My first fishing experiences started with live bait... worms, minnows, and salmon eggs ...and cartoon character fishing poles.  Bait fishing for women still makes me giggle like a girl even if the Scooby-Do fishing pole is long gone.  Bait is different than lure fishing in that you’re using God-made attractors as opposed to man-made. 

What kind of bait do you use?  First, check local regulations to ensure the bait you choose is legal, since some waters are restricted to artificial flies and lures only.  Then we still ask that all-important question... "what kind of fish are you trying to catch?"  Do an online search and see what their daily diet consists of, be it minnows, smelt, frogs, worms, night crawlers, crickets, flies, crayfish, insects, leeches, grasshoppers, etc.  Good saltwater baits include sea worms, eels, crabs, shrimp, squid and cut baits.  I can remember fishing for little perch as a kid and quickly figured out that I could use cut bait or “part” of a small perch to catch a much bigger perch!

The big challenge with bait fishing for women is how to get that wiggly stuff on the hook?  It’s really not that hard but you do have to decide that you are at the top of the food chain and all the creepy-crawly things were made to be eaten by the next bigger thing in the chain.  How you actually rig your bait, or attach it to a hook depends on what species of fish you are after and the conditions.   

Minnows/bait fish - Let’s start with getting a little minnow on a hook.  To attach the minnow to a regular hook, you can push the hook thru the side of the minnow slightly behind and below the top fin and have the hook come out the other side. Don't go too far down from the top of the back or the minnow will die and take care not to injure the spinal cord.  If you are attaching it to a jig, you would push the point of the hook through the bottom lip and have the hook come up thru the top lip. Store minnows in a minnow bucket using the same water from which they were bought or captured, or better yet, get a vented one that allows the water of the lake or stream to constantly refresh it.  Take care not to crowd your bait fish. 

Waxworms/mealworms/maggots - Worms under an inch long.  Tremendous for sunfish and for multiple species through the ice.

Leeches - excellent bait for freshwater walleye and northern pike, leeches are readily available from bait shops. They should be hooked through the sucker in the tail. Leeches have suckers at both ends, but the tail sucker disk is larger than the head disk.

Dough Bait - prepared bait. Can be man-made, natural ingredients, or a combination.  You’ll find this in a tub or jar, labeled for specific fish such as trout, pan fish, catfish and carp. Mold the stuff all the way around the hook, and yes - fish that eat dough balls will probably eat your leftover hot-dog, marshmallow, or gummy bear.  Beware of sticking unprotected fingers in catfish bait...  it can take forever to wash away the odor!  Thus, the growing popularity of "punchbaits" that allow just sticking the hook into the bait, without contacting it with fingers.

Insects - Ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and caterpillars are ideal for catching pan fish, sunfish and trout. Grab a net and harvest a virtual fish buffet!

Fish eggs - either individually or in sacs, very effective for trout

Cut bait - using chunks or strips cut from bait fish can be extremely productive for many species, but especially catfish and mackinaw (lake trout).

Crawfish/shrimp - very effective for many species in saltwater and catfish in freshwater