Fishing Bait > Squid Fishing Bait

Advantages: Cheap (From fishmongers) Useful ingredient in bait 'cocktails'
Disadvantages: Expensive (From Fishmongers and supermarkets) no real use as a stand-alone bait.

Purchase: Squid is a very under-rated bait for Sea-Angling here in Britain, although in continental Europe it is used more widely. Squid is usually purchased in a box containing approx. 1 dozen from the tackle shop. I would advise that you are not tempted to buy it from Fishmongers or supermarkets; firstly it works out very expensive, secondly the squid may have been 'treated' with additives or preservatives, which will deter fish. Use: Depending ...
...after a few 'medicinal' whiskey's)of squid about 1 cm across, loop this onto a size 2 or 4 hook, add half a ragworm (See my article on this subject) to increase the visual stimulus an the scent. If you are using the head and guts then us a size 1 or 1/0 hook, and don't bother with the worm. Do not use the head and guts tactic for float-fishing, about the only thing you'll get will be a cuttlefish (And have you ever tried hooking one of those ... Read review

Advantages: Saves you tons of money
Disadvantages: Stinks and your wife will nag you

I have been fishing for over 25 years approx and can say the secret to catching the big fish is how you feed the lake or river before you start on a serious fishing expedition. It gets pretty expensive buying your Boiles from your local fishing shop and the more you get into fishing the more determined you are to make the perfect boilie yourself. I did try the pound shop version but can only say I didn't catch one fish all day long so best to avoid ...
...perfect base to mix your own ingredients to and the cheapest way to do it.. Many of the ingredients are cheaper such as pure fishmeal from your garden centre rather than your local fish tackle shop. Ok they might not like to hear that but as you are giving the fish your food free then the cheapest option is the one we would all use. Many people will use the powdered colouring again available at you local tackle shop but the cheap food colorants ... Read review

Advantages: Many species of freshwater fish can be caught using casters
Disadvantages: Keeping them in the fridge might upset your other half.

...carp. This is what makes casters one of the most popular baits available to any angler. Price and availability Casters can be purchased from any tackle shop, the cost varies from place to place, but as a general rule expect to pay in the region of £5 per pint. This is a fair price since it takes about five pints of maggots to make three pints of casters. Alternatively you can make your own. If you have read my other review on ...
...bucket below, leaving all the casters behind. Any dead maggots should be thrown away. This process should be repeated every eight hours, and the resulting casters must be placed in a container in the fridge. The colours of the casters will vary, however you can change their colour so that they all look similar quite simply. On the evening before you intend to go fishing you should wrap all your casters in a wet towel inside a bucket. The next morning ... Read review

Advantages: Almost all species of freshwater fish like maggots.
Disadvantages: Keeping them in the fridge might upset your other half.

...are now baby maggots. The maggots then feed on the meat until they are large and fat, at this point they stop feeding and quite quickly turn into casters (this only takes a few days or so). The casters (pupa) then remain dormant for a further few days and then out from the shell of the caster emerges a fully grown fly, although not mature enough to start breeding. Then the life cycle repeats ad infinitum. Bluebottle (Calliphoria vicini) ...
...and produce loads of large maggots that have a quite tough skin. This makes them ideal for general use, wether they are used as loose feed or as a hookbait. Greenbottle (Lucilia caesar) The Greenbottle fly also produces a high quality maggot however they are smaller in size to that of the Bluebottle. This makes them ideal for loose feed and hookbait too, when shy feeding fish will not take ordinary maggots since they associate ... Read review

Advantages: Free bait
Disadvantages: Expensive from tackle shops

...the last two are not worms but they are grubs. The bloodworm is the grub of the adult midge, and the mealworm the grub of the darkling beetle also known as the Flour Beetle, so I will not be reviewing these in any great detail. Lobworms = Lobworms, also known as dew worms, are the largest and easiest worm to find. They may be collected from lawns, cricket pitches or even football pitches. The best time to harvest these worms is just after ...
...hand take hold of the worms head and gently pull.If you find the worm is a little slippy you should dip your fingers in some sand, this will allow you to hold it easily. You have to be very gentle when you tease worms out because it's very easy to snap the worm in two, and a worm that is broken is a dead worm. Do not believe the stories about it turning into two worms, it simply isn't true. There are some kinds of worm that will regenerate after ... Read review