WormEasy8 species
Bait
What should I put on?
UK shore baits, how to present them, and what they are for. Not a shop stock list.
What bait should I use?
Tell us where and when you're fishing. We'll recommend a starting bait from the knowledge base — not a live feeding report.
Experience
Filters — type, mark, season, species
Bait type
Mark type
Season
LugwormThe default UK beach worm. Blow and black lug both catch. A bunch on a flapper is the winter night-shift.Thread the worm so the hook is hidden and the tail still moves. A bunch for bigger fish; a single for dabs. Black lugThe tougher lug. Better for a long chuck and a Pennel than blow lug. Same family, different handling — not a mystery bait.Thread so the hook is hidden. A bunch, often bound, for a long chuck. Tougher than blow lug, so it survives the punch better. WormModerate5 speciesRagwormKing rag and harbour rag. Better than lug for bass, wrasse, sole and mullet; as good as lug for flounder.Hook once through the head so it wriggles. A whole king rag for bass; a small harbour rag for dabs. WormEasy7 speciesPeeler crabA crab that is shedding its shell. The best bait on the coast for bass, hounds and many rays when it is in season.Peel it, leave the catch-legs if you like, bind it on a Pennel so it survives the cast. Half a crab for wrasse, a whole for a hound. CrustaceanModerate6 speciesHardback crabA crab that has not peeled. Useful for wrasse; a poor second for bass compared with peeler.Crush the carapace or hook through the edge so juices leak. Bind it. CrustaceanEasy3 speciesLimpetA rock-shore bait. Wrasse will take a limpet knocked off the ledge you are standing on. Not a beach default.The meat on a strong hook, bound if it is soft. Drop it into the hole; do not punch it 80 yards. ShellfishEasy2 speciesSquidTough, white, and it stays on a hook for a long chuck. Strips for whiting; whole or a Pennel wrap for rays and conger.A strip on a flapper; a whole small squid or a wrap over fish on a Pennel. CephalopodEasy6 speciesMackerelThe other default fish bait. Strips, flappers, or a whole side for a shark. Oily, so it makes a scent trail.A thin strip on a small hook; a side on a Pennel; a whole fish on a running tope rig. FishEasy7 speciesSandeelA long, slim bait for bass, turbot, small-eyed rays and tope. Fresh or blast-frozen, not a brown defrosted worm of an eel.Head-hooked so it swims, or a Pennel through the head and the middle. Bind if you are casting far. FishModerate6 speciesMusselA humble bait that still catches dabs, pouting, wrasse and the odd codling. Better in a cocktail than on its own for distance.Several mussels bound into a bunch. They fly off a hook if you do not bind them. ShellfishEasy5 speciesPrawnLive or frozen, a harbour and wrasse bait. Also a change bait for bass in clear water.Hook through the tail so it swims, or a bunch of frozen prawns bound on. CrustaceanModerate5 speciesFish stripsAny oily fish cut into strips — mackerel, herring, leftover bass bait. The generic ‘strip’ when you have no whole fish.Thin for whiting; thicker for a dogfish. Hook once so it flutters. FishEasy5 speciesHerringOily, cheap, a good tope and conger bait when mackerel is short. Softer than mackerel, so bind it.A side on a Pennel, bound. Whole on a tope clip. FishEasy4 speciesPilchardVery oily, traditional on the south-west. A scent bomb. Soft — bind it or use it as a wrap.A wrap over squid, or a bound side. On its own it flies off. FishModerate4 speciesCuttlefishTougher and meatier than squid. A conger and huss bait, and a wrap for a Pennel.Thick strips or a whole small cuttle on a strong Pennel. CephalopodModerate4 speciesCockleA small shellfish bait. Useful in a cocktail on a flapper for dabs and pouting.Several on a small hook, bound if you are casting. ShellfishEasy3 speciesRazor clamA spring plaice bait on some beaches, and a change bait for bass. Tough enough to cast if bound.A strip bound on, or the whole clam on a Pennel. ShellfishModerate3 speciesArtificial luresSoft plastics, metals, surface lures. The way many bass and pollock are caught when the water is clear enough to hunt.Match the baitfish. Work the lure; do not leave it on the sand like a lead. ArtificialModerate5 speciesFeathers / sabikiA string of small lures for mackerel and small coal. When the shoal is in, they are the fastest bait on the coast.Work them through the layers. Do not leave them on the bottom. ArtificialEasy4 speciesSpinnersMetals — bars, spoons, tiny spinners — for mackerel, garfish and a chance bass.A steady retrieve. Vary the speed until you find them. ArtificialEasy4 speciesSoft plasticsPaddle-tails, creatures and sandeel copies. The modern bass and pollock bait when you do not want a lead on the sand.On a jig head or a weighted hook. Work it, pause it, keep it in the strike zone. ArtificialModerate4 species