Use Of Natural Baits For Fishing

( Originally Published 1912 )

NATURAL baits are those which most anglers are accustomed to using, such baits as angleworms, minnows, frogs, grasshoppers, helgramites, grubs, salt pork, crickets and any kind of real fish food.

Most common of all baits is the angleworm, and it is used more than any other, because it can be so easily secured, it can be used for all kinds of fish, and is accepted by all, large and small alike, no matter whether they are surface feeders or those that look for food at the bottom. The worms may be used just as taken from the ground, and are generally used in that condition, but they may be made better bait if properly prepared. Worms, to make first-class bait, should be dug a week before wanted for use, then washed and placed in damp moss in an earthen jar. The moss is washed and wrung as dry as possible and all sticks and hard objects picked out. They should be sorted out every second day and the dead or sickly ones thrown away. A few bread crumbs soaked in milk may be given them occasionally and the moss should also be changed. In a week of this treatment the worms become toughened and thoroughly emptied of earthy matter, and in this condition they make the best bait. The jar must be kept in a cool place.

There are four kinds of angleworms, and even the small boy, who fishes under the willows down at the river's bank, knows that some worms make better bait than others. In the garden you will find the black headed worm, which may be distinguished from others by the absence of the knot or band on the body; also by its dark color. It is a good bait and tough, so that it lasts longer than any other. A small worm of a bluish color is found under stones, and under wet and decayed leaves in damp, rich soil. It has a light colored band around the body and when kept for some time its color changes to pink. This is called the marsh worm and is very good for certain small fishes. The brantling is found in soil under chip dirt, and manure piles. It is of medium color and banded. It is a good bait but very soft, and does not last well. Another short, thick worm is found in the same kind of places. It is red on the back and paler beneath. It is also good when fresh, but is not a lasting bait. Another objection to worms found under manure piles is their odor, which some fish do not take kindly to, but others do not mind.

It is a common saying that the big worm will catch the big fish. There appears to be little if anything in this, but a worm that is just the right size to cover the hook when properly impaled, without crowding, is the right size, and as a rule any fish will take it, large or small. But there is a right way and a wrong way of baiting, and the way the hook is baited has much to do with its success. The best way is to stick the point of the hook into the worm about an inch or a little less from one end, taking enough hold to keep it from being torn out easily, then run the hook through the middle, and into the body near the other end, stripping it over the point of the hook a short distance so that it will stay and cover the hook, but also leave an inch of the end loose to wriggle. The point of the hook must be kept hidden for certain fish, especially for trout, for you will not catch many trout when the point of the hook shows, unless the water is swift, or the bait is kept in rapid motion. For other large mouthed fish, that take the entire bait and hook it may not matter so much. Always use a whole worm for a bait, and never more than one; also be sure to remove all little pieces of former baits. Worms are best carried in a bait box attached to a belt.

The grasshopper is another good bait, especially for surface feeding fish. Perhaps no other bait will cause a lazy old trout to rise so quickly from the depths as will a lively, kicking grasshopper, and it is an almost irresistible bait for these fish, even during the hot summer months when the water is clear and the fish cannot be lured in any other way. If there is a trout there, a live grasshopper cast lightly out onto the pool is almost sure to be his undoing. The hook should be entered at the joint just behind the 'hopper's head and run lengthwise of the body. To carry this bait a "hopper coop' is the proper thing.

For black bass and all of the large, voracious fish, the minnow is the favorite bait. By minnow I mean a small fish, for small fish are invariably called minnows by anglers, regardless of the species of fish. The small shiner, about four inches long, is the best bait, especially on dark days, as the silvery sides makes it more conspicuous. The fish should be hooked through the lips, if a single hook is used, and the hook should be put through from the under side, so that the point of the hook will be up and not so likely to catch weeds. In this way the fish will live for a number of casts and a live fish makes a more attractive bait. The small golden chubs and black chubs are hardier and live longer than the shiner, and they make good bait, but are not as good for dark days or cloudy water as the shiner. The small striped minnows, the real minnows, are very good bait also, if they can be found growing large enough, but they are very tender and do not live long, so it is best to hook them through the body and use them as dead bait. A bass, in taking the min-now bait, seizes it from behind or from the side and runs some distance with it, then stops and turns the fish end about to swallow it head first. This is the time to strike. If he is stopped before this he will give a tug at the bait and should be given some slack line. The same method of baiting and hooking of the fish applies to the capture of all kinds of fish with minnow bait.

There are several rigs made for use with a dead minnow or other bait and designed to spin the bait. They are especially good for trolling for muskellunge, pike and lake trout. The best known of these is the Archer Spinner, which contains a long needle on which the bait is placed, and a pair of barbed wings or propeller blades hinged at the top, which are pressed down after the bait is on the needle, so that the barbs hold the bait in place. The hooks consist usually of a three treble gang, on gimp snell, trailing alongside the bait.

Dead minnows may be fastened on large, long-shanked hooks in such a way that they will spin, if a swivel is fastened to the hook, or directly above. The hook is run into the mouth and out at the gills, back, and hooked into the body near the tail, in such a way that the body is bent into a curved shape. This makes a good rig for casting for bass. pike, and pickerel.

Ordinarily it is an easy matter to get minnows. A baited minnow trap will usually keep an angler supplied, but often the minnows taken in traps are too small. Some chubs and shiners may easily be caught in the brooks with a light line and very small hooks baited with maggots or pieces of angle worms. If you go to some quiet little pool where you can see what is going on at the bottom and not be seen yourself it will not be long until you can have a pail full. Or you can take them with a net on the very small streams, in which it is best to have a companion to drive them into the net. If you have a "live box" to keep them in, it may pay to catch them in spare time and keep a good supply on hand until you need them. When fishing for them, carry a min-now bucket to hold the catch, and get them into the live box as soon after catching as possible. Don't handle them more than absolutely necessary.

Small frogs make good bait for all game fish from trout and bass to muskellunge. They may be used with a single hook, by inserting through the lips like baiting with a minnow, but the hook should be placed at the side of the mouth and the frog will kick around more trying to keep back up. There are frog harnesses and frog hooks that are very good for this bait. The U-B. Frog Harness is a fine rig, so is the Jamison Frog Hook. This latter has a small nose hook to hold the frog and a rubber band is put over his body, holding him close to the hook.

The dobson or helgramite is au excellent bait for many kinds of fish. It is an ugly creature and is found under stones in the stream. In swift streams they are easily captured by turning stones and holding a minnow net or one of mosquito netting below the stone, when the current will carry the helgramites into the net. They should be hooked by starting the hook under the hard shell near the head and out at the other edge.

Crickets are not used much but make good bass bait sometimes. They are used the same way as the grasshopper.

Crawfish are a common bait, used for still fishing. They are best at the time they have shed the shell, and in this condition they may be hooked through the body, but at other times they should be hooked through the tail. Bass are fond of crawfish. The "fish" may be captured by turning the stones or by using a net. There are different kinds of crawfish and they live in all kinds of waters where conditions are very different, therefore a best way of catching them cannot be given.

A bait that is quite a favorite for bass and large trout is a strip of fat, salt pork, cut in the shape of the letter V, with the hook through the small end. Another form is a tapering strip with cuts in the edges, making it appear to have fins or legs when drawn through the water. The Cooper Weedless Porker is a weedless hook described elsewhere, made specially for pork bait fishing.

Caterpillars and other like creatures are sometimes used successfully. The grub is also used but I have never found it a very taking bait. The white wood worm found in down timber is a good bait, but soft and easily pulled from the hook. The legs of a large frog, skinned, are a good bait. For still fishing, especially for catfish, liver is very good bait, but it is also soft, and very attractive to crawfish. Small balls of dough, sometimes half baked, and fresh bread worked into a paste are used for carp. The flesh of the fresh water clam or mussel is a good bait for carp and other fish. Directions for using these baits are not necessary.

The popular baits for salt-water fishing are bloodworms, sandworms, sand eels, shrimps, shedder crabs, clams, menhaden (a species of small fish), fiddlers and rock crabs, killies (another species of small fish), etc. These baits are used about the same way as the fresh water kinds described.