Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » Debate for the Ages

Debate for the Ages

By Sean Bekkers

The debate on whether bait is better than an artificial has been going on for years and is one that is hotly argued over a beer and BBQ. To be perfectly honest up until the last 15 to 20 years I think the bait fishing community would have had it hands down, however now with artificial presentations looking and performing so lifelike, is there really a debate left to have or does it come down to personal preference?

My childhood memories of artificials were very simple and there was nothing that I really wanted to use. There were crazy looking grub like plastics that didn't represent anything, due to their size and colour, metals that were mainly good for throwing at mackerel or tailor and while I was growing up saltwater fly fishing was just starting to become a thing. Hard bodies were readily available but when I was young I couldn't bring myself to use the ones that I owned because of the cost.

Back then I was considered a hard core bait fishermen. We (my family) would spend our days pumping yabbies on the low tide, ready to head out and chase whiting and flathead using small long shank hooks on a running sinker rig. When the tailor moved in we'd spend our days floating pillies out on gang hooks.

Bottom bashing was no different and for the reefies we used your proven bottom bashing rigs, like a paternoster, sending flesh baits and live baits to the bottom. Live bait was and still is considered to be the best bait presentation that you can use for many species and as the name suggests the bait is alive, so it's moving on the hooks, which increases your chances of getting a bite, rather than just lumping a chunk on a hook. If you want to check out some awesome bait rigging methods, check out Gary Brown's rigging on the Tackle Tactics website.

Now apart from stopping off at your local service station or fishing tackle shop to buy dead bait, collecting bait can become quite laborious, soaking up available fishing time and in some case make an absolute mess out of your boat. In my personal opinion though, unless I'm on a patch of reef and it's a hot bite on bait, I find bait fishing a little slow and boring. This was probably the main driver for me swapping over to fish artificials years ago. I'm constantly busy and for people who know me... this is a good thing, lol.

Fishing with artificial presentation encompasses a lot of different styles and tackle these days, including soft plastics, hard bodies, metals, jigs, vibes, stickbaits and the list goes on and on and on. I'll take throwing plastics as an example. Fishos are absolutely spoilt for choice with the sheer quantity of styles, sizes, brands and colours. This means that you can cover nearly every type of fishing you can think of. If you've walked into a tackle shop lately then you know exactly what I mean.

So, what makes fishing with all this cool gear so attractive? As I have mentioned in other articles, I myself am usually pressed for time and only have a few hours up my sleeve to hit the water and have a flick. By using an artificial presentation I don't need to collect any sort of bait and the boat doesn't end up smelling like a prawn trawler, meaning less time cleaning up. With plastic technology getting better, the soft plastic presentations are unreal, with manufacturers taking the time and effort to ensure that they swim like the real thing. Modern plastics are especially unreal when compared to what I had access to when I was growing up.

In a nut shell they work. Sure, in the early days of throwing a soft plastic around I came back deflated because I couldn't even raise a strike. As I figured out what I was doing wrong the positive results soon followed and I found the quality of the fish caught on plastics were bigger and better, probably because I was cutting through all the little pickers.

With anything fishing related I believe that you need to go with brands that are proven and for the Tackle Tactics range of gear this is the case. I've been using these brands long before I started writing about them and you will find loads of info to help you put them to work in the 'Rigging Guides' and 'Tips and Techniques' section of the www.tackletactics.com.au website, including the Soft Plastics 101 video series.

Now, getting back to the debate for the ages... is there really a debate at all? Bait fishing is a proven method to land fish and so is an artificial presentation. Just as you need to get good quality bait, you also need good quality artificial gear that is presented well to the fish that you intend to target. People that fish really well using bait spend the time and effort to present their bait well and this is no different for the artificial fisho. Hard core artificial fishos spend the time ensuring that their plastic and hard bodies swim well, and perform as intended.

So, for me personally, I don't believe there is any real debate at all. Each side of the coin is going to lean towards one or the other. Both work and for different species, techniques or locations you may opt to select one or the other. For the bait fishos out there, if you find yourself short on time and keen for a fish, grab a packet of plastics and jig heads, a blade or stick bait that suits the area that you want to fish and have a crack. You may just end up a convert like myself.

Hot Tip: Scents like Pro-Cure Super Gel are not just intended for soft plastics, well not for me anyway. Make sure you smear a little on your hard body, metal or vibes just to make it smell right. Anglers have even been known to add Pro-Cure to their squid jigs and bait presentations.

At the end of the day, whether we're a bait fisho, a lure fisho or a bit of both... the main thing is that we're fishing!

Screaming drags!
Sean Bekkers

Jump on the tackle tactics website and check out the gear and 101 videos. There's a wealth of knowledge in these videos - www.tackletactics.com.au