Live Bait Or Artificial Lures, What Is Better & Which Should You Use?

Table Of Contents:

• Live Bait & Artificial Lures Overview
• Pros & Cons of Live Bait
• Pros & Cons of Artificial Lures
• When To Use Live Bait
• When To Use Fishing Lures
• Target Species for Lures or Bait
• Fishing Strategy Using Live Bait or Artificial Lures
• Cost of Live Bait vs Artificial Lures
• Is Live Bait Better Than Lures?

Live Bait & Artificial Lures Overview

The question “What’s better live bait or artificial lures?” is almost as old as “What came first, the chicken or the egg?”. According to Midwest Outdoors, “fishermen are using live bait nearly 65% of the time.” While it can be a trope to say that live bait is better for beginners, and as you get more experience you should be using more lures and graduating to more advanced techniques this isn’t necessarily true, and while it isn’t set in stone which is better, we can at least help you decide what fishing tactic will give you the best chance of catching fish, given your fishing situation. Let’s review the pros and cons of both live bait and fishing lures, and look at other factors like target species, fishing strategies, costs, and other factors to consider when trying to decide between using live bait or lures. See what anglers online are saying at bassresource.com

H3: Types of Live Bait:

When fishing in freshwater there are many common live bait options that you can either buy at a bait shop, or you can scavenge around your fishing spot for worms, insects, and other local options to what the fish may be eating in that area. Some of the most common freshwater live baits include:

• Minnows
• Meal Worms
• Leeches
• Night Crawlers
• Crickets & Insects

These types of live baits can catch a multitude of species from bluegill and crappie to even smaller bass and catfish. When looking to increase the size of fish you are targeting you may consider increasing the size of your bait to something like:

• Crawfish
• Bluegill
• Shiners
• Frogs
• Larger Minnows

These larger baits are specifically to target larger and more mature fish that will put up a strong fight. Typically for adult sized large mouth bass things live crawfish and small bluegill are about as attractive and natural as you can get for forage of these larger target species.

Types of Artificial Lures:

By being manufactured out of metal, plastic, and being painted in thousands of color options, there are endless combinations of artificial lures you can choose from to trick the fish into biting your lures. Some of the most common freshwater lures include:

• Spinner Baits
• Jerk Baits
• Crank Baits
• Jigs
• Spoons
• Soft Plastics
• Top Water Baits

These fishing lures as well as others are all technically meant to imitate and mimic the action and presentation of live bait. This inherently should give live bait an advantage when choosing what bait or lure to use, right?

Pros & Cons of Live Bait

There are many pros and cons to fishing with live bait that may not come with fishing artificial lures. Check out the list and let us know if you have any other pros & cons of live bait.

Pros of Live Bait:

1. Natural forage fish look for
2. Appealing to wide range of fish species – Multispecies angling
3. Use local & natural forage fish are used to eating
4. Smell & action of bait can attract fish from far distances
5. Live bait typically will cost less in the long run especially if you find your own live bait at your fishing spot
6. Leftover bait can be returned to nature, or taken home and frozen for later use
7. You can cast your bait out and relax until something bites

Cons of Live Bait:

1. Bait needs refrigeration or a bait bucket with an aerator to keep it alive and preserve liveliness and action
2. It can be annoying, dirty, and time consuming having to forage or catch for your own live bait
3. Bait attracts all sorts of fish, which may not be the size or species you are targeting, everything can eat it!
4. Live bait is stinky, especially after a long day in the sun you may end up with all your gear, hands, and clothes stinking of dead bait
5. Fishing with live bait can require more planning as you need to make sure you have enough bait, and the proper gear to keep it alive
6. Once you run out of bait, you are done for the day
7. Live bait fishing can be boring as you are not casting, and there can be a lot of sitting around waiting.

Pros & Cons of Artificial Fishing Lures

With so many different types of lures they each bring their own benefits, and challenges as well as the general ups and downs that come with fishing with lures.

 Pros of Fishing Lures:

1. Lures look COOL and are fun to collect
2. Lure fishing is an engaging and interactive activity with you controlling the action
3. Fishing lures do not smell and are not as dirty
4. Artificial baits allow you to target more specific size and species of fish
5. Tackle boxes for artificial lures are not heavy and store easily
6. Cover more water, faster with artificial lures

Cons of Artificial Bait:

1. Lures can get expensive, overtime with having to purchase so many colors, sizes, and styles, the price adds up
2. With so many colors, the fish may not be interested in what you’re throwing, requiring quite a bit of time to find out what the fish want you to throw
3. Lures need to be casted near and around fish, where bait can bring fish to them
4. Fishing lures can get caught up in trees, rocks, weeds, and snag on other structure in the water causing you to lose the lure itself
5. Artificial baits can require the right size, weight, hooks, and other combos to get the fish to strike, which can be tricky and overwhelming especially for beginning anglers

When to Use Live Bait

Fishing with live bait can absolutely be the better option with specific water conditions. When water is murky and muddy, it is harder for fish to see those beautiful white and chartreuse colors, which is where the unparalleled movement and smell of live bait really can’t be matched. Some of the best times to use live bait are as follows:

• Dirty and muddy water
• Evening & nighttime when the water is dark
• Cold weather or ice fishing
• Looking to catch anything and everything
• Fishing for vegetarian or omnivorous species like Carp
• When you absolutely need to catch something for your next meal

When to Fish with Artificial Lures

Fishing with artificial lures can be tricky, but it can also be worth all the fuss in major ways. While it may require better conditions to be optimally fished, fishing lures can produce some massive hookups and tight lines when fishing. Some of the best times to fish with lures are:

• In warmer weather
• Clear water conditions
• Many undersized target fish (you want to catch the big ones)
• Fishing for aggressive predator fish
• High sun light will create reflective effects on your lures
• The waters you are fishing have signs noting “Artificial Only”

What Fish Species are You Targeting With Bait & Lures

The species of fish that you are targeting can heavily determine whether you use live bait or fishing lures. Omnivorous and scavenger species like carp and catfish are significantly more likely to react to live bait. Additionally, you will be more successful catching smaller fish like bluegill and crappie with live worms or insects. There are great soft plastics for panfish, but overall using a small hook and a tiny worm or grub is a great way to limit out on panfish. When you are fishing for aggressive predatory fish like walleye, pike, and musky, artificial fishing lures like hard baits are a great option because their action can trigger a reaction strike. Bass fishing is an interesting one because both options can be excellent for bass species, but check out our guide on the Best Lures For Spring Bass Fishing to get the rundown on what lures to use for spring bass.

Fishing Strategy for Live Bait or Artificial Lures

Your fishing strategy and goals of your outing can also play a part in determining which bait to use. If you are catching a bunch of panfish for a fish fry, you are probably better off opting for live bait. Jigging is also a fishing strategy that pairs very well with live bait, you can jig with lures or live bait, however, if you are really looking to hookup with something, maybe start with the live bait. Finally, if you are happy to sit back, relax, and enjoy the outdoors while you wait for a bite, then tie on some live bait and toss a line out! There are several strategies that rely on fishing lures. Casting and retrieving are much more geared for lures as they are specifically designed to be casted out and reeled back in. Trolling can use rigs to add live bait to, however tossing a lure out and letting it swim behind a boat can be an efficient way to fish. In closing if you need to cover large areas of water tying on a lure is a fantastic way to cover water and learn what fish are biting in the process.

Cost of Live Bait VS Artificial Lures

According to the American Sportfishing Association, the fishing industry generates $129 Billion, annually. One of the major benefits of using live bait is that if you want, it can be completely free. You can go to your fishing spot, forage for worms, insects, and catch small minnows to use as bait while you fish. On the other hand, going to a bait shop and picking up a bucket of minnows, or a pack of worms will only run you a couple of dollars. The real cost is buying the buckets and aerators to keep live bait alive, or coolers to keep them active. Live bait is clearly the more affordable option in upfront costs. When it comes to costs of lures though any fishing lure can run you about $1.99 to upwards of $70.00. At Fin Feather Fur we pride ourselves on offering quality and affordable fishing gear, check out our fishing lures for sale online today.

Is Live Bait Better Than Lures?

Finally, we are back to the question at hand, is live bait better than fishing lures? Well, you tell us! Consider the pros & cons of both lures and live baits, how much each will cost, the conditions you will be fishing in, and what type of fish you are targeting. After all this then weigh your options on which you will use! We are curious so let us know! Share this with your angler friends online to keep the conversation going on what the community things is best!