Every angler makes one key decision before going fishing. The choice is either live bait or artificial baits.  Each has its own advantages and disadvantages; in addition to anglers preference on which type of bait.  The selection may also change with time of year, body of water fishing, species of fish desiring to catch and regulations.

Live bait used in fishing may come from an assortment of places.  Bait shops normally sell minnows, crawfish, crickets, shiners, shad, night crawler, Black Salty's and other locally popular live baits.  From the list above only one bait that swims, Black Salty's can live in both fresh and salt water (up to 2 hours).  This makes it extremely popular bait for striper fishermen on coastal waters and inshore reservoirs like Beaver Lake in Arkansas and Lake Texoma in Oklahoma.  Black Salty’s have also proven to be very hardy and easy to keep alive. (For more information see www.blacksalty.com)  Another popular option is catching shad for bait.  Anglers deciding on shad need a bait tank, cast net, bait saver, rock salt, and bait well net.  In addition, you must have the ability and skill to throw a cast net.  Catching shad also requires locating the bait and time to catch it.  One draw back to shad is they are very fragile and die if under stress or unfavorable bait well conditions.

Anglers using Black Saltys, minnows, or shiners will require a bait bucket.  Bait buckets come in all different sizes and types.  Each bait bucket works differently to keep the bait alive. Live bait containers are made for wading, stream angling or pulling behind a boat.  Frabill Inc. manufactures a six gallon self-contained aerated bait station; the Frabill Aqua-Life Bait Station which operates on 2 D-cell batteries or 12-volt battery and is insulated. (See www.frabill.com for more information)

On the other hand, artificial baits are defiantly the easiest to obtain of the two choices.  An angler can simply purchase any bait or may even have one in his tackle box which is the “Hot” lure for his fishing location.  Plus, artificial baits can be kept stored for years without having to worry about them dying.  Another advantage is many artificial lures are crossover baits.  This means these baits can be used to catch many different species of fish even on the same body of water.  One draw back may be the availability of the lure and cost.  Normally, swim baits in California will range in costs from $15 to $150 each.

In the end, an angler usually selects live bait or artificial on their own personal preference.  Live bait at times will out produce and catch larger fish than artificial.  Compare this to the challenge of catching a fish on something that resembles or imitates prey.  Anglers should not get caught up in the live bait vs. artificial debate or which is better than the other.  Besides, it’s in the act of fishing that anglers will find their personal gratification.