What's the best general purpose bait?

[sagalout]

I like fishing for all species and am trying to decide what will be the best bait to use.

What do you use as a general all species bait?

 

[no-one in particular]

Got to be bread really but, sweetcorn as second back up bait as well.

 

[steph mckenzie]

Maggot or Worm .. Bread also, but i don't use it as often as i probably should.

 

[dangermouse]

Maggot or Worm .. Bread also, but i don't use it as often as i probably should.

This ^

Although sweetcorn is also very good.

 

[barbelboi]

Sometimes I’ll go to the river with no bait at all and use what is available bank side or in the water. Silkweed, the shrimps and snails that live in it, flag worms, woodlice, caterpillars, grasshoppers, small worms from the roots of grass, slugs, snails, minnows and, if present, caddis. All these catch fish and cost nothing.

If I could only use one for many different species it would be small worms.

Jerry

 

[rabglasgow]

red maggots followed by worms

 

[agamemnon]

sweetcorn i never leave the house without a tin in my fishing bag

 

[balalur]

Sometimes I’ll go to the river with no bait at all and use what is available bank side or in the water. Silkweed, the shrimps and snails that live in it, flag worms, woodlice, caterpillars, grasshoppers, small worms from the roots of grass, slugs, snails, minnows and, if present, caddis. All these catch fish and cost nothing.

If I could only use one for many different species it would be small worms.

Jerry

This looks like the ideal approach(a bit time consuming) but it is maggots and worms for me...

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Maggot as far as I'm concerned, followed closely by Bread.

 

[bennygesserit]

has to be casters for me roach love them , carp love them , as a feed bait in the margins at least.

 

[sagalout]

The problem I have with maggots is small perch, they are a real pain on maggot, and I think that would also apply to small worm.

Bread and sweetcorn are not good perch baits, I like catching big perch.

Are small perch and roach a problem on casters?

 

[dangermouse]

Not so much perch but small roach love them. Try big lobworms if you like perch.

 

[balalur]

Not so much perch but small roach love them. Try big lobworms if you like perch.

Second that^
Also try live minnow for big perch-they love them but do use a wire trace just in case of "pike attack".

 

[sagalout]

I appreciate the comments about big perch but my point is I am looking for a single bait to take any fish that swims by on the day, but exclude the little ones.

I don't like the thought of all those fish not getting caught by me because I don't have the correct bait on the hook, so what I want is a general purpose catch it if swims and is above say 4oz kinda bait. Simples!

 

[peterjg]

There is only one answer - WHEAT! It is a great bait for roach, tench, carp and chub. Use tigers over wheat for big carp. Wheat can even be hair rigged (3 grains on a hair) for big roach, though reel in and check the bait if you have a few knocks because if one of the grains of wheat is crushed for some reason the big roach won't take the remaining bait?! Archie Braddock said in one of his books that wheat is better than maggots - I'm not arguing! Wheat can be used all year and can be flavoured, frozen and then reused. It is cheap, around £11 for 20 kilos! Why is it not more popular - 'cos it's cheap and readily available so the bait firms will not market it!!!

 

[sagalout]

WHEAT! It is a great bait for roach, tench, carp and chub

No mention of perch there!

 

[dangermouse]

I appreciate the comments about big perch but my point is I am looking for a single bait to take any fish that swims by on the day, but exclude the little ones.

I don't like the thought of all those fish not getting caught by me because I don't have the correct bait on the hook, so what I want is a general purpose catch it if swims and is above say 4oz kinda bait. Simples!

Most fish like worms so a big lobworm might be what you`re looking for. However even a big worm won`t guarantee you won`t catch a small fish. Last year I had a perch that couldn`t have been more than 2-3oz take a 6 inch long lob, I also had a similar size perch take a size 6 hook that had a couple of dendras and about a dozen red maggots crammed onto it. Perch are greedy little buggers.

 

[red creel]

For the non predatory species then bread in its various forms tops the charts for me.For pike perch and eels then it has to be lobworms, the number of times a pike has taken a worm being reeled back in is remarkable.Admittedly they have been jacks but i wonder if there is any mileage in their use for the bigger pike.

 

[terry m]

Worms would be my choice too, trouble is do you choose brandlings, lobs, dendras....................?

 

[barbelboi]

This looks like the ideal approach(a bit time consuming) but it is maggots and worms for me...

Hi balalur, nice to meet you at MF - IMO time consuming is spending time on the bank being there but doing very little, I’d much rather spend 2 hours fishing a 6 hour session with the right bait in the right place/s after doing my groundwork.
Jerry