Fishing Bait

Businesses concerned with the sale of fishing baits and lures.

Fishing bait is any substance natural or otherwise, which is used to attract and catch fish. Fishing bait may be used on the end of a fishing hook, as an unhooked lure or inside a fish trap. Traditionally, insects and smaller bait fish and shell fish have been used for this purpose, however fishermen also use plastic bait, hand tied lures and, more recently, electronic lures, to attract fish. Bait is generally separated into artificial and natural types.

In Australia, some of the most popular types of fresh bait are pilchards, prawns, whitebait, chicken gut, squid, worms, sand worms and mullet fillets. Many of these types can be bought in both fresh and frozen forms and may be sold in bulk by suppliers to smaller retailers or may be caught and prepared on site by local specialist retailers. The common earthworm is the most popular type of natural bait for freshwater fishing.

Artificial bait is most often a lure 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. Lures are equipped with one or more single, double, or treble hooks that are used to hook fish when they attack the lure. An artificial fly is the type of fishing lure which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or other materials are tied onto a fish hook.