Live bait is a necessary evil of bream fishing, especially in the spring when bluegill are on their beds.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know, there’s a legion of fly fishermen who say casting a fly is the only way to go. Go in peace brothers, this story isn’t about art; it’s about putting fish in the frying pan.
For most fishermen, it’s either crickets or a live wiggler — red worm, night crawler, catalpa or meal worm. The cricket vs. worm argument is an old one and not one to be argued here today … well, maybe a little.
They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Crickets are cheaper than worms, and they have less of the “yuck” factor. But, worms can’t jump, and if they escape their container, they are slow to make their getaway. If one or two get away, they simply die, dry up, and that’s that.
Crickets will live in the boat, in the garage, and chirp all night until they … heck, they never shut up. And there’s this:
There are two kinds of cricket fishermen, those who have had a cricket jump in their mouths or down their shirts, and those who will have one jump in their mouths or down their shirts. It’s even worse if the wife is involved, and in a soon-to-be-turned-over boat. That said, a cricket in the mouth still beats worm guts on the hands, shirts, pants, the boat, the ice chest, or, yep, sandwiches.
It’s true that when the bream aren’t bedding and are scattered across the bottom in deeper areas of the lake, worms are indeed the best bet. They just work better when bream are feeding by sense of smell.
