A Different Set of Rules

By K. Lastima

I’ve been fly fishing for many years. Friends and acquaintances sometimes ask my advice regarding fly fishing and I am glad to answer their questions. Occasionally I am asked about bait fishing and I reply that I know little or nothing about the methods employed. That answer doesn’t satisfy anyone. 

So I thought I should at least learn a little about bait fishing. I had no intention of actually doing it, but by observing and perhaps asking a few questions I could learn a few things that I could tell someone when asked about bait fishing. 

I am going to pass on to all of you fly fisherman some of the things I learned, just in case you are asked. You won’t have to plead ignorance.  

Two rods are used. Every bait fisherman worth his cigarettes and beer has two rods. The rods should be heavy; none of those ultra lights will do. They fish the lakes so they don’t have to do much walking. Bring a comfortable chair and a beverage cooler.

A large tackle box is popular because they need a lot of room for all the stuff a bait chucker needs. In addition, they seem to need a five-gallon bucket. I’m not sure why. 

The bait fisherman’s rods are permanently rigged up. They are removed from the back of the truck, ready for fishing except for baiting the hook. The rods are rigged with large sinkers, bobbers (a bobber is a humongous strike indicator), and treble hooks. Many use commercial bait in a jar, such as PowerBait or salmon eggs, and worms. Other baits used are off the grocery shelves -- cheese, corn, and marshmallows. I’m not kidding you. 

I haven’t figured out how they decide which bait to use. You don’t see hatches of corn, cheese or marshmallows.  

Once the hooks are baited the procedure is to throw the whole conglomeration out into the lake as far as possible. Or, if fishing from a boat they throw the stuff as close to the shore as possible. The sinker hits the water with a resounding KERPLUNK, immediately followed by SPLAT, as the bobber hits the surface. Bait fishing does not involve stealth. 

Once the casts have been made, bank fishermen put the rods on the ground with the ends propped up a foot or so by a rock or forked stick -- the same rocks and forked sticks that we trip over after the bait fishermen have left. 

Then they sit in the chair, smoke, drink beer, and watch the bobber. When the bobber starts bobbing, they jump out of the chair, grab the rod and reel in the fish, being careful not to spill the beer. After the fish is unhooked, it is put on a stringer or into a little wire cage and tossed back into the water to keep the fish alive -- if it survived the torture of removing a treble hook from its gut.  

Bait fishermen also practice catch and release. Surprised? It does differ somewhat from the catch and release methods practiced by fly fishermen.  

Here’s how it works. It begins when the number of fish caught approaches the legal limit. If the next fish caught is larger than the smallest one on the stringer or in the basket, the smaller one is replaced with the larger fish. The smaller fish is thrown back into the water. Maybe this explains why you may see several dead fish floating in the vicinity of bait fishermen. 

If bait fishermen are not catching any fish and someone nearby is, they just move next to the other guy and fish where he is fishing. It’s part of bait-fishing culture. 

When all through fishing, they clean the fish right there at the lake and throw the guts into the lake or on the bank, knowing that some animal will be grateful. Now they are all set to go home and put the fish into the freezer with all the rest of the fish and keep them until they get freezer burn and have to be thrown out.  

They don’t bother to pick up all those empty worm containers, bait jars, beer cans and trash. Someone else will do it.