How to Make Bait for Fishing: A Beginner’s Guide

You should try homemade fishing bait if the fish aren’t biting, and the type of bait you’re using can make a huge difference in catching the fish. Let’s explore some ways to make fishing bait and reveal the best homemade bait options for freshwater and saltwater fishing.

How to Make Bait for Fishing

Fishing bait is the object you use to entice the fish to bite it and get hooked. Good bait can be artificial or live, for example, worms, minnows, or dough from flour.

If you have made homemade bait, you should store it cool and dry, so it doesn’t go bad before you’re ready to use it.

How to Make Dough Bait

1. Mix flour with cornmeal and water to form the dough
2. Add other enticing ingredients like cheese or spices
3. Form the dough into a ball or worm-shaped.
4. Attach the dough bait to a hook or lure on the end of your fishing line.

Where to Find Worm Bait

Look under rocks or logs in your backyard, or buy them from a bait shop. Keep some worms and soil in an empty glass container with a lid. Thread a part of the worm onto the hook. After fishing, remember to empty the glass and release the worm you don’t use as bait.

How to Find and Rig Minnow Bait

You can collect minnows from a stream or buy them at a shop that sells minnow bait. Threading the minnow can be tricky on a small hook, so use one big enough to go through the minnow’s body and extend out enough for the target fish to get hooked. Rig the hook by inserting it into the minnow’s mouth and bringing it up through its back, so the hook sticks out behind its head. Another option is via the mouth, going through one of the gills and piercing it back through the minnow’s flesh and out its back. A third option is to hook it below the chin and push it upwards through the top of its mouth or nostril.

Best Bait for Saltwater Fishing

For saltwater fishing, you can use these types of homemade bait that work well:

• Cutbait: easily made by cutting parts of fish or seafood into smaller pieces that you attach to a hook. These are excellent bait for snappers and redfish.
• Squid bait: You need to cut a small part off a squid and attach it to a hook. Some anglers use squid bait for mackerels, flounders, and cod.
• Shrimp Bait: You can easily make shrimp bait by buying frozen shrimp from the seafood division at the supermarket. They are excellent bait for flounders, redfish, and snappers.
• Crab Bait: Another bait that is easy to obtain is crab meat, which you can use either fresh or frozen. Fishermen use crab meat to bait snappers, redfish, and blue crabs.

How to Get Bait for Fishing

• Collect natural bait from the wild, including worms and minnows.
• Collect worms by digging in soil or compost piles.
• Collect minnows by using a trap or seine in streams or ponds.
• Check local regulations for restrictions on bait types and collection methods.
• Purchase live bait such as worms, minnows, crickets, grasshoppers, and leeches from a bait shop or online.
• Live bait helps catch fish that prey on live bait, such as bass and catfish.
• Purchase pre-made bait such as dough or egg baits from a bait shop or online.
• These baits come in various flavors, colors, and shapes and can be used in different ways, like on a hook, a jig, a spoon, or a fly.

Tips for Choosing the Right Bait

• Thread bait onto a hook or series of hooks
• Attach the hook to the fishing line
• Cast your line into the water and wait for the fish to bite
• Choose bait appropriate for target fish.
• If nothing is happening, check to see if the bait is still on the hook. If it is, consider changing the bait.
• Try a variety of baits, such as catfish bait, homemade dough, dip bait, dog food, dough balls, chicken liver, canned meat, canned corn, golden raisins, and hot dogs to find the perfect bait.

Frequently Asked Questions: