Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook, or inside a fish trap

Fish trap

A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps may have the form of a fishing weir or a lobster trap. A typical trap might consist of a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of...

. Traditionally, nightcrawlers

Lumbricus terrestris

Lumbricus terrestris is a large reddish worm native to Europe, but now also widely distributed elsewhere around the world due to human introductions...

, insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s, and smaller bait fish

Bait fish

Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...

 have been used for this purpose. Fishermen have also begun using plastic bait and, more recently, electronic lure

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

s, to attract fish.

Studies show that natural baits like croaker and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

 are more recognized by the fish and are more readily accepted. Which of the various techniques a fisher may choose is dictated mainly by the target species and by its habitat. Bait can be separated into two main categories: artificial baits and natural baits.

Artificial baits

Many people prefer to fish solely with lures

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

, which are artificial baits designed to entice fish to strike. The artificial bait angler uses a man-made lure that may or may not represent prey. The lure may require a specialised presentation to impart an enticing action as, for example, in fly fishing

Fly fishing

Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...

. A common way to fish a soft plastic worm is the Texas Rig

Texas Rig

The Texas rig is a technique used for fishing with soft plastic lures. It involves a bullet-shaped weight being threaded onto the fishing line first followed by an optional glass or plastic bead, and then the line is secured to a hook, usually an offset worm hook.The hook is then inserted into the...

.

Natural baits

The natural bait angler, with few exceptions, will use a common prey species of the fish as an attractant. The natural bait used may be alive or dead. Common natural baits include worm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

s, leech

Leech

Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...

es, minnow

Cyprinid

The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...

s, frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s, salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

s, and insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s. Natural baits are effective due to the lifelike texture, odour and colour of the bait presented. Cheese has been known to be a very successful bait due to its strong smell and light colours.

The common earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

 is a universal bait for fresh water angling. Grub

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

s and maggots are also excellent bait when trout fishing. Grasshopper

Grasshopper

The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

s, bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s and even ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

s are also used as bait for trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

 in their season, although many anglers believe that trout or salmon roe

Roe

Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...

 is superior to any other bait. In lakes in southern climates such as Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, USA, fish such as bream

Lepomis

Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill....

 will take bread bait. Bread bait is a small amount of bread, often moistened by saliva, balled up to a small size that is bite size to small fish.

Roe

Roe

Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...

 is an excellent bait for trout, salmon and many other fresh water fish.

Worms

Most common earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

 species, such as Lumbricus terrestris, which can often be dug up in the garden, are eminently suitable for freshwater fishing. However, on a commercial scale they are not really candidates for worm farming for providing fishing bait. The greyish brown common earthworms are deep burrowing (anecic) and do not readily breed in the shallow worm farm bins. The red compost worms, such as the well known red wiggler or the exotic European nightcrawler

European nightcrawler

The European nightcrawler, Eisenia hortensis, is a medium-small worm averaging about 1.5 grams each when fully grown. earthworm Generally pink-grey in color with a banded or striped appearance. The tip of the tail is often cream or pale yellow. When the species has not been feeding, it is pale pink...

, are better candidates, as they are epigeic

Epigeal

Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface.In botany, a seed is described as epigeal when the cotyledons of the germinating seed expand, throw off the seed shell and become photosynthetic above the ground...

 or surface dwellers. This is the reason that red worms are more usually available commercially for bait worms. Their natural home is just below the surface in rotting leafs, dung heaps and other plant litter. They are called detritivourous

Detritivore

Detritivores, also known as detritophages or detritus feeders or detritus eaters or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles...

 because they eat detritus

Detritus

Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...

 (waste material).

The larger species, the European nightcrawler

European nightcrawler

The European nightcrawler, Eisenia hortensis, is a medium-small worm averaging about 1.5 grams each when fully grown. earthworm Generally pink-grey in color with a banded or striped appearance. The tip of the tail is often cream or pale yellow. When the species has not been feeding, it is pale pink...

 is much sought after for fishing bait as it tolerates near freezing water and is one of the few earthworms suitable for salt water fishing. These worms can grow up to 7 inches in length, but usually are between 3 to 4 inches long. Worm farmers also offer other worm species for bait, depending on availability, which usually depends on the prevalent climatic conditions.

Spreading disease

The capture, transportation and culture of bait fish can spread damaging organisms between ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

s, endangering them. In 2007, several American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 states, including Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, enacted regulations designed to slow the spread of fish diseases, including viral hemorrhagic septicemia

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia is a deadly infectious fish disease caused by theViral hemorrhagic septicemia virus...

, by bait fish. Because of the risk of transmitting Myxobolus cerebralis

Myxobolus cerebralis

Myxobolus cerebralis is a myxosporean parasite of salmonids that causes whirling disease in farmed salmon and trout and also in wild fish populations...

(whirling disease), trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

 and salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 should not be used as bait.

Anglers may increase the possibility of contamination by emptying bait buckets into fishing venues and collecting or using bait improperly. The transportation of fish from one location to another can break the law and cause the introduction

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

of fish alien to the ecosystem.