Live Bait Collection

Live bait is the most popular way to land trophy fish. We offer a huge variety of live baits that are great for fishing.

leeches
Worms
Minnows
Insects
Nightcrawlers
Grubs
Spikes
Crayfish

LEECHES

Leeches are an excellent live bait used on many Upper Michigan freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams. Leeches are seasonal so ask our friendly staff about availability.

WORMS

Worms are an excellent bait for nearly all freshwater fishing.  They are an ideal food and their creamy white soft plump fat body is enticing to fishes.

  • REDWORMS: One of the best baits for fishing is the red worm. Red worms look just like a baby night crawler and are much more effective as fishing bait when fishing in rivers and streams.
  • LEAFWORMS: Leafworms are a much thinner version of the night crawler, but not as long. These worms remain quite active once hooked and will wriggle constantly.
  • WAXWORMS: Large, milky-white wax worms make dynamite bait for trout, small bass, small channel catfish, whitefish and panfish such as perch, crappie and bluegill.

MINNOWS

Minnows are baby fishes and a good all-around freshwater fishing bait, used either alive or dead. It is big on flavor and is used for targeting suspended fish or fish holding in vertical cover.

  • FATHEAD MINNOWS: Fathead Minnows are commonly used for fishing bait. They tend to be quite abundant in common fishing areas due to their ability to tolerate a lot of water conditions.
  • GOLDEN SHINER MINNOWS: Golden Shiner Minnows are commonly used for fishing bait and are excellent bait fish, used either alive or dead.

INSECTS

Want to catch loads of fish? Try insects for bait. Most fish like insects the way kids love candy. They can’t resist these six-legged temptations. The best insects that can be used as baits are nymphs, crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas.

GRUBS

Grubs are often used as live freshwater bait and are ideal for pan fish, sunfish, and trout.

NIGHTCRAWLERS

They are warm weather worms that do not require refrigeration but can tolerate temperature extremes. They are excellent for pan fishing and trout and are a great composting worm.

  • NEON NIGHTCRAWLERS: Neon Nightcrawlers are great for attracting bass, catfish, and crappie. The great thing about these worms is that they glow brightly in deeper dark waters attracting large fish.
  • PREMIUM NIGHTCRAWLERS: Nothing beats nightcrawlers as a live bait. They are fat and juicy and ready for you to use as bait. Keep refrigerated for prolonged life.

SPIKES

Spikes is the politically correct term for maggots. It is loved by all species and sizes of fish from inch long minnows to forty pound plus carp. They are great for pan fishing and trout.

CRAYFISH

Crayfish are popular and considered a large part of the diet among adult bass like largemouth, smallmouth, white bass, and redeye bass. It is one of the best live baits and is considered more popular than worms and minnows.