12-01-2003, 11:23 PM
[cool][size 3]As a kid in Idaho, I learned to get my own nightcrawlers. I also discovered grasshoppers and other streamside insects...like caddis and salmonflies. Those were my trout baits. [/size]
[size 3]Although much of my fishing these days is with some form of plastic, jig or hardbait, I often sweeten these artificials with pieces of crawler...the most universally accepted bait in fishland. I also use precut and prepared pieces of several different kinds of fishmeat. I usually cut and flavor the bait the night before a trip with either shad oil or crawdad oil.[/size]
[size 3]If I am using plain old bait, with no lures, then it's either a whole crawler or a large slab of cut bait. Carp is easy to get, keep and use. And, you can cut it into whatever size strips you want. I prefer the slick skinned mirror carp. I also favor chunks of mackerel or bonito. They are oily a flavorful. Catfish candy. [/size]
[size 3]You can't use live minnows in Utah, but wherever they are legal they will catch a lot of fish you can't catch on anything else. Shiners, shad, carp minnows and small sunfish are highly effective wherever you can get them and legally use them. They are often great as dead baits too, as are chubs. [/size]
[size 3]One of the more interesting baits I have ever used is squirrel legs. The big bull trout of the rivers around Flathead Lake in Montana are carnivores. You first shoot a few ground squirrels (potguts) with a 22. Then you skin out the legs and fish them like a nightcrawler. No foolin. They catch a lot of big old trout on those legs. Of course the population of the bull trout has declined in recent years and the big boys are fewer and farther between.[/size]
[size 3]I used to use salmon eggs and "bottle baits". Haven't owned or used any for over twenty years. Used to make my own "Pokee Bait" when I lived in Utah. Any oldtimers remember that stuff?[/size]
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[size 3]Although much of my fishing these days is with some form of plastic, jig or hardbait, I often sweeten these artificials with pieces of crawler...the most universally accepted bait in fishland. I also use precut and prepared pieces of several different kinds of fishmeat. I usually cut and flavor the bait the night before a trip with either shad oil or crawdad oil.[/size]
[size 3]If I am using plain old bait, with no lures, then it's either a whole crawler or a large slab of cut bait. Carp is easy to get, keep and use. And, you can cut it into whatever size strips you want. I prefer the slick skinned mirror carp. I also favor chunks of mackerel or bonito. They are oily a flavorful. Catfish candy. [/size]
[size 3]You can't use live minnows in Utah, but wherever they are legal they will catch a lot of fish you can't catch on anything else. Shiners, shad, carp minnows and small sunfish are highly effective wherever you can get them and legally use them. They are often great as dead baits too, as are chubs. [/size]
[size 3]One of the more interesting baits I have ever used is squirrel legs. The big bull trout of the rivers around Flathead Lake in Montana are carnivores. You first shoot a few ground squirrels (potguts) with a 22. Then you skin out the legs and fish them like a nightcrawler. No foolin. They catch a lot of big old trout on those legs. Of course the population of the bull trout has declined in recent years and the big boys are fewer and farther between.[/size]
[size 3]I used to use salmon eggs and "bottle baits". Haven't owned or used any for over twenty years. Used to make my own "Pokee Bait" when I lived in Utah. Any oldtimers remember that stuff?[/size]
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