Natural Bait vs Artificial Baits

[jet]

How do you guys feel about this? There was an artical in Kayak Angler's recent edition about IFA tourneys allowing natural baits, then disallowing it in the middle of the competetion.

basicallt, if we hold tourneys, which path is to be taken? Natural bait and artificial baits take skill to use based on location to fish, but does use of only artificials make it "more" skillful or more entertaining?

thoughts?

[chimo]

Different skills involved with each but I do think it takes a littttttlllle more skill to use artificails. You have to supply all the action to a artificail bait while a natural one will normally be swimming / squirming etc. giving the fish that last bit of motivation to bite when you get it in the strike zone. The only reason I see for making a tourney artificail only is if it is going to be catch and realease. Live baits seem to get swallowed a little easier than artificails because of the way the it is fished. Good Fishin

Chimo

[jffoley]

Personally I prefer fishing artificials. I'm usually doing C&R and there is less risk of gut hooking. Although, when surf fishing some years ago I had a 35lber inhale a big Yellow Bomber right down to his anal fin! That one came home, unfortunately.

Also, I like the way a fish hits a lure more than bait. Usually more violent and you feel it right away. At different times of the year bait will out fish lures like summer live lining. But when fall rolls around and they're schooling up nothing is better!

[Redfish12]

I agree with you guys on both fronts - artificial takes more skill/effort and is safer for the fish. If we're doing a tournament style and the goal is catch and release, then it would make sense to do artificial.

Right now live-lining is so effective it's hard to want to do anything else. It's also a lot harder for us non-peddle guys to cast and jig while the current rips us away from the spot we are trying to fish. I am always jealous of the hobie guys I see holding position. I caught one nice fish so far on a swamp monkey jig, but that was during slack and came on the first or second cast. I hope to do more jigging once the fish school up better this fall.

Did you guys see this? 46" fish that won the Shoot Out over the weekend came on a 13" Hogy. Seeing that makes me want to hit summerschool up for some of those big sluggos and head for MA!

[DOGFISH]

Artificials

Artificials do take more skill. However, do many of you use circle hooks when live bait fishing? I use them when shinner fishing, with good sucess. Recently, on a bottom fishing trip, I had alot of the croaker and white perch swallow the hooks. I remembered that I had some small inline circle hooks in my bag. I tied two on and they worked as advertised. All the fish were hooked in the corner of the mouth. I think I may be a convert. I was setting the hook a little different. I would raise the rod tip with less force until I felt the fish and then set the hook in solid. I always felt that I needed to do a solid hook set on bottom fish, so I was reluctant to use circle hooks for bottom fish.

I would be for artificials for tournaments. However, if there was live bait allowed, have a mandatory circle hook rule.

Another subject: Back in my boating days, I used to fish the Bay Bridge some. I usually avoid the bridge, as it is usually crouded. I occasionally would use slip bobbers along the piling edges. Sometimes I would use bucktails tiped with bait and sometimes with live bait and weight under the slip bobber to get it down to the desired depth. I was curious if this method is still used. I like the use of slip bobbers to get to a desired depth and when fishing snagged filled bottom.

[Grilled]

I enjoy using both. But it also depends on the time of year and location you are fishing. Right now, livelining is hot. Even though people jig around the bay bridge year around, i would rather live line. I do enjoy throwing lures at blues and breaking fish. Using lures is harder cause there is technique to it imo.

[surfdog]

dogfish i use circle hooks on every thing but lures and im thinking of putting them on instead of trebles on most of my lures. c hooks on bottom rigs are very effective and mostly set in the corner of the mouth although some greedy croakers will suck a 2/0 in too far but not many. even wp and spot(larger than the ones out there now) have no problem with the circle hooks. i wish leadhead manuf. would make some jigheads with circle hooks.

regarding artificial vs bait to me its a time of the season thing now its LL time, in the fall its topwater and bucks with a big hoggy for rock, for flounder and trout its a toss up between the 2, alot of fisherman have strong feelings on how they catch them. im not a 300 cast for 5 fish guy, my shoulder cant take it