The best baits to use when freshwater fishing

Freshwater fish each have their own preferences when it comes to bait. Here are some of the best types of bait to use when fishing in freshwater.

Live worms, earthworms, grubs and other worms are usually a great type of bait to use.

• Most fish will be interested in them because they are easy to see and will be moving in the water, which attracts most fish.
• If you can't get your hands on the real thing, many larger game fish will go after plastic worms, too.

A lot of larger fish tend to feed on the smaller fish in the pond. Minnows, shad, small crappie and carp are usually good choice for attracting big game fish like bass.

Bugs are a great bait for freshwater fish, too. If you can manage to hook them onto your line, flies, grasshoppers, butterflies and other small bugs tend to attract fish.

• Live bugs are the best, but even the soft plastic ones are good if you cast the line well and create movement underwater.

There are hundreds of types of artificial lures and it can be hard to tell which ones work well and which don't. Usually, however, you can count on spinner baits and crankbaits to be effective with most fish because they appear to be moving underwater.

If you're fishing for catfish, stink baits are a good choice. They are usually made from aged chicken livers or other smelly food items and can be rolled into a dough ball in order to be pressed onto a big hook.

• The smell of the food attracts the catfish and some other fish to it even though it's not moving.

Bread is actually a great bait for catfish and carp as well. Sometimes getting bread on a hook can be difficult so you might want to try a thicker, more dense bread.

• Even if the bread doesn't stay on the hook, many fishermen use it in the water as a way to draw fish to the area and then use other baits on their hooks to actually catch the fish.

To really catch the fish you want, be sure you know which bait to use when fishing in freshwater.