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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! - Live Baits
March 18, 2007
The most popular live bait of all time is the worm. Earth worms and night crawlers are found in gardens everywhere, or can be purchased at area tackle shops and convenience stores. Worms attract a wide variety of fish. Bream (sunfish) and perch love them, as do bass and catfish. Worms are so effective in luring fish that certain trout streams and most bass tournaments have outlawed their use. Some say it's the smell, others say the wiggle, but a worm, for whatever the reason, is the perfect live bait. Part of the popularity is that worms can easily be stored and transported in any container that holds dirt. Other popular live baits are crickets, goldfish, black salty's, crappie minnows, shiners, shad, herring and rainbow trout. Each can be caught or purchased in season.
Worms are the pan fisherman's bait of choice. A hooked worm, suspended below a small float, is all one needs to catch enough bream to make a meal. Worms will also catch perch, bass, and catfish. If worms aren't your thing, give live crickets a try. Crickets are easy to contain in a cricket tube or small wire cage.
Soft bodied bait fish take untold numbers of crappie, bass, catfish and stripers each year. Matching the size of the bait to the appetite of the species is a key to successful fishing. Crappie like small minnows. Bass have a big mouth and can either inhale a mouthful of small threadfin shad or can gulp down a single gizzard shad, river herring or shiner.
When using live feeder fish it is important to hook the bait so that it can swim naturally. The preferred method is to hook it through the lips, the nostril or the eye. Hooking a bait fish in front of the dorsal fin is appropriate with a float, when not moving.
Crappie minnows, shiners, goldfish, black salty's and trout are sold by the dozen or by the pound, depending on the dealer. A battery operated aerator will usually keep them alive.
Gold fish, black salty's, shad and herring are prime baits for catfish. Fresh cut bream, crappie and white perch also take their share of cats. Be aware of local size and creel limits when crappie, shad and herring are used as bait. Since catfish depend on the sense of smell, anglers might scale and even cut the bait a few times before fishing it.
Shad and herring are also popular baits with striped bass fishermen. Most are caught in a cast net and kept alive in a round-sided insulated tank, equipped with an aerated filtration system.
Since shad and herring do not live well in small live wells, many anglers choose to use hatchery raised trout. Rainbow and golden trout, not natural to area lakes, have lots of wiggle and are the right size to make stripers strike.
Keeping baits lively is a must. Hopefully, the following information will be helpful.
1. Worms should be kept out of the sun and stored in a cool place. The soil should be moist but not soggy.
2. Don't overcrowd bait in a bucket or tank. Assure that the water is well aerated. The warmer the water, the more aeration required to keep baits lively. If water gets excessively warm, replace a third by volume at a time and/or add chlorine free ice.
3. Salt has a calming effect on baits. It helps to soothe body parts that have areas without slime or scales.
4. Excessive handling harms fragile bait fish. Dip only one at a time and wet hands before placing the bait on the hook.
Upcoming Events:
Free - Basic Fishing 101 Seminar - Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 3:00 p.m.
Join Capt. Gus Gustafson and Mack Byrum at Gander Mountain, Mooresville, NC – 704-658-0822. Learn the how's, when's and where's of catching bream, perch and catfish from shores, docks and boats.
NCCATS - Catfish Tournament - April 21, 2007 - 7:00 p.m. – 8 a.m. – Pinnacle Access - Lake Norman, NC. Visit http://www.nccats.net for additional information.
Lake Norman Striper Swiper Spring Classic- Striper Tournament - May 5 - 6, 2007
Mark your calendars. Visit http://www.lnssfishn.com for additional information.
Tips from Gus: If your boat battery appears to be weak, check and refill fluid levels, clean and tighten contacts, and recharge. It still not working properly, return it to the dealer for a voltage checked before replacing.
The Hot Spots of the Week - Stripers are feeding along shorelines and backs of creeks. Anglers fishing docks, rip-rap and windy points are reporting nice bass catches. The lake level is 96.8 or 3.2' below full pond. Surface water temperatures are in the mid to upper fifties. The water remains muddy in places
Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' With Gus! at www.FishingWithGus.com or call 704-617-6812.
For additional information e-mail Gus at Gus@LakeNorman.com
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