Shiners Catch Bass Too

Most bass anglers started their fishing adventures with the basics: a rod, reel, line, terminal tackle and some sort of live bait. Yes. even in the our early fishing days lures played a role but more often than not night crawlers and minnows helped us build our fishing skills and passion for it.

Since shiners are found in lakes, ponds, river and streams across the land, they are one of the most common baitfish used by bass anglers no matter where they are located. Though any size shiner will catch bass even big bass, targeting big bass with big shiners can really help land the personal best for any year or even a lifetime PB!

Many folks consider Florida to be the big bass capitol of the US and it's no surprise that shiner fishing is one of the primary presentations used by successful FL guides. 

Take a moment and watch as Steve Quinn from In-Fisherman goes on a trip with bass guide Capt. Steve Jackson as the discuss fishing giant shiners for some Florida big bass...

Do Artificial Lures Outfish Live Bait?

There is an age-old debate between many anglers regarding the effectiveness of artificial lures when compared to live bait...

Let's face it, most of us started fishing almost exclusively with live bait and over time gravitated to artificial baits for a number of different reasons.

There are definitely times when live bait may be more a better choice especially when faced with cold water conditions or when taking the kids out for a day on the water!  During other outings, artificial baits will rule the day... 

It just so happens, the folks at Fix.com put together an interesting infographic providing a different viewpoint on the the question, when to select live bait vs a lure as shown below...

Source: Fix.com Blog

Though they make some great points via their graphic, it often comes down to a matter of preference or confidence with most anglers as they select live bait or artificials... :)