ResearchAbout Fishing Bait
I've harbored a sneaking suspicion that bait for fishing is where sushi came from. Some unlucky Asian fisherman didn't catch anything and came home with nothing but the bait, at which point he concluded that if the fish find it tasty...
The best and most versatile choice of bait is nightcrawlers. Fish love worms. I don't know how this is, as left to their own devices fish and worms don't often cross paths, but all we know is that it works.
For herding your own nightcrawlers, your best bet is to troll your lawn on any damp night. Just about any soil that keeps a habitable temperature and is soft enough to plow through is a fond home to nightcrawlers. Tread lightly, and grab them when you see them wriggle by. Worms are little more than a digestive tract with a cluster of heart and brain cells, but they're quick. Your hands will get slimy. If this activity doesn't appeal to you, you can buy nightcrawlers in styrofoam containers from your bait shop. Keep them refrigerated. Be sure not to label them when you live with others, as there is no choicer moment of comedy than hearing the late-night snack prowler reacting to the container they've peeked inside.
Another popular choice of bait, especially among the wave fisher, is the sand crab. You'll see them on the beach every time a wave recedes from the shore. Little creatures submerged just below the surface of the sand, making bubbles in the receding tide. Scoop them up with a sifter and dump them in a styrofoam container, refrigerated again. Now, you've got to be quick, because if the sand has dried enough to have lost the gloss of moisture, your sand crab is long gone. Sand crabs and other small crayfish are good bait for larger fish, as are the innards of small prey fish navigating the water. Sand crabs are much more work to collect, however.
An idea for discovering what kind of bait to use in an area is to examine the stomach contents of your first catch for an idea of what most of the population is eating. If you're fishing calm, fresh water, take a look at the bits of organic junk floating near the shore, especially things that look like they fell in from above, such as insects. Any rotting logs or other similar habitats near your fishing spot are an excellent place to find grubs that local fish are sure to find appealing.
Now, you can also buy artificial lures and prepared bait at any fishing specialty store. Lures with frills that make them look like large, colorful insects will require a bit of extra work, since when they're in the water, they don't do much good unless you wiggle them around. As a rule with fish, if it doesn't look either alive or at least recently comatose, they don't want it. For trout, you can buy paste that rolls into clumps, or get the poor man's version, which is a bit of baker's dough. Colorful rubber lures with hooks hidden within seem as if they are a nice option, but fish are smarter than these manufacturers give them credit for. On an average fishing trip, a bright and shiny artificial lure will catch you maybe two fish; after that, the rest are too smart to fall for it.
You'll almost always have better luck with the nightcrawlers anyway.