great thing about worms is that you probably have them right in your yard and garden. Kids love digging for them and will have fun gathering their own bait. With that said, they are worth buying at the store if you can’t find big, plump, juicy ones on your own. You can also buy them in bulk from retailers such as Windsor Wholesale Baits, which saves a lot of money.
Minnows
Minnows are live bait fish that you can purchase by the dozen from many tackle shops. They come in a range of species and sizes and make fairly good bait. They aren’t as hardy as worms and tend to be “big fish bait.”
I spent many summers on Lake Champlain fishing with these as a kid. They certainly work when you can find fish, but don’t expect magic. If you’re able to locate a school of bass, your kids can have a day for the ages, but if you can’t, in my opinion it’s not that different than throwing lures.
Some people will tell you to go catch your own minnows. I would urge you to check local regulations before you do this. You should also only use fish from the same waterway you intend to fish. You don’t want to introduce a non-native species by fishing. If it is legal and you want to catch your own, consider using something like a Frabill Minnow Seine
Some places, like Lake Champlain along the New York and Vermont border, regulate which species of minnows can be used. They insist on proof of purchase to confirm that they were sourced appropriately. Make sure you know the local laws and regulations.
The bottom line is you can get in a world of trouble if you’re not careful using minnows. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice, so please call your local game warden or ask the owner of your local tackle shop for insight into the laws of the waters you intend to fish.
Corn
I used to have a lot of fun as a kid at a local pond fishing for sunfish with corn. Two or three little kernels seemed to be all I needed to get fish to bite on the right day.
If you don’t have access to nightcrawlers, or simply don’t want to use them, corn can work pretty well as a substitute. Just make sure that you check your local regulations. I’ve heard of certain places considering it littering, or “feeding the animals” which is banned in many waters.
A lovely couple with another fishing website wrote a state by state guide detailing their research on fishing with corn. Just bear in mind that laws change frequently, so you’ll want to double check their work.
Bread
Bread can work very well for bluegill and sunfish. What you do is take some and ball it up so that you can pierce it with a hook. As the water softens the bread, you’re going to need to replace it as it will eventually fall off.
As with corn, you should check your local regulations. There is a chance that this could be considered littering, for one. Secondly, some places don’t want you feeding the ducks bread, so don’t be caught with a loaf.
Chicken Liver
This stuff works great for catfish, bullhead, bowfin, and other exotic species. It is very hard to keep on the hook, but if you manage to it is hard to beat. If you present this in an area where these large fish can find it, they’ll eat it.
Chicken liver’s downside is it smells horrific and makes a terrible mess. I definitely wouldn’t recommend using it from a brand new boat if you’re partial to how the carpet looks and smells. It also attracts flies and other insects quickly and so it isn’t always the most pleasant way to fish.
Leeches and Other Critters
There are a host of other types of bait. Basically, anything that a fish would normally eat can be attached to hook and used to entice a bite. Walleye anglers love leaches, a lot of trophy bluegill hunters swear by crickets, and many large catfish have been caught with cut up bluegill.
You can use just about anything but I would, once again, urge you to check your local regulations just to make sure you’re fully compliant with the law.
When It is Best to Use Live Bait Instead of Artificial Lures
I would recommend using bait of some sort when it is legal and you absolutely need to catch a fish quickly. Thus, it is my number one choice when fishing with kids. Once upon a time, I envisioned teaching my son how to fish without ever using bait, but this didn’t last very long.
I owed it to him to help him learn how to fish and to do that I had to make sure he had fun his first few times out. You do that by putting fish on the hook, not by teaching high-brow “artificial only” fishing techniques.
Bait is also great for a more leisurely fishing approach. It can be very relaxing to sit on the bank with a rod and enjoy the sunset while waiting for a catfish to swim by, or to play catch with your kids while a few rods rest on a forked stick waiting for a bluegill.
With all that said, fishing is only going to be as good as the fishing spot. It’s impossible to catch a fish that isn’t there, after all. I find that a lot of the fishermen who are using bait don’t seem to catch many fish. This is likely because they tend to wait for the fish to find them rather than going out in search of them. If you’re in the wrong spot, fishing with bait can be pretty boring.
Types of Artificial Lures
There are far more types of artificial lures out there than space to write here about them. They come in a host of different shapes and sizes, each designed to approach or address a slightly different situation. Some of the more common ones you’ll find are as follows:
Plastic Worms & Other Creatures
Probably the most famous artificial lure is the simple plastic worm. Some are designed to directly mimic worms, bugs, fish, rodents, and apparently alien life forms not from this earth. Some look very realistic while others make you wonder what the designer was doing when he thought of it.
They can come from the factory pre-scented, or you can apply your own. I would recommend trying to buy worms with some sort of scent to them or a high salt content.
A great worm that works very well is the Senko by Gary Yamamoto Baits. You can purchase them pack by pack, or buy a Yamamoto Senko Kit
Plastic worms can be rigged them many different ways, including weedless, which makes them very versatile. Wired2Fish has a great article that discusses five of the more common ways to rig them.
They make a great lure for kids and beginners as they’re so simple to use. You’ll often find people (including me) recommend that you tie on before you leave the dock. These lures will catch any fish large enough to bite it.
Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits
These lures are designed to be cast and retrieved at speed repeatedly. Spinnerbaits are retrieved under the water while buzzbaits ride along the surface spitting up bubbles as they go.
These are both designed to catch active fish as they require the fish to attack aggressively. While you can vary your speed and slow things down when times are tough, they are often fished very fast and are outstanding lures for power fishing.
Believe it or not, but spinnerbaits actually make great lures to troll with, especially if you’re with your kids. I wrote an article about trolling for pickerel with my four-year-old this year that you can read here.
Bass Jigs
These might be one of the more popular lures among tournament bass fisherman. They’re certainly responsible for some of the larger catches of all time. These are relatively simple lures, with a weighted head matched to a skirt of some sort, but they give off such a large profile that large bass tend to love them.
There are a host of options out there on the market, each with a unique design to accomplish different goals. Jigs are usually used for crawling over rocks, inching over laydowns, and swimming through weeds. There are some monster sized ones for fishing very deep and tiny, “finesse” applications for when you can’t buy a bite.
Speaking of the bite, it can be very hard to detect. I always struggled with jigs until I picked up some better equipment that was more sensitive. If you’re also struggling, check out my article on whether or not expensive fishing rods are worth it for some recommendations.
Crankbaits
These are an awesome lure for power fishing, and as soon as you know how to cast accurately and safely, you can start loading up the boat with fish by tossing crankbaits.
They’re very simple lures that have been around for some time. They’re essentially little wood or plastic plugs that have some treble hooks attached to them and are designed to dive to a certain depth once retrieved.
Even though they have treble hooks, many are designed with a large bill in the front that serves two purposes: (1) it allows the lure to dive when retrieved; (2) it allows some protection from the hooks as the bill shields them and deflects the plug off of cover.
Because of the treble hooks, I don’t like throwing these with my son in the boat. I’ll save them for when he gets older and I have more confidence in his casting.
Swimbaits
Swimbaits are a fairly new type of artificial lures, and quickly becoming one of the best. They can either be soft plastic or made from a hard material and are designed to look like live bait fish. Some of them are quite expensive (too expensive for me to risk in pike and pickerel-filled waters) but folks swear by them.
These make a good search bait and are good for beginners as you just cast and retrieve them, but they aren’t as weedless or tooth-proof as spinnerbaits as there is no bent wire frame to protect the hook from the weeds, or the line from some teeth.
Jerkbaits
These are some of my favorite lures. They look like long, skinny crankbaits and will either float, sink, or suspend at rest depending on the model. You work them by giving your rod a series of jerks in various patterns and rhythms until you find one that the fish like.
This is a very good cold water technique because it can be fished very slow and subtle. This allows you to keep the plug in an area where you expect fish to be stacked, such as in the pre-spawn.
Jerkbaits have been responsible for most of the 100-fish days in my life. If you get a few friends together during the pre-spawn and find the right rocky points, you can really clean up with this technique.
Topwater Plugs
Topwater plugs includes any type of lure that looks somewhat like a crankbait or jerkbait and is intended to float. What you do is toss it out (especially during low light conditions), wait for the ripples to subside, and then give it a little twitch or two. Wait for the ripples to subside again, and twitch it again.
This drives fish crazy, and can lead to some spectacular blowouts as fish burst through the water to attack it.
Unfortunately, the hook up rate can be low at first. It takes time to learn to make sure the fish actually got the lure before excitedly setting the hook. Many a fish got away because someone was too excited and set the hook too soon.
Frogs
This artificial lure is meant to look just like live bait. Frogs are a weedless topwater lure that are commonly thrown into very heavy vegetation, such as lily pad fields. You hop or crawl them across the top in the hopes of enticing giant bass to bite.
Frogs can be very frustrating lures. I’d never recommend them for kids or beginners. Nonetheless, they are very effective at drawing a strike at least, and visually impressive. They are plenty of fun so long as you can deal with plenty of failure.
Purchasing proper gear will improve your success rate with these lures. You’ll want a very heavy rod paired with very heavy braided line. Most folks recommend 65lb braid, though I tend to use 50. These sizes are far too heavy for most spinning reels, so you’re going to need baitcasters, which is another reason this is a poor technique for kids.
Spoons
Spoons are an older design that are still used today and catch a ton of fish. Essentially, they’re a piece of metal with a hook attached. They can be relatively flat, or curved like the business end of a spoon. Some are painted, while others are bare metal.
Spoons are popular lures to troll as they have an enticing, wobbling action while dragged through the water. They can also be cast and retrieved with a stop and go method that allows them to flutter down each time you stop reeling.
While they’re most popular with pike and salmon fishermen, bass will also take these lures.
When It Is Best to Use Artificial Lures Instead of Live Bait
I’d argue that you use an artificial lure any time that you want to get better at fishing. Every time you cast one out you’re practicing with it and building experience that you can apply later (especially if you decide to fish tournaments someday).
I also find artificial lures to be easier to use around heavy weeds and other cover. This is mostly because live bait tends to leave the hook exposed and will foul easily in such conditions. There are certain artificial lures and ways to rig them that are ideally suited for fishing in slop or laydowns and will come through without much issue.
Artificial lures are also very useful when you want to cover a lot of water by “power fishing.” This technique involves rapidly casting and retrieving to search for the active fish in an area. While there’s nothing that says you can’t also power fish with live bait, it probably won’t hold up to repeated casting as well and you may find it often flies off the hook. Also, most live bait is fished fairly slow. With power fishing you want to cover a lot of water quickly.
Finally, you should use artificial lures if you are in a bass fishing tournament. Chances are if you don’t, you’re in violation of the tournament rules!
Berkley Gulp vs. Live Bait
There is a third option. While Berkley Gulp is technically an artificial lure and not live bait, it almost comes across as a “hybrid.” It is a very supple lure with great action that comes absolutely doused in scent and attractant. The minnows especially are one of my all-time favorite dropshot lures.
Berkley Gulp can be used in fishing tournaments, though if you’re the co-angler you’d better be careful not to spill the juices all over your boater’s carpet. This would not endear you to your fishing partner!
Berkley claims that Gulp outfishes live bait and I’ve certainly had days where it seemed that way. If you get small enough minnows that panfish can fit in their mouths, you could actually go out with kids, leave the nightcrawlers at home, and do just fine.
This product is a great alternative if you have moral or philosophical objections to using live bait while fishing, but still want your kids to have a good time.
One thing I don’t like about the product is that it’s really hard to keep fresh over time and doesn’t seem to work as well if you buy it in the bags than if you purchase it in the big plastic tubs. The tubs keep the lures submerged in attractant and I find these work much, much better.
If you buy the tubs, make sure you keep them out of the sun as the liquid heats up quickly and tends to make the lures even softer and more likely to pull from the hook.
The Verdict: What is Better, Live Bait or Artificial Lures?
For years, I was a bit of a “purist’ and would only fish with artificial lures, but this all changed the second my son was born and I knew I had to put him on as many fish as possible, as quickly as possible.
If you’re just teaching your kids to fish, or even learning to fish yourself, you’ll have more successes and smiles if you bring along some nightcrawlers for the trip.
That’s not to say you can’t also fish with artificial lures, but one of the maxims I try to follow (especially when fishing with children) is to put a fish–any fish–into the livewell as quickly as possible to “get the skunk out of the boat” and just ensure that something was caught. As with everything else in life, much of your success while fishing will boil down to your morale, so catching something quickly is key.
With that said, if you’re going by yourself (or even with a little more patient children), bring those artificial lures along. Fishing with them will make you a better fisherman and you can apply what you learn with artificial lures when you’re fishing live bait as well.
In sum, there is a place for both.
I hope this article helped reduce your learning curve a bit. I wrote a book that aims to help reduce it even more. Consider purchasing your copy of Fishing with Kids: A Parent’s Guide
Thanks,
John Paxton