Fishing bait

Fishing bait is any luring substance used specifically to attract and catch fish, typically when angling with a hook and line. There are generally two types of baits used in angling: hookbaits, which are directly mounted onto fish hooks and are what the term "fishing bait" typically refers to; and groundbaits, which are scattered separately into the water as an "appetizer" to attract the fish nearer to the hook. Despite the bait's sole importance is to provoke a feeding response out of the target fish, the way how fish react to different baits is quite poorly understood.^[1]

Fishing baits can be grouped into two broad categories: natural baits and artificial baits. Traditionally, fishing baits are natural food or prey items (live or dead) that are already present in the fish's normal diet (e.g. nightcrawlers, insects, crustaceans and smaller bait fish), and such baits are both procured from and used within the same environment.^[2] Artificial baits, conversely, are not naturally acquired and must involve some kind of production process. These can be processed foods (e.g. bread, cheese, dough, cutlets, fish food or pet food pellets, etc.), commercially made mixtures (e.g. boilies), and imitative replica "fake foods" made of inedible materials known as lures (e.g plastic worm, swimbaits, spoons, stickbaits, hybrid spinners or even bionic robot fish). The variety of baits that a fisherman may choose is dictated mainly by the target species and by its habitat, as well as personal preference. Both natural and artificial baits frequently demonstrate similar efficiency if chosen adequately for the target fish. The overall bait type, size and techniques used will affect the efficiency and yield when fishing.^[3]

Fishing with baits does come with potential environmental concerns, especially when large quantities of non-native ingredients are involved. A common concern is that some live baits are invasive that can escape (e.g. crayfish), or have the potential to spread diseases or serve as vectors for parasites (e.g. zebra mussel). It is also known that the use of artificial edible baits (especially groundbaits) can potentially cause eutrophication in the local water, which may lead to harmful algal blooms. Using inedible lures, on the other hand, is associated with the issues of littering or loss of said lures, which typically do not biodegrade and can cause problems for the ecosystem, especially if ingested by wildlife. Many materials used to make lures, such as lead (ubiquitous in jigheads), plastics and paint, can degrade after prolonged exposure to the elements and release harmful toxic heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and microplastics that are harmful to the environment.