Do you consider "live" bait cheating?

[Bird]

Only time I use live bait is when the wife wants to fish and expects a live well full of bluegill.......we use nightcrawlers.

[Deleted account]

On 12/14/2018 at 2:05 PM, Arcs&sparks said:

You do realize that trout and catfish are aggressive predators too, that hit artificial lures, lol

 

I'm having blue cats take bass (and a bunch of other things) off the hook here lately.

[Cbump]

I don’t catch bass to eat therefore I have no reason to use live bait. 
 

I use minnows for crappie and  Shad for catfish though. 

Also if you fish tournaments then yes, it’s cheating. 

[TnRiver46]

I fished some perfect 3 inch threadfin shad that I caught myself a couple weeks ago right where Brian Schmitt and several other classic competitors were fishing. I caught a drum and a crappie, Schmitt finished second in the bassmaster classic. Heck no it’s not cheating, it can be downright difficult fairly often 

[TOXIC]

Here’s a litttle different angle on live bait.  We just got back from Headwaters lake in Florida.  It is a trophy lake just opened up to powerboats.  It’s been around for a longer time but originally was only accessible to carry in boats.  It’s all catch and release for bass.  It’s 10,000 acres and has a speed limit of 25mph and if you use live bait, you have to use circle hooks.  The lake has a very high number of double digit bass for its size and as a result, fishing guides have come out of the woodwork and are running guide trips most every day.  Having been a guide, I wish them no ill will and it’s great that they can put so many clients on their personal best fish.  I am on a few Facebook pages devoted to the lake and the guides post regularly about client catches.  I see a post from one of the guides about how he caught a fish and it had 3 circle hooks stuck in its mouth.  There have been some dust ups between guides and fishing spots and I’m just wondering if the use of live bait will eventually damage the fishing?  Remember, it’s 10,000 acres.  We used all artificial and did well and we didn’t crowd any guides because we were never close to any of them.

[gimruis]

20 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Cheating? No. Boring? Yep.

Hey @T-Billy you should try targeting those muskies with a big sucker on a quick strike rig under a softball-sized bobber.

 

Make sure you bring plenty of "entertainment" with though.  Beer, food, maybe a portable TV.  Because you will get so bored after a while that you will want to go home and watch the grass grow instead.

 

Can we go home now?

[Ktho]

I'm a big artificial lure guy but I've stitched a clicker jig a time or two and it's been quite fun. Only cheating if it's in a tournament and its not always the most effective although sometimes fishing the live can feel that way.

[Bird]

A long time ago a buddy invited me to join him on a river float for SM bass.

We stopped by a feeder stream and seined minnows and a few mad toms.

 

He only fished live bait and laughed when I told him it'll be all artificial for me today.

 

I threw nothing but a bucktail jig, green/black with a pork trailer and caught fish for fish with my buddy......he became a believer.

 

Nothing against live bait but artificial is much more convenient and effective.

 

[Bankc]

I've been told that "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying". 

 

And I've also been told "You can't blame a guy for trying". 

 

Therefore, "You can't blame a guy for cheating." must also be true.  

[Susky River Rat]

I think for certain species it is a must. I grew up using it for bass. I wouldn’t do it now for bass but, catfish I have. That is a once or twice a year trip for something different. 
 

i have out fished my dad while he used minnows and I used a husky jerk before. Sometimes the reaction strike is better then a feeding window. I think rarely this is the case though.  If you think about it a drop shop is nothing more then trying to make a piece of plastic looking like a minnow suspended in water. Hence why that can be as boring bobber watching.

[Captain Phil]

53 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I think for certain species it is a must.

 

When salt water fishing in Florida, live bait is a must.  We spend as much time or more catching the bait as we do the fish we are after.

[gimruis]

58 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I think for certain species it is a must.

The majority of walleye anglers here use live bait.  Local shops make most of their money from live bait here, not selling tackle.  Winter is big business for live bait shops, as almost all ice anglers are using live bait of some kind.

[Dwight Hottle]

No to the "is it cheating". I enjoy catching largemouth bass both on live bait as well as artificials. And the results for me regarding big fish are about the same. My two biggest on artificals went 11-7 3/4 & 10-3. My two biggest on live shiners went 11-2 & 10-2. So the results are pretty similar. 

. 

 

[TnRiver46]

Yeah yeah yeah we know, now take me

fishing 

[Tennessee Boy]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:55 PM, Easy Andy said:

Yes!!! Anybody can catch a fish on live bait!!! That’s one of the biggest reasons why using live bait is against the rules in a Bass Fishing Tournament! Besides it’s lame!!! I was a Pro Bass Fisherman for years back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I had a nice Bass boat, a bunch of really great sponsors who gave me money, a ton of free lures (anything I needed before the next tournament, and other things such as rods, reels, hooks etc. I also wrote fishing articles for several different nation wide magazines and frequently gave seminars at large shows held inside sports stadiums and other large buildings depending on the city. But to this day I still never touch live bait! It takes a seasoned and long time fisherman to find the fish, what they were eating at the time and find their patterns which either stay the same but usually changed at least two-three times a day and sometimes more!!! But you quickly begin to learn when you are constantly on the water like I was. I might be doing a three or four day tournament with Bass Masters to turn around two days later and fish another two or three day tournament with SuperBass and other large tournaments with up to two hundred fishermen or more. Then when I had a short break before my next large tournament circuit I would often fish smaller club tournaments that only had between 20 -60 people on the lake my next large tournament would be on a few days after the small club tournaments which would give me plenty of time to pre-fish the lake while doing a smaller tournament for two days  or so. Then I would keep my motel room and would go out after the smaller tournament was done and keep marching special areas and fishing without hooks to avoid spooking the fish and ruining the area for myself before the much larger and more important tournaments. After each day I would weigh my catch up on a large stage, and sometimes they give you a short interview if you did well and get a bunch of photos and cameras for Bass Masters to play on television and this is when my sponsors would get a lot of attention because of my uniform given to me by different sponsors and you usually have to pay for someone to add the patches of your other sponsors onto the different uniforms so each sponsor is represented to anyone who sees it such as the large crowds of people that would often spend a few days watching the action. Also people watching tv see your uniform with all of your sponsors and this is good to marketing and selling their products which is why they give you the opportunity for a sponsorship in the first place but they have a very limited number of Professionals they can sponsor each year. But I did a good job of representing mine which is why they always held a spot for me as one of their Pros each year. Personally I represented Culprit Soft Plastics and even made a few designs of my own that sold very well, Terminator Spinnerbaits was another of my biggest sponsors along with Triton Boats until I eventually was offered a better deal from Ranger Bass Boats that I still take out when I ago fishing. I had a great sponsorship through Gamakatsu Hooks along with Storm Lures! The Storm Chug Bug was my go to bait. In the morning or during the afternoon especially if it was cloudy or large cove covered in shadow, sometimes even in the sun and during the evening trying to catch on more bid bass to cull a smaller one just before weigh in. And sometimes when the bite was really tough. I could always get a huge reaction out of giant Largemouth Bass when I needed it! Every fisherman, especially tournament fishermen has one of two secret go to lures that gives them that extra edge of confidence and especially that last BIG Bass that you really needed! I have several special lures that you have the perfect way to use them. Who needs live bait as far as I’m concerned, it’s just for the kids!

Are you Randy Blaukat? ?

[ironbjorn]

29 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Are you Randy Blaukat? ?

With those run-on sentences there's no way he had enough time to annoyingly clear his throat every 4 words, so doubt it.

[Darth-Baiter]

On 11/18/2009 at 9:54 AM, Clyde said:

Didnt the fellow in japan that caught that huge fish not long ago catch it on live bait.

Now speaking of trolling…..:)

 

just kidding.  We can’t all like it in the same position. Variety is the spice of life. 

[thediscochef]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I fished some perfect 3 inch threadfin shad that I caught myself a couple weeks ago right where Brian Schmitt and several other classic competitors were fishing. I caught a drum and a crappie, Schmitt finished second in the bassmaster classic. Heck no it’s not cheating, it can be downright difficult fairly often 

Live bait may be easier to present in a more life-like manner...finding the willing fish can be universally challenging

[BrianMDTX]

I’ll say this: any live bait in 2018 is likely dead and buried. But I have plastic worms from 1978 that are still good! ?

[geo g]

No, but I find it comparable to watching paint dry.  Everyone do your thing whatever it is, it’s just not for me.  The fun is casting to targets, adjusting to wind, and finding a cadence that the bass want that day, that hour.  It’s like a game of darts, with a card game thrown in.  I love what I do!

5 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

No to the "is it cheating". I enjoy catching largemouth bass both on live bait as well as artificials. And the results for me regarding big fish are about the same. My two biggest on artificals went 11-7 3/4 & 10-3. My two biggest on live shiners went 11-2 & 10-2. So the results are pretty similar. 

. 

 

Dwight, your the man!!!!!!

[J Francho]

Four score and 14 years and still getting weird flexes here. Why does anyone care how someone else catches fish? Why even judge them?

[Big Hands]

[N Florida Mike]

I grew up live bait fishing. I don’t find it boring at all, just different. Cheating ? As long as it’s legal it’s not cheating. In many cases it’s harder , especially if you catch your own bait, and have to keep it alive. And you must still present the bait in a way that doesn’t hinder it’s natural appearance.

To me, artificials are easier. Just grab some and go…

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, N Florida Mike said:

To me, artificials are easier. Just grab some and go…

 

There it is.

 

Cheating would imply that I'm competing against someone that fishes live instead of artificial. And that I care what somebody else fishes with.

 

I'm barely capable of getting myself and the stuff I have now to the water to fish. I'm not going to add a number of small, incredibly stupid animals that I then have to keep alive until it's time to sacrifice them.

[king fisher]

No.  I can't even catch the bait.  The success I have had fishing lately, I'm not even sure using dynamite, in an aquarium should be considered cheating.