LIVBAITING, (Good or bad?)

[sam-cox]

I love live baiting for bass, tope, pike and perch, I find that it sorts the wheat from the chaff when it comes to targeting quality fish.

The use of live baits from piers can be a relatively cheap way for the shore angler fishing on a budget to target good bass and have a realistic chance of actually landing a fish of a lifetime.

 

However there are anglers who believe this to cruel for them to practice. I could understand this if these anglers didn’t also use peeler crabs, lug and rag worms all of which are used live.

 

I would like to try and liven up the tempo on this forum and by offering a healthy debate on subjects such as this hope to achieve this.

So please reply with your views on the subject, or even better your experiences of angling with live bait.

[maidstonemike]

Trouble is Sam, I think it's been done to death already. They will only start swapping insults anyway.

[Brian Carragher]

I don't have a problem with livebaiting and do livebait.

Predators by definition prefer to take live bait as a food source over dead baits of any sort and what we do when livebaiting only mirrors what happens in the real world of predation. When livebaiting it can actually be a very environmentally friendly way to fish as if youre livebaiting and don't get a take then it is more than likely that only one bait may be used all day. Compare that with the continual rebaiting of a dead bait and see how many fish you use as deads in a session compared to lives

[Stoaty]

I always livebait for bass. Apart from lures in clear water, it's the only way to catch decent bass. I often see anglers on here whinging about the lack of decent sized bass. I think if they tried livebaiting they would soon find decent bass are easy to catch.

[Steve Coppolo]

I agree that livebaiting is very effective and sorts out the better fish. It's also a very exciting method to use.

 

To add a little twist to the subject, I really enjoy fishing with lures. With lure fishing you are attempting to mimic a live bait. You have to think where the fish might be laying in ambush, or cast to fish that you can see hitting their prey. Only 100% success in doing so will result in a hooked fish. To me, lure fishing adds something to the whole fishing experience and it's very satisfying when I catch fish on a lure, whether it be a plug, spinner or fly. The only trouble is that we all tend to use lures that are too small to sort out the better fish. I'm convinced that if we used great big lures, we would catch more big fish on them.

 

What was the question again?

[***Simon***]

i havent posted on this forum for ages because it has become a bit boring but i do check it everyday for decent posts.

 

i have only tried livebaiting as a last resort and have never caught anything, but this year im going to actually use this method properly.

 

i can understand why people dont use this method but its up to them, more big bass for us (hopefully)

 

has any one got any tips on live baiting, methods, what livebait, when etc......

 

thanks pals

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

Anyone who livebaits should have large trebles attached to their testicles and then be launched into the ocean by a great white fisherman

 

Only kiddin

[Stoaty]

I really enjoy fishing with lures. With lure fishing you are attempting to mimic a live bait.

 

I agree with what you said there, trouble is around here the water can be so cloudy that you can't see anything more than 6" under the surface. In these circumstances a lure is useless. It's worth mentioning that a bass can take a very large livebait. An 8lb bass would take a 1lb pout whole in an instant. On the coarse side of fishing, which I don't do these days, I once caught a 29lb pike from a Shepperton gravel pit using a 7lb Jack livebait.

[sam-cox]

well we have a good start to a lively discussion. Maybe some methods of livbaiting could now be discussed?

[skippytheroo]

What kind of rig is best for livebaiting? Im guessing a shortish snood so as to stop the ikkle fishy hiding behind a rock

 

 

Also........ I understand small fish such as mackerel and whitings die after being handled......whats the best way to avoid premature death of the bait fish?

Edited February 22, 2006 by skippytheroo