Live bait is one of the most effective ways to catch fish, but generally requires more patience and effort in the presentation. Live bait is effective because it moves naturally, gives off a natural odor and looks like something that fish are accustomed to eating. Live bait includes worms, minnows, frogs, leeches, eels, crayfish, shrimp, grasshoppers, crickets, mullet, shiners, shad and a whole lot more stuff.

Basically, any fish that swims in fresh or saltwater is susceptible to taking live bait, presented properly. The effectiveness of live bait has led to its use being either completely or partially banned in a number of states, either in whole, for specific species, or during the spawn. Check local fishing regulations before setting out with a bucket of live bait.

To be most effective, live bait should be as fresh as possible. Minnows, chubs and shiners should be kept in aerated containers and changed often for best results. Aerators or bubblers work better than recirculation systems because bait tires out from swimming against a constant current. When you purchase live minnows, do not add tap water that can contains chlorine. Chlorine destroys the fish's gills and will kill them before you get to the lake. De-chlorinators can be used, but it is best to augment the water from the lake you are fishing. During the summer, keep your bait container out of the direct sun and add ice to keep the water temperature lower. Since ice also has the potential to contain chlorine, either treat the water with a de-chlorinator or put the ice in a sealable freezer bag. Baitfish become sluggish in warm water, then die, due to a lack of oxygen. Also, when baiting your hook, wet your hands before handling live minnows to avoid removing the protective slime layer.

Techniques
Baitfish can be hooked either behind the dorsal fin, for a more lifelike swimming motion, or through both lips, coming up from the bottom. Once hooked, baitfish can be presented on a free-line, or fished at a precise depth using a bobber and sinker. When fishing deeper than the length of your rod, slip bobbers are most advantageous. With slip bobbers, you can preset the desired depth with a sliding bobber stop, which makes it much easier to cast and retrieve your setup.

Worms and leeches can be fished in a similar manner with slip bobbers, fished off the bottom, or pulled with worm harnesses using bottom bouncers when fishing for walleye or other bottom-related species. Bobbers should be only large enough to support the bait and weight necessary to keep it at the desired depth so that it offers little resistance, which will alarm the targeted species. Longer worms can be fished with a stinger hook to avoid having the bait eaten away slowly, one bite at a time.

Tips
One of the most important things to remember about fishing with live bait is that you want to keep bait alive as long as possible. Casting should be done in a manner to minimize impact, and once the bait has been casted, exercise a little patience. Repeated casting of live bait will most often result in killing the bait and the only exercise your rod arm will get is from casting.

When fishing with worms, soak them in water before using and they will swell up, making them larger and more desirable.

When fishing for panfish and other smaller species, only use a small portion of a worm, just enough to cover the hook.

Grasshoppers and crickets can be kept for days by putting small pieces of potato in their container, which provides moisture as well as food.

Hook grasshoppers and crickets from the bottom, just behind the legs, penetrating upward through the hard shell of their back.

When fish take a live bait offering, they will often run for a short distance before stopping to inhale their prize. When you see your bobber begin to move slightly it often means that the bait has spotted a lurking fish and is trying to get away. When the bobber goes down or starts to move away slowly, allow the line to pay out for up to 30 seconds, to make sure the fish has the bait and hook completely in its mouth, then take all of the slack out of the line before setting the hook with a steady upward motion.

A final live bait tip - take a towel to keep your hands clean. Live bait is effective, but a bit on the messy side. Crickets, grasshoppers and minnows aren't bad, but you can usually spot a worm fisherman from a distance by the dirt and slime that covers their pants legs.

Click here to purchase live bait.