Three Bait Disasters: Avoid These, if you Want to Catch Fish!

Fishing is not always as simple as it seems, but you can essentially boil it all down to stopping at the tackle shop to pick up some bait, and then hitting the bay or ocean, right? Heck no! Serious anglers know that there are about a zillion and one variables to take into consideration. But even if we set them all aside, the simple “pick up some bait” part is often where the best fishermen’s plans can go awry. Consider, for example, these three bait disasters we all need to avoid if we hope to be successful on the water.

DISASTER #1 – Leaving the bait shop without first checking the bait. While most bait shop owners want you to succeed just as much as you do, not all do the best job in the world of monitoring the condition of their own baits. As a result, it’s not all that uncommon to open up a box of frozen fish and discover that it went rotten after sitting in the freezer for months on end. And no, predators don’t like to eat rotten fish. If you check the bait while you’re still at the shop, they’re sure to go in back and find you a fresher batch. But if you drive to the boat, toss that bait into a fishbox, then drive miles more over the water, by the time you discover your bait’s gone bad it will be too late to save the day.

DISASTER #2 – Slathering up the bug juice, then baiting your line. Bug repellent’s main effective ingredient is DEET. DEET also happens to be a scientifically proven fish repellent. If one drop goes into an aquarium, you can watch all the fish go the the far side and then beat themselves up against the glass, trying to get away from the stuff. So if you bait up after using bug repellent, you’ve just turned that bait into fish repellent, too. Ouch. The best policy is to avoid using this stuff in the first place, but we know that in some areas, it’s a must-have. In that case, wash your hands thoroughly with soapy water – twice – before handling your bait.

DISASTER #3 – Letting all your live bait turn into dead bait. There are plenty of reasons this happens, ranging from livewells that become clogged, to bait buckets heating up in the sun, to live eels drowning in their own slime. The bottom line in all cases, however, is the same: keep an eye on your livies. Check them every 15 or 20 minutes to monitor their health, and the chances are that if any problems arise you can identify them before it becomes fatal for the entire batch of bait.