Editing Angling (section)

== Baits ==
[[File:Worm on fishhook.jpg|thumb|Earthworm hookbait]]
{{main|Fishing bait}}
In angling, two broad types of baits are used: ''[[groundbait]]'', which is thrown separately into the water in large quantities as an "[[appetizer]]" to [[olfactory|olfactorily]] attract distant fish nearer to the angler's position; and ''hookbait'', which is directly attached to the [[fish hook]] to entice the fish into swallowing the hook along with the bait.  In colloquial usage, the word "bait" refers specifically to hookbaits, which can be further separated into three main categories: ''natural baits'', ''artificial baits'' and ''lures''.

The choice of what bait to use is dictated mainly by the target species's diet, the habitat and weather conditions](which can alter the fish's [[foraging]] behavior), the angler's own personal preferences, and the local [[fisheries law|fishery regulations]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fix.com/blog/bait-versus-lures-which-is-best/|title=Bait vs Lures – Which is Best?|date=24 February 2016 |publisher=Fix.com Blog|accessdate=2022-11-27}}</ref> Using an optimal angling bait can increase the chance of catching the intended fish, while conversely using an inadequate bait will greatly reduce the success rate, especially when there are other bait fishermen nearby.<ref>{{cite journal
| last1      = Sistiaga
| first1     = Manu
| last2      = Herrmann
| first2     = Bent
| last3      = Rindahl
| first3     = Lasse
| last4      = Tatonelast
| first4     = Ivan
| date       = 2018-02-21
| title      = Effect of Bait Type and Bait Size on Catch Efficiency in the European Hake ''Merluccius merluccius'' Longline Fishery
| journal    = Marine and Coastal Fisheries
| volume     = 10
| issue      = 1
| pages      = 12–13
| doi        = 10.1002/mcf2.10007
| doi-access= free
| bibcode = 2018MCFis..10...12S
| hdl= 10037/13542
| hdl-access= free
}}</ref>

===Natural baits===
[[File:Eristalis tenax larva close.JPG|thumb|100px|The [[rat-tailed maggot]] is a popular fish bait]]
Natural baits are food items that are present within the target fish's natural diet, which are usually animals at a lower [[trophic level]] in the [[food web]]. A natural bait angler, with few exceptions, will use a common prey species of the target fish as a bait. The natural bait used may be [[live food]] (known as a ''[[live bait (fishing)|live bait]]'') or [[Wiktionary:carcass|carcass]] (i.e. ''dead bait''), and a bait improvised from grossly intact portions of a dead animal (e.g. [[fish head]]) is known as a ''cutbait''.  Common natural baits for both fresh and saltwater fishing include [[earthworm]], [[leech]], insects and [[larva]]e, [[minnow]], [[squid]], [[prawn]], [[crayfish]], and even crabs, frogs and [[salamander]]s. Natural baits are effective due to the real texture, odour and movements of the bait presented.

The [[common earthworm]] is a universal live bait for freshwater angling, and [[grub (larva)|grub]]s and [[maggots]] are also excellent bait when [[trout fishing]]. [[Grasshopper]]s, [[cricket (insect)|cricket]]s, [[eels]] and even [[ant]]s are also used as bait for trout in their season, although many anglers believe that [[red caviar|trout or salmon roe]] is superior to any other bait.

[[File:Pimephales promelas2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fathead minnow]] — a common [[bait fish]]]]
Crayfish, which are preyed upon by a variety of [[ray-finned fish]]es,<ref name="Web 2002">{{cite web | last=Web | first=Animal Diversity | title=Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, ''Orconectes propinquus'', northern clearwater crayfish: INFORMATION | website=BioKIDS | date=2002-09-16 | url=http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Orconectes_propinquus/ | access-date=2018-07-27}}</ref> are also commonly used as bait, either live or with only the tail meat. They are popular for catching [[catfish]],<ref>{{cite web | last=Samsel | first=Jeff | title=5 Great Catfish Baits | website=Game & Fish | date=2005-08-05 | url=https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/5-great-catfish-baits/245174 | access-date=2021-02-13 | archive-date=2021-11-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108152833/https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/5-great-catfish-baits/245174 | url-status=dead }}</ref> [[largemouth bass]], [[smallmouth bass]], [[striped bass]],<ref name="Bass Fishing Gurus 2015">{{cite web | title=Striped Bass Feeding Facts and Information | website=Bass Fishing Gurus | date=2015-03-04 | url=https://bassfishing-gurus.com/striped-bass-feeding-facts-and-information/ | access-date=2018-07-27}}</ref> [[perch]] and [[Esox|pike]].<ref name="Funny Fishing Tshirts & Fishing Gifts - Fish Face 2017">{{cite web | title=The Key to Locating Bass, Walleye or Pike | website=Funny Fishing Tshirts & Fishing Gifts – Fish Face | date=2017-08-25 | url=https://www.fishface.com/-fishing-hunting-outdoor-blog/locating-bass-walleye-pike-with-crayfish | access-date=2018-07-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727212242/https://www.fishface.com/-fishing-hunting-outdoor-blog/locating-bass-walleye-pike-with-crayfish | archive-date=27 July 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref> However, studies had confirmed that introducing crayfish outside of their [[home range]] has led to various ecological problems of them becoming [[invasive species]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/ctap2/Chp%205.pdf |chapter=Fox and Des Plaines Rivers Watershed |title=Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems |publisher=[[Illinois Department of Natural Resources]] |year=2001 |access-date=2021-08-27 |archive-date=2009-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327041058/http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/ctap2/Chp%205.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/aquaticplan.pdf |title=Tennessee Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan |author=Tennessee Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force |year=2007 |publisher=[[Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency]]}}</ref> Transporting crayfish as live bait has also contributed to the spread of [[zebra mussel]]s, which are known to attach themselves onto crayfish, in various waterways throughout Europe and North America.<ref name=HaGov>{{cite web|title=Hawaii Risk Analyses and Management for Dreissenid Mussels|url=https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ais/files/2014/02/Hawaii-Dreissena-Mussel-Assessment-2012.pdf |page=3|publisher=US Fish & Wildlife|date=2012|access-date=27 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="Nonindigenous Aquatic Species 2005">{{cite web | title=zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) – Species Profile | website=Nonindigenous Aquatic Species | date=2005-11-16 | url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=5 | access-date=2018-07-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sfbay.wr.usgs.gov/benthic_eco/exotic_species/next.html |title=The History and Effects of Exotic Species in San Francisco Bay |author1=J. Thompson |author2=F. Parchaso |author3=A. Alpine |author4=J. Cloern |author5=B. Cole |author6=O. Mace |author7=J. Edmunds |author8=J. Baylosis |author9=S. Luoma |author10=F. Nichols |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |date=13 December 2007 |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=1 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701135651/http://sfbay.wr.usgs.gov/benthic_eco/exotic_species/next.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Spreading diseases====
[[File:Cercopagidae GLERL 1.jpg|thumb|[[Fishhook waterflea]] (''Cercopagis pengoi''), an [[invasive species|invasive]] predatory [[cladoceran]] associated with bait fishing]]
{{see also|Fish diseases and parasites}}
The capture, transportation and culture of [[bait fish]] can spread damaging organisms between [[ecosystem]]s, endangering them. In 2007 several American states enacted regulations designed to slow the spread of fish diseases, including [[viral hemorrhagic septicemia]], by bait fish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DNR Fishing Regulation Changes Reflect Disease Management Concerns with VHS |url=http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0%2C1607%2C7-153-10371_10402-170245--%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214010208/http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0%2C1607%2C7-153-10371_10402-170245--%2C00.html |archivedate=December 14, 2008 |website=www.michigan.gov}}</ref> Because of the risk of transmitting ''[[Myxobolus cerebralis]]'' (whirling disease), [[trout]] and [[salmon]] should not be used as bait.

Anglers may increase the possibility of contamination by emptying bait buckets into fishing venues and collecting or using bait improperly. The transportation of fish from one location to another can break the law and cause the [[introduced species|introduction of fish]] alien to the ecosystem.

===Artificial baits===
[[File:Boilies.jpg|thumb|Boilies, a type of commercial artificial bait widely used for [[carp fishing]]]]
Artificial baits are edible baits that are not directly acquired via natural means, but are made from other food materials via some kind of artificial processing. These can be [[fish food]] that are either homemade (e.g. dried [[paste (food)|food paste]]) or commercially purchased (e.g. [[boilie]]s and [[fish feed|feed pellets]]), or prepared/processed food such as [[cutlet]]s, [[offal]]s, [[hulling|dehulled]] [[seed|kernel]]s (e.g. peas and corns), dairy products (cheese and [[curd]]), bread or doughballs made from various ingredient mixtures (e.g. rice, [[semolina]], [[cornmeal]], bread crumbs, and [[fishmeal]], etc.), which can be used to attract [[omnivorous]] or even [[herbivorous]] fish.  In lakes in southern climates such as Florida, [[panfish]] such as [[Centrarchidae|sunfish]] will even take household [[wheat bread]] or pet food as bait. These bread bait is prepared from a small amount of bread, often moistened and softened by saliva, then squeezed into a ball of the bite size of small fish.

===Lures===
[[File:Rapala lures 1.jpg|thumb|A collection of different fishing lures]]
[[File:Green Highlander salmon fly.jpg|thumb|right|''Green Highlander'', an artificial fly used for [[salmon]] fishing]]
{{main|Fishing lure|Soft plastic bait|Artificial fly}}
Some baits are not actual food items but rather just "fake" [[replica]]s of food made of inedible materials (e.g. wood, metal, [[silicone rubber]], plastics, etc), and are designed to entice [[predatory fish]] to strike by imitating the appearance and motions of real prey ([[shad]], worm, frog, insect, [[crayfish]], etc.). These inedible, replica baits are typically called ''[[fishing lure|lure]]s'' instead of baits, although expressions such as "[[swimbait]]s", "crankbaits", "jerkbaits", "[[spinnerbait]]s" and "chatterbaits" are still used when describing specific types of lures.  Unlike conventional baits, lures typically do not release any scents and rely solely on looks and sounds/vibrations to attract fish, although occasionally chemical [[attractant]]s (e.g. [[dimethyl-β-propiothetin]]) are still used in addition either to impregnate favorable smells or to mask away unwanted plastic smells.  Many anglers prefer to fish solely using lures, as these rely more on the user's rod and reel actions to successfully attract fish, and requires frequent casting and retrieving the line, and are thus more interactive and exciting.

Lures can be broadly categorized into ''hard-body'' and ''soft-body lures'', although hybrid lures with both hard and soft components are also common.  Soft-body lures tend to give a more flexible and realistic "swimming" posture when towed through the water, while hard-body lures usually rely on stirring up more noise and [[turbulence]]s. Some newer hard lure designs, however, are multi-jointed and can resemble soft lures in dynamics.  Soft lures are typically coupled with a single conventional fish hook or a [[jighead]], while hard lures commonly have more than one hook (which are often [[treble hook]]s). When lures are used in combination with other terminal tackles ([[fishing float|float]]s, [[fishing sinker|sinker]]s, [[fishing swivel|swivel]]s, etc.) to produce sophisticated presentations, the entire lure package is known as a ''[[fishing rig|rig]]''. Common rigs with a [[soft plastic lure]] are the [[Texas Rig]] or the [[Carolina Rig]].

Some fishing lures (e.g. [[spoon lure|spoon]]s and spinnerbaits) may not even resemble any prey in looks, and may require skilled rod movements to impart an enticing presentation to the target fish, for example in [[jigging]] and [[surface lure|topwater fishing]].  Some lures, such as the [[artificial fly|flies]] used in [[fly fishing]], are ultralight and even require specialized gears and techniques to be cast properly.  In modern times, there are also lures that [[fishing light attractor|photically attract fish]] with [[LED]] illuminiation, as well as battery-powered "bionic" lures that are essentially primitive [[robot fish]] that can swim around without needing to be towed by a fishing line.