Natural Bait

Good freshwater natural baits include worms, leeches, minnows, crayfish, crickets and grasshoppers. 

Freshwater bottom-feeders like catfish and carp are also attracted to cut baits (cut-up baitfish) and prepared baits called dough balls. 

Good saltwater baits include sea worms, eels, crabs, shrimp, squid and cut baits. 

Always check local regulations to make sure the bait you choose is legal for the lake you're fishing. Many lakes don't allow the use of rough fish minnows as bait because rough fish can take over a lake and starve-out the game fish. 

Compare the cost of losing one worm to losing a lure and you'll see that fishing with live bait can be less expensive than fishing with lures; and if you find your own live bait, you can save even more money. 

Cut Bait

Using fish cut into pieces attracts fish in a different way than whole, live bait or lures. Fish that are attracted to scent are more likely to hit on cut bait. You can use any caught fish, including baitfish, to make cut bait. For best results, scale the fish but leave the skin on. 

Catfish and carp bite on cut bait. 
Many species of saltwater fish like sea trout, bluefish and sailfish are attracted to cut bait. 

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. 

There is a simple rule of thumb when using leeches. Don't fish them faster than they can naturally swim. The attraction is the swimming motion. 
Tips and Tricks for Leeches

If you're placing leeches in your live well, give them at least one hour to adjust to the new temperature. So they can stretch out and swim naturally. 

Leeches are hardy and will last a long time. You can keep them fresh in a refrigerator for many days. 

Dough Balls

The fancy name is prepared bait. They're commercially made, come in a can and are labeled for specific fish, such as trout, pan fish, catfish and carp. Mold the stuff all the way around the hook, including the barb or use it on a treble hook with a bait holder attachment. 

You can also make your own dough balls. Try the recipe below. 
Homemade Dough Balls. 

A Tasty Treat for Catfish and Carp 
Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup yellow cornmeal and 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl.
Take a 1-quart container of water and pour just enough of it into the mixture to make a heavy dough.
Roll the dough into balls about ½-inch to 1-inch in diameter.
Mix the rest of the water with 1 cup of molasses and pour it into a pan.
Add a flavoring agent, such as garlic, licorice, anise or strawberry gelatin.
Put the pan on the stove and bring the molasses, water and flavoring to a boil.
When the mixture is boiling, drop in the dough balls, but don't overcrowd them. 
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Cool before using. 

Hey, but it doesn't have to be that hard. Just use the leftovers from your picnic lunch. Carp will bite on almost anything—hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and paper plates. Okay, maybe not the paper plates. 

Grubs and Meal Worms

Ideal for pan fish, sunfish and trout, grubs and meal worms are used often and are readily available from tackle and bait shops. Use them singly or in multiples. 

You can also harvest grubs from the soil and from the swelled and deformed leaves of trees, plants and vegetables. 

Minnows

Basically, minnows are baby fish and a good all-around freshwater bait. They're readily available from bait and tackle shops or you can catch your own if it's legal in your area. Minnows come in different sizes. Use larger 'shiners' for bass and pike fishing. 

For cast and retrieve, trolling and drifting, hook the minnow vertically through both lips or through the tail. 

For still fishing with a bobber, hook the minnow through the back just above the dorsal fin. Take care not to damage the spinal cord. The key is to keep the fish moving on its own. 
Tricks and Tips for Minnows 

For really good action, hook the minnow upside down on a light jig. It will struggle to regain an upright position 
Store minnows in a minnow bucket using the same water from which they were bought or captured, and take care not to crowd them.

Insects

Grasshopper
Ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and caterpillars are ideal for catching pan fish, sunfish and trout. Brown trout are especially attracted to ants presented on a fly. Smallmouths and large trout prefer immature versions of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, hellgrammites and dobsonfly larvae. 

Tips and Tricks for Insects

You can buy insects or catch your own. Ants can be gathered from a nest and large insects can be captured with a net. Hey, get the whole family involved.

Freshwater Clams and Mussels

Mussels

If clams or mussels are native to your area, you can use them to catch the native fish 

To keep them fresh, gather the mussels and clams from shallow waters before or while you fish. Crack the shell open, cut out the clam or mussel and allow the bait to harden slightly in the sun so it stays on the hook. 

Tie mussels on to the hook with thread, taking care not to pull too tight. 

Shrimp

Shrimp are the favorite meal of saltwater fish. You can use shrimp as bait when you're fishing from a bridge, pier, bank or boat. Different-size fish will hit on different-size shrimp. 

Place the hook beneath the shrimp's head so the barb comes out on top, avoiding the black spot. Hooking the black spot will kill a shrimp immediately. Action is important for attracting fish. 

You can also insert the hook from the top of the shrimp, work the point beneath the black spot and bring the barb out on top again. This method is considered best for bottom fishing. A third method stops bait-stealing fish. Insert the hook from the tail of the shrimp and thread the body onto the hook, passing the barb beneath the black spot.

Tips and Tricks for Shrimp 

You can keep shrimp fresh in a freshwater minnow bucket. No matter what you store them in, don't overcrowd shrimp. 

Crayfish

For smallmouth bass, use crayfish whole and alive, hooked through the tail. 

For pan fish use the tail meat or meat from the large pincers. 

For catfish, bullheads and carp, use dead crawdads threaded on a hook. 
Crayfish can be bought from bait stores or captured by using a window screen or fine mesh net in the water. Stir the water to chase the crayfish into the net. Store in moist rags, damp moss or a bait bucket.

Cut Bait for Trolling

Use the thin belly area and cut long v-shaped strips to simulate a fish or eel. Include a pectoral or pelvic fin on the bait to increase the attractiveness to the fish. If necessary, scale the fish strip but thread the hook through the skin to help keep the bait intact.

Prepared Baits 

For catfish, carp and crappies, you can buy a paste-like mixture of dough, blood, cheese and other proteins or make your own. Mold the stuff all the way around the hook, including the barb. Or use it on a treble hook with a bait holder attachment. 

Freshwater Worm

Worms are a good bait for nearly all freshwater fishing. You can find enough worms for fishing from a few shovels of dirt in your garden or from a shaded, damp area. Worms can also be purchased in fishing tackle stores and bait shops. For walleyes and bass use earthworms or night crawlers 
For pan fish, sunfish and trout, use smaller manure worms. You can find them in cattle and horse pastures. 

Trick and Tips for Worms 

To prevent smaller fish from nibbling the worm without biting down on the hook, you can use just a piece of the worm. 
If you have small worms, thread the hook through the side of the worm at several places along its body. For bait-stealing fish such as sunfish, thread the worm on the hook until the hook is completely covered.

Catfish Stinkbait

Fill a jar with pieces of a forage fish like shad.
Cover the jar with the lid, but leave the lid loose so gases will escape.
Put the jar in direct sunlight for a day or two. 
Trust us, when you open the jar, you'll know if your catfish stinkbait is ready. 

Tips and Tricks 

Freeze clams and mussels on the hook and keep them wrapped separately until needed, this allows them to be cast further. They will defrost quickly once they hit the water. 
Use clams and other shellfish as bait after a storm. Try fishing near rocky shores and man-made concrete structures where game fish are looking for shellfish that have been cracked open or damaged by the weather. 

Squid 

Amberjack, Atlantic croaker, bluefish and dolphinfish can all be caught with squid. Use them whole by running the line through the mantle (the outside body shell) and hooking the squid in the head. Larger squid can be cut into pieces for strip bait. You can use squid for trolling and for bottom and floating rigs. 

Octopi

Octopi make a sturdy saltwater fish bait. If they're small, use them whole. Or cut them up and use them as chunk bait for smaller fish. 

Conches and Whelks 

These large shellfish can be cut up into chucks and used as bait for saltwater fish. They can also be used whole to catch larger fish. 

Eels

Ideal for catching inshore and coastal saltwater fish, eels are especially good used whole for striped bass trolling. Simply hook them through the eyes or lips or cut the eel into chunks. Eel is tough bait, so you can use it for trolling and bottom fishing. 

Crabs

Hard-shell, soft-shell and peeler crabs are all good bait for saltwater fish. You can pull them apart or use them whole. To hook a whole crab, bore the hook through the shell like a drill. Work the hook through the pointed part of the shell on either side of the body. Hooked this way, the crab will live pretty well and provide some action to attract fish.