bait vs. plugs

[BMEUPSCOTTY]

When I first started fishing the salt, I used bait. Had success, caught a few nice ones. After some time on the water, I recognized the type of anglers I would like to emulate. Hmmm.... look at that guy.... just a rod and that green man-purse.... no bucket, cooler etc. and he is catching fish and changing spots with ease... Then I started lurking the plug builders forum and seeing the passion that those guys have for their hobby is fun. I felt in a comfortable catagory. Artificials only, but not quite elitist (sp) as fly-fishing. My favorite pictures on this site are the ones with nice bass with those works of art stuck in their mouths. Now I only use bait occasionaly and don't usually tell anyone.

This season has me confused. It seems there is a movement to bend us back to the idea that bait is best, and not to be ashamed for admitting it. I would sure like to catch a 50 or 60 pounder, but I have been so happy learning to fish plugs. (love needles lately... getting better at them.) I know it's a personal choice, but it's one I am having trouble making. Anyone else have trouble choosing? The master baiters seem to be getting all the press, but at what price fame?

[numbskull]

Most of us fish for fun. Part of that fun is a sense of accomplishment. Many people measure that accomplishment by size or numbers of fish caught. Others by difficulties overcome. Fishing with flies or plugs raises the level of difficulty. Freshwater fisherman recognized this decades ago and as their sport has shifted from food procurement to recreation the use of bait has diminished proportionately......to the point where bait fishing for "sport fish" is unpopular. In saltwater, the food procurement aspect of fishing is still a strong ethic, and this shifts the accomplishment balance towards how big and how much as opposed to how difficult. As more and more people fish, and the resource absorbs more and more strain, the achievement ethic will shift towards more difficult methods and catch and release. Most fisherman make this transition to some extent themselves over the course of their life, particularly as they come to repect the fish they seek, and as maturity diminishes the need for reaffirmation of one's status as a fisherman (and, hence, worth as a person) and removes the urge to compare what you are accomplishing with how the other guy is doing...........which is why Flap will still be able to smile when I outfish his sorry ass.

[BigFish]

As Numbscull said....its a sense of accomplishment many of us look for! I know I could do better if I fished live eels or other forms of bait, but that just does not give me the thrill that catching a nice fish on a wooden plug made with my own hands does! To create that plug and to work it in such a way that it tempts that beautiful fish to explode on it in a frenzied attack is just what I love to do......its the best part of fishing for me as far as I am concerned along with the camraderie of fishing with other sick souls like myself and just plain being out there on the water!

Choose your weapon and have at it!

[Raven]

man oh man

musta been a real big guy that gave his butt a whoopin....

[Notaro]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Choose your weapon and have at it!

ditto here.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Most of us fish for fun. Part of that fun is a sense of accomplishment. Many people measure that accomplishment by size or numbers of fish caught. Others by difficulties overcome. Fishing with flies or plugs raises the level of difficulty. Freshwater fisherman recognized this decades ago and as their sport has shifted from food procurement to recreation the use of bait has diminished proportionately......to the point where bait fishing for "sport fish" is unpopular. In saltwater, the food procurement aspect of fishing is still a strong ethic, and this shifts the accomplishment balance towards how big and how much as opposed to how difficult. As more and more people fish, and the resource absorbs more and more strain, the achievement ethic will shift towards more difficult methods and catch and release. Most fisherman make this transition to some extent themselves over the course of their life, particularly as they come to repect the fish they seek, and as maturity diminishes the need for reaffirmation of one's status as a fisherman (and, hence, worth as a person) and removes the urge to compare what you are accomplishing with how the other guy is doing...........which is why Flap will still be able to smile when I outfish his sorry ass.

That was a lucid, well thought out and comprehensive description of the bait vs. plug debate completely covering ethics and personal choice, except the last line which will never happen.

[baldwin]

I prefer fly fishing and plugging over bait fishing. I know that bait is the easiest way to catch very large bass, or sometimes numbers of small bass, but it really isn't my preference.
I like to move around, as opposed to sitting and dunking a chunk. I like to work a fly or plug through the water just right, and I can enjoy doing that all day in a fishless swimming pool.
I hate smelling like bunker when I'm trying to get to sleep at 5:00 in the morning. I don't like having to get to a shop and buy eels before fishing. I love catching fish on a new pattern that I constructed after analyzing a certain situation that I encounter on the water. I count success in catching fish by my own skill in placement of my fly or plug and working it effectively, rather than putting a chunk of meat where a big fish is likely to wander through.

[JohnR]

Depends on what you are going for and what you want to do but it is your choice. Some people only want to target big fish, some people only want to target small, some just want to simply enjoy time on the water. Different styles offer different challenges and reap different rewards. I'm not as stuck on one method as some others as I enjoy lots of different methods like eels or plugs, whether from shore & boat.

Sometimes I want a challenge, sometimes I want to increase my odds to catch fish, sometimes I want to try something totally new to me.

One of the great aspects of fishing is that you can choose your method and choose your target & goal. Your goal can be numbers, size, challenge, or simply inner peace

[Kierran]

It bothers me when anglers poopoo certain methods. All types of angling have their day in the sun. Fresh bunker have been catching the large here recently, one night it will be swimmers, the next maybe eels. You have to be ready with whatever the fish want at the given moment. Don't be a hater and adapt to different situations.

[Raven]

i typically go to my spot...and throw out a chunk and chum

and set that rod into a sand spike....

then i stand nearby and plug to draw fish into my bait

and work both methods until i discover what they want.

[smokefish]

I guess I'm confused, like Raven I like to do both. I'll throw out a chunk then work work around it various plugs.Whatever works.

[RIJIMMY]

Since I can remember, eels have been the top "lure" to use for bass. I think the recent resurgance of wooden plugs has actually made plug fishing more popular, eels have always been tops.
To me, using a live eel is not using bait, I know it really is, but its a TON of concentration, feeling every movement of the eel and knowing when you get the hit. For some reason, on this site, eel fishing is regarded as "easy", I dont agree. To me, they are my best chance to catch good bass (to me, good is anything over 15 lbs - my goals are low).
As stated earlier, you need to do what you enjoy, period.
I love using needlefish, mambos and spooks. It all depends on moods, conditions and bait.

[Raven]

eels are the "live" lure

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

except the last line which will never happen.

I was trying to firgure out where to stick my 3000th post and this is a good quote to chuckle about and reply too. Me I have terrible difficulty sometime trying to figure what I am going to fish with. Fly, plugs, bait, and now I am building a convench bait rod for the beach. Oh boy. Raising the level of difficulty from bait, to plugs, to flys holds an allure that can't be beaten. Either way as long as thier is enjoyment in your fishing endeavours then your on the right track.

[Flaptail]

I like plugs better than bait, more challenge to me personally. Thisa past Saturday casting a plug I made this winter I had several follows by multiple big fish. On the fourth drift I had three cows follow the thing agin for over 100 feet and after speeding the action and retrieve in the last ten feet from the boat got the biggest of the three to take the plug only fett from the rod tip thouroughly soaking my pal Eric who was watching the whole event at the gunwale.

That mid 30 pound fish, caught and released, was worth more than a bigger fish on bait to me because I had gotten the fish to respond to something I made, I was manipulating and finally got the bass to commit even though the boat and us were plainly now in view. The hit was spectacular withn white water and thrashing right at my feet.

Way better a feeling and experience than a bump, gulp and run in the dark to my way of thinking.

I have done it all and flyfishing and plug fishing may not win a lot of contests or get the results that live eels or pogies or someday herring again but on those rare occasions when everything clicks it's way more satisfying to me.

[BigFish]

Amen Brother Flaptail, Amen! Can I get a Halleluya out there! Welcome to the Church of Surf and Wood!!

[fishbones]

Theres nothing like seeing a large bass crash the surface and nail a surface plug with it's tail, then the nervous moments waiting for it to come back and inhale it. No matter how many times it happens, I always hold my breath after the initial whack while waiting to see if the big bass will come back to pick up the plug. I would rather fish poppers because of that, but I also use swimmers at times and love the feeling of the fish hitting when you are not expecting it. I'm not opposed to using bait, but I just like plugs better. Bait definitley gives you a better chance for a BIG striper, but I like the idea of casting and retreiving. There is something about trying to fool a bass into taking an artificial that gives me a sense of satisfaction. Also, I like to keep a rod and plug bag in the car with my waders, just in case I end up somewhere where I can get a chance to make some casts. I wouldn't be able to stand the smell if I drove around with bait in the car all the time.

[Gunpowder]

Originally Posted by JohnR

One of the great aspects of fishing is that you can choose your method and choose your target & goal. Your goal can be numbers, size, challenge, or simply inner peace

absolutley right. thats wat fishin is all about. if the fish arent taken the plugs (which i prefer) sometimes u just have to resort to the bait that there goin after and theres nothin wrong with that. some people seem to think that pluggin is a more rewarding way of catchin that dream fish and i agree with that to some extent, however, when people next to me are catchin fish and usin bait im im pluggin away and gettin nowhere, u can bet ill be chiangin my method of fishin ASAP

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by fishbones

Theres nothing like seeing a large bass crash the surface and nail a surface plug with it's tail, then the nervous moments waiting for it to come back and inhale it.

up to a month go I would have agreed 100%, BUT, after I've seen bass hitting a live bunker, there is nothing like it, some of the hits are like exposions, others are slow deadly stalkings.
I've been losing sleep over it.......

[numbskull]

As sanctimonious as I get about plugs, truth be told one of their biggest advantages is convienence. Getting up 2 hours early and working to procure live bait, or trapping and keeping eels, always seemed like work to me. Much easier to just sleep in and keep telling myself I'm more of a sportsman for doing so.

[Tagger]

fish the way you want,, no peer pressure .. no look down at the bait guy here.. I learnt alot fishing bait .. Went fishing with nothing but a hook and a piece of moms silverware .. Jig up some macks cause I know when they are in, and where they are .. I caught macks with the tin foil off my cigarrete pack on a hook . I caught macks bait fishing with macks .. walked the low water mark digging a couple of clams and thru snot .. Did the herring thing .. bowed to the cow plenty and there she was . When I hung drywall and core board everyday, I could hardly stand let alone throw plugs . Fished bait with my eyes closed .. You can live line anything you jig up . Don't regret any of my mother chunking past and know I could still go out with just a few hooks and have a good chance at a bass .. Just like plugs now ... kinda the same as when i started .. going out with nothing .. Even pluggers ,,,,I have 2 words for the frustrated bait fisher in all of us ... "Smelly Jelly" or ,,, "Skin Plug" I love to wrap my plug in bait ... no purrist here ..If you never fished bait you should ... forage your own ... right of passage ..

[Tagger]

I think bait guys get a bad rap for the small number of them that leave the pig mess behind . I know a nice little cove in RI that looks like the town dump .. disgusting

[MrHunters]

Originally Posted by Tagger

I think bait guys get a bad rap for the small number of them that leave the pig mess behind . I know a nice little cove in RI that looks like the town dump .. disgusting

all you see are my foot prints... and i take home double the trash i brought.

[likwid]

I like to use a nice warm can of Naragansett.