Ryan's Question:

What is the best bait or best lure for freshwater fishing? Is it nightcrawlers or neon lures? I don't know! I guess you can call me an amateur. I haven't been fishing since I was 9. I went fishing today for two hours and two hours yesterday. I didn't catch anything. Can you please give me some advice? I'm now 20 and I don't have a clue!

Ryan

Mark's Answer:

Ryan,

There is no magic bait for all fish but the one bait with the broadest application has to be the nightcrawler. Just about any freshwater game fish will find the slimy wigglers appetizing.

I have caught everything from striper to sand bass to catfish to trout to perch on the fat worms.

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One mistake I think anglers make is to leave too much of the worm dangling from the hook resulting in lots of lost worms.

Make sure enough of the hook runs through the worm that the fish can't pull off the nightcrawler or that you won't knock it off with a cast.

You can even cut the worm in half and still have a lot of action. And for many fish, worm pieces (my wife says 'yuck') on a hook are as dangerous as a whole worm.

And as far as fishing for two hours and not catching anything. Well, welcome to the club.