lures vs. bait
 

the last few years i have focused more on casting lures then bait. i;m really hooked .this year i have gotten back to bait also. i have noticed larger fish. how does everyone feel about this. thanx.

100% wooden lures for me! Its just how I like to fish!:uhuh:

There's a time and a place for both, depending on conditions.
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Agreed
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Agreed on the agreed
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Triple agreed.

I'm not a big bait guy, whether it's chunking or throwing eels.

But certain times of year when throwing bait will produce bigger and mOre fish.

I like throwing clam bellies after a big blow on the sand beaches.

But I love plugging and throwing rigged eels.

Bait for me is time and location game only.

Whatever works for you, is the best option.
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Amen!

Yup.
Bait is for when you are learning to catch large fish and plugs for when you know how to catch large fish.
A time and place for everything.

Eels, of course, are for those who are really bad learners.
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I went from all bait to all lures and have now settled into a pattern of mostly lures with occasional bait. My thing is when I do indeed use bait I use it "like a lure"- meaning whole baits ripped or twitched to induce a strike. It is the best of both worlds in a real challenge from shore. My two biggest fish this season were caught using this method, one with a whole mac and the other a whole squid (my PB)

Hahhahahahahaha Numby this just maybe my new sig
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Whatever the fish wants is what I want to give them....I just wish they'd tell me in advance

People ask me, "What's the difference between using plugs and eels?"

Answer, "About 10 pounds on average."

DZ

plugs are more fun. eels are more productive, on larger fish anyway.

i usually only fish eels when I think I have a shot at some big fish, otherwise its just too boring (i like catching on eels, not fishing them).

riggies are a nice compromise, as much fun to fish as a plug and give you a good chance at big fish, but its alittle more mindless than plugging as there aren't as many decisions to be made. drawback is that, like most plugs, they can't match eels in deeper water. Also, the time spent making a bunch of well-made riggies is not exactly enjoyable.

i like fishing plugs at this stage of my life. back in the day i caught many large fish on bait (including my biggest which bottomed out a chattilon 50) that did'nt count :) - on my boat :).

wooden plugs on top...hard for me to fish other things...

I have never really fished bait. I know I am missing out. But the idea of sitting in a chair with a sand spike in front of me makes me want to up my Dosage of Ritalin. I can barely keep one plug on the line for more than 10 casts. Never mind waiting for
A fish to
Find my bait.
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Its funny there's one beach around here where everyone fishes their own fresh caught sand eels on a hi-lo rig no matter what and drink miller lite. if you bust out a plug, ppl look at you like you're a leper. Not a mile down the shore line, everyone plugs ronz's with a 1oz jig head, if you do anything else, ppl look at you like you're a leper :smash:

I find plugging a beach and getting one or two fish, watching the strike happen and learning how to present a variety of plugs correctly is a whole lot more enjoyable than rigging a hi-lo with a piece of skinking bait, putting it in a sand spike, and waiting till it does something. probly get more fish on average, but its not as fun to me

Fished a lot of bait and caught a lot of large. Nauset beach was a sea worm beach.

I'd guess fresh bait (live or freshly killed) when used correctly beats artificial lures greater than 2-to-1 for getting big fish. Go out to the race or the backside and it's probably a 10-fold difference (on the rare occasion there are any fish around).

Why not do both? Any time I fish bait off the bottom, I also cast plugs to fish up in the water column.

Pre-pinnipeds I liked dragging fresh sand eels at night on single dropper. Especially when it was gnarly. Stupid effective on big fish when you couldn't plug or eel. Fresh raked was key. Not 3 day old crap.
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A very dumb statment from a very smart man. numbskull we have a mutal friend from this site who tells me you are a smart man and a good fisherman but I highly disagree with your statment

Not a bad idea I suppose. I generally only fish nights and hang with the family on the beach during the day so bait would probably be a good idea if I were to fish during the day.
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Tossing bait is great on the family beach trips. Not so much this year, but in the past we would regularly drive out on the Race for some family fun time - cookout, campfire, beach sports. A few of us would bring a rod each, toss some sand eels and go socialize. If a rod went off, great.

Also if there was somewhat steady action, it was a chance for people to reel in a fish that may not have a chance otherwise. My fiancee blames her dad and his family beach and boat trips for sowing the seeds of what is now my addiction.

not really caring if i get the worlds record, i've gone over to 100% lures. more satisfaction trying to get them to hit a plug. also more frustration at times.

There you go Slow Eddie! Its all about the experience for me....not always about the results! I do well enough to stick with what I enjoy! Building lures and crushing fish on them is a high I will never tired of!!!:uhuh:

If you are ever out there and see a black F 150 with an SB sticker on it say hi. I am out there most weekends.
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can't beat macs or pogies........plugs when there is no bait...:)

I fish bait the majority of the time and I would say numbskull has it right.

Every fish I’ve caught from the surf that was over 30# has come on some form of bait (live eels, rigged eels, or fresh bunker chunks). I have come close to breaking the 30# mark quite a few times with artificials (mainly on jigs) but it hasn’t happened yet.

As someone who still has a lot to learn I focus my time on trying to figure out when and where big fish are going to be available and fishing bait gives me a much better chance of connecting with a large fish if they are in the area. Fishing this way I have figured out a couple of areas that under specific conditions have a pretty good chance of holding bigger fish. If I hadn’t put in countless hours fishing these areas with bait (eels and riggies mainly) and logging my results I doubt I would have figured them out.

I really don’t though know if I’ll ever get to the point where I will choose to fish these same spots under ideal conditions with plugs… I do enjoy fishing plugs, I’ve always loved darters and I’m really starting to like the big plugs like GRS Pikies but most of the time when I’m throwing them I’m wondering what I am missing on by not having an eel or a riggie on my line… I do have a lot of confidence in jigs and if I am going to land a good fish on an artificial I’m willing to bet that it will come fishing an inlet with some king of jig.

Will definitely watch out for you. I have a Silver Dakota with a grey bedcap. No SB sticker on mine because I keep being out of town during meetups.

:kewl:Could not agree more!:kewl:

and Poncho, lighten up! George be funnin'

Bait, especially live does indeed making catching easier.

There is a particular area that myself and a few friends fish often with plugs only. Leading up to commercial season we were getting a few fish on top with pencils and metal lipped swimmers.

As soon as commercial season started there were six boats in the exact area, well within casting range using live pogies and/or macs. Every morning they cleaned up, bagging multiple 30 and 40 pound fish right in front of eyes. Point being that those fish were there the whole time but not being easily fooled by our artificials. Now that comm season is over we are back to catching a few good fish per week.

EELS = live lures.

Fun to fish, easy to keep alive and big time producers. I have more confidence fishing live eels than anything else.

Not to say I don't fish other stuff when the time is right.

Two years ago in the ditch I caught a dozen fish over thirty on plugs, and that doesn't include the biggest one. Countless numbers in the 20's, but when I go to the Vineyard I do both. Especially at night, sitting in the big chair, with a beer on one side, snappes on the other, and a smile on the guy fishing.

Poor Alan. He can't catch a break fishing with Numby. I love their banter at each other. They both stopped at the Salt Water Edge shop last Saturday while I was there working. George, as always, riding Alan about cheating with eels. But Alan and I got the last rib at George when we noticed he was taking steps toward the dark side of eel fishing when he purchased "Smelly Jelly" to smear on his plugs. Probably eel scented. Was great to see you guys!

DZ

The last 2 weeks I fished thawed bait, fresh bait, live lined macs, threw rubber baits and fly fished. Caught them on everything and enjoyed it all. Actually only got one briefly on the fly and lost it. But that was a blast too!

I know Sauerkraut loves to fish the "Prey" and from what I can recall his biggest fish the last year or so may have come on it??? Regardless he ain't just ch#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&' slimey's!!! LOL!!:uhuh:

eels even considered bait??? because I'm mostly a plug/ eels user. With the occasional use of bait if there are pogies around to snag or macs to grab for live lining.. But like what has been said already, Different times and places aquire different types of fishing methods. What wont work one place will kill em in another.

As far as large fish go - Plugs are getting rage lately because there been so much big bait around esp. in the canal and they work well there. I've broken 40lbs on a plug but it was under a specific set of conditions that happens 5% of the time. The other 95% is eel fishing.

Eels are king for 2 reasons. Deadly on giant bass and you have the single hook factor. You hook the fish on an eel your percentages are very high for landing that fish. Lots can go wrong with plugs.

I thoroughly enjoy fishing plugs, especially topwater, and now my own creations. Not the same plugging from my boat as it is from the surf though.... That said, I have a boat, and with the plentiful availability of pogies now, and macks earlier in the season, I can't resist tossing them into some deeper holes to see how big I can catch. Yes, it is different. But the vicious hits and ensuing battles I have had the pleasure of experiencing lately are due to offerings of fresh cut pogies. They are actually outfishing live macks and live pogies. Also think the fish have been jazzed up due to the comms chunking thoughout their season. I got a few fish yesterday on plugs and rubber after running out of pogies, but all were substantially smaller.
It has been a strange season. The big fish are here. Could be gone in a flash, so will continue getting bait as my first option, at least from my boat. I do like catching as opposed to not catching.