Guide to Most Common Baits

Last Updated October 2022

The following are some of the most common baits for shore angling. We all have our favourite baits depending of the species being targeted.
Here's a rough guide to help you choose.

Worms

Blow Lug

An excellent bait. Good bait used from open beaches for bass and dabs. Very good in estuaries when targeting bass!
Can be used from rock marks when float fishing hard against rock faces for wrasse. Good for codling, whiting and coalfish in the winter.

Black Lug

Black Lug (fresh or frozen) make a great winter bait for codling, dabs and flounder. They'll tempt bass from open beaches and estuaries in the spring and summer.
Fresh is my preference but many people swear by frozen.
Flatfish are especially found of worms that are a few days old and have gone sticky almost like a soft liquorice.

Ragworm

Rag Worm and Harbour Rag Worm
Use the larger rag worm from open beaches for bass and dabs. In the estuaries use the smaller harbour rag in bunches or 4 or 5 worms at a time. Bass and flounder can’t resist these small rag worm.
Fish as light as you can in the estuaries. In harbours at night either free line or fish bunches or 3 to 5 worms under a small fresh water float close to the surface for bass.
Small pollack will readily take bunches of float fished harbour rag. In autumn and winter whiting will take rag but it’s an expensive bait compared to the better and cheaper fish baits.

Fish Baits

Mackerel, Bluey and Herring:-

Great all round baits that will catch most species. Fresh or frozen, mackerel is the most popular but bluey and herring work just as well well.
Fish large chunks on a pennel rig for dogfish, huss and rays and small strips on small hooks for dabs.
Used in small slivers the are all great bait float fished for garfish. From October through to Christmas All three catch whiting. Avoid using frozen fish in the estuaries from April to November as it will attract every crab for miles around!

Squid
A good tough bait which will resist the attention of crabs and smaller fish. Use it as a cocktail in combinations with fish baits. Will catch most species and works well as a wrap (when squid is wrapped around mackerel, sand eel or bluey). Fished this way, on a pennel rig, it can prove irresistible to dogfish, huss and rays. Can also be used in thin strips on small hooks for dabs or as a tipping bait when whiting fishing in the autumn.
In the winter months from November onwards it is an excellent bait for tipping off large worm baits for codling.

Sand Eel
Great summer and autumn bait that will catch most species. Can be fished on the bottom, under a float or spun.
Bass, dogfish, huss, rays, plaice, turbot, pollack and mackerel will all readily feed on sand eel. At time wrasse will also take sand eel.
From open beaches best used as a ledgered bait. From piers and rock marks where pollack and mackerel can be expected try float fishing half and eel.
From rocks it can be deadly for pollack when deep spun just above the kelp and rocky out crops.

Crab and Shellfish

Crab
Peeler & Softback.
A fantastic bait for early and late season bass. Particularly good in estuaries. The advantage of crab is it’s a very durable bait. It’s also about the one thing that crabs themselves aren’t attracted to.
Frozen peeler works just as well as fresh. Crab is a must have bait for plaice and flounder. Crabs start to moult in mid to late April most years and finish moulting around late October and early November.
Peeler is an excellent bait for the early season codling from November through to Christmas.

Razor Fish/Razor Clam
A good bait used from open beaches for bass especially after a storm when the razor’s can be collected from the beach having been dislodged from the sand and washed ashore.
An excellent bait used as a cocktail bait with lug worm for winter codling.

Mussels
The make a fleshy creamy hook bait which looks quite similar what a peeler crabs insides are like. Well worth the effort of removing them from their shells!
They are a good cocktail bait for codling and plaice used with worm or peeler crab.
The flesh is a very soft bait so baiting elastic is needed to bind it onto hook. Larger baits can be created using a baiting needle threaded with mussels and bound with elastic to form a mussel kebab.

There are plenty of YouTube videos showing how to prepare your baits. The following should be useful.