When choosing saltwater bait or lures, consider how fish feed. Fish detect a meal in three different ways by scent, sound and movement. Make sure the type of bait you use will lure your catch to the bait on you hook. Learn more about all the different types of saltwater bait and lures available.

Saltwater Fishing Bait

When choosing saltwater lures or bait, consider how fish feed. Fish detect a meal in three ways — by scent, sound and movement. Discover the different types of saltwater fishing bait available.

Fish actually have a sixth sense that humans do not. The lateral line running down each side of a fish is filled with tiny hairs that can detect movement in the water. A fish can pick up a moving object, such as a fishing lure or bait, even in complete darkness. Just before it strikes, the fish will use sight to check out its victim. Even in clear water, fish can only see about 15 feet, but they can see colors and shapes. Finally, a fish will use its highly sensitive sense of taste to verify that what it has eaten is actually edible. To fool a fish, you must first fool all of its senses.

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, and scad. Freshwater bait fish include any fish of the minnow or carp family, sucker family, top minnows or killifish family, shad family, sculpin or sunfish family, excluding black basses and crappie.

Although bait fish typically have populations that fluctuate rapidly anyway, and so can potentially sustain significant recreational and commercial fisheries, regulations may exist to prevent overexploitation, as in Arkansas and Massachusetts. Studies by fisheries and conservation agencies monitor the health of bait fish populations, allowing regional governments to set quotas.

LIVE SALTWATER FISHING BAIT

When trying to trick a fish, nothing beats live fishing bait. Live bait may be hard to catch and hard to keep, but it's hard to beat when targeting finicky fish. Whether you catch live bait with a hook or a net, avoid touching the bait before putting it on the hook. The livewell in which you store your bait should simulate current, oxygen content and temperature of the bait's natural environment. You can transport bait short distances in a bucket with a battery-operated aerator.

When fishing with live bait, use the lightest hooks, leader and line possible to avoid further stressing the fish. Passing the hook through the bait fish's lips, eye sockets or nostrils will allow it to swim most naturally. Hooking the bait in front of the dorsal fin will encourage the bait to swim down. For delicate baitfish, tie a bridal out of rigging floss to hold the hook.

CRABS

Hard-shell, soft-shell and peeler crabs are all good bait for saltwater fish. You can pull them apart or use them whole. To hook a whole crab, bore the hook through the shell like a drill. Work the hook through the pointed part of the shell on either side of the body. Hooked this way, the crab will live pretty well and provide some action to attract fish.

CUT BAIT

The next best thing to live bait is cut bait; however, cut bait can be as difficult to obtain and maintain as the live version. Use the freshest saltwater fishing bait you can find. Natural fishing bait should be firm and smell fresh. Fish that will be used for cut bait should have clear eyes and red gills. Frozen bait should be vacuum-packed and free from freezer burn. Keep the bait on ice in a well-drained cooler.

CLAMS AND MUSSELS

If clams or mussels are native to your area, you can use them to catch the native fish. To keep them fresh, gather the mussels and clams from shallow waters before or while you fish. Crack the shell open, cut out the clam or mussel and allow the bait to harden slightly in the sun so it stays on the hook. Tie mussels on to the hook with thread, taking care not to pull too tight.

SHRIMP

Shrimp are the favorite meal of saltwater fish. You can use shrimp as bait when you're fishing from a bridge, pier, bank or boat. Different-size fish will hit on different-size shrimp. Place the hook beneath the shrimp's head so the barb comes out on top, avoiding the black spot. Hooking the black spot will kill a shrimp immediately. Action is important for attracting fish. You can also insert the hook from the top of the shrimp, work the point beneath the black spot and bring the barb out on top again. This method is considered best for bottom fishing. A third method stops bait-stealing fish. Insert the hook from the tail of the shrimp and thread the body onto the hook, passing the barb beneath the black spot.

SQUID

Just about any fish that lives nearshore or in the open ocean can be caught using cut or whole squid. Use them whole by running the line through the inside of the mantle (the outside body shell) and hooking the squid in the head. The mantles of larger squid can be cut into vertical pieces for strip bait. You can use squid for trolling and for bottom and floating rigs.

Typically, it's best to use the smallest piece of bait that you can get on the hook. Larger chunks give fish the opportunity to nibble the bait off the hook. To keep the bait from falling off, try to run the hook through bone, skin or shell. The rule for any bait is: If you wouldn't eat it, then neither will the fish.

SCENTED SALTWATER FISHING BAITS

In the last few years, scientists have developed artificial saltwater fishing baits laced with powerful fish attractants. Scented fishing baits come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from popular trailers for jigs to flat sheets for cut bait. These soft plastic baits last longer than natural bait and don't require refrigeration. Always keep a scented bait in the liquid it came in, and never leave it on your hook or it will harden like a rock and become impossible to remove.

Saltwater Fishing Lures

When choosing saltwater lures or bait, consider how fish feed. Fish detect a meal in three ways — by scent, sound and movement. Discover the different types of saltwater fishing lures available.

LEAD-HEADED JIGS

Jigs are probably the most popular artificial saltwater fishing lure. Consisting of a hook with a lead head and a trailer, jigs imitate everything from saltwater bait fish to crustaceans to invertebrates. A streamlined jig head will sink faster, while a wider head will flutter down or work higher in the water column. A jig with deer hair tied to its head is called a bucktail. The size of the hook on the jig should match the size of the trailer. Thread the trailer on the jig so that the hook comes out of the trailer ahead of the bend. When using a strip bait trailer, pass the hook once through the wide end of the trailer.

The newest generation of jigs, which feature squid-shaped heads and living-rubber skirts, make great saltwater fishing lures. “Living rubber” is extremely pliant, soft rubber that moves in a lifelike manner. Drop one of these rubber jigs to the bottom and crank it up a few feet, then pause for a few seconds before dropping it again. Fish see the jig hovering over the bottom and come in to investigate. They will often nibble their way up the skirt to the hook, so use a light drag and a soft-tipped rod to feed the fish.

METAL JIGS

Metal jigs can be bounced across the bottom or cast out and worked back. Deeper jigs will be narrow, while casting jigs are wider. It is a good idea to add a short piece of leader and a swivel to the jig to keep it from twisting the line. The latest generation of jigs, called vertical jigs, is designed to be worked through the water very quickly while jerking the rod up and down. These jigs usually have a hook attached to a short piece of braided line and a split ring at the top of the jig. Always tie a leader to the split ring on these jigs so that when you're fighting a fish, you're not also fighting the weight of the jig.

POPPERS

Popping plugs, or “poppers,” are saltwater fishing lures that splash across the surface, drawing a reaction bite from aggressive predators, and work best at dawn and dusk when fish are more likely to feed on the surface. To work a popper, reel at a steady pace while jerking the rod tip to make the lure splash and chug. “Walking the Dog” is a special technique used with torpedo-shaped top water plugs. Hold the rod with the tip pointing toward the water and retrieve line while jerking the tip from left to right, making the fishing lure zigzag across the surface.

PLUG FISHING LURES

Plug fishing lures are carved out of wood or molded out of plastic to imitate the shape and action of a swimming fish. Some plugs use a plastic or metal lip to dive deeper. Other plugs use rattles, even lights and electronic vibrations, to attract fish. Most plugs are specially designed to troll or retrieve at a specific speed. Since plugs get their action from their design, they don't usually require any extra action from you. Simply cast the plug out and retrieve at a steady pace. Offshore anglers troll big plugs with hard plastic heads and rubber skirts. These lures can be rigged with a natural bait or left bare.

SPOON FISHING LURES

Like the name implies, spoons are metal saltwater fishing lures that are usually wider at one end and concave so they wobble and flash like a swimming fish. Spoon lures come in two styles: casting and trolling. Casting spoon lures are heavier than trolling spoons so they can be thrown a long distance. Trolling spoons are either high speed or slow speed. High-speed spoon lures are narrower and heavier than slow-speed models.

If you're trolling a spoon behind a weight, use a long leader to get the lure far away from the other tackle. Casting spoons work great when you need to imitate a small bait, as they can be cast out and retrieved, or dropped to the bottom and bounced. Casting and trolling spoons should be used with high-quality snaps and swivels to avoid line twist.

SPINNERBAITS

Stealing a tactic from the freshwater playbook, saltwater anglers are using spinnerbaits on a variety of inshore species. Featuring a leadhead, wire arm and metal blade, a spinnerbait does not look like anything that swims; instead, it fools a fish's sense of sound and movement. The leadhead is usually dressed with a soft plastic jig or rubber skirt. The arm and blade should be made out of non-corrosive material. Cast out a spinnerbait and work it quickly to propel it across the surface, or retrieve it slowly to drag the jig along the bottom.

SOFT PLASTIC LURES

Soft plastic lures come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes and can be used in many ways. Twister tails and shad bodies make good lure additions to jigs and bucktails. Flukes also look good as a trailer, or they can be rigged on a hook without any weight to sink slowly or shoot across the surface. Swimbaits feature a lead-head jig molded inside a soft plastic body. Use a soft plastic that matches the size of the bait.

These baits come in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. Bright colors work best on sunny days while darker colors present a better silhouette against overcast or dark skies. Soft plastics can be cast and retrieved, dropped to the bottom and bounced, even used in place of live or cut bait. The only limit to the way soft plastics can be used is your own imagination.