First, lets examine some bait selection secrets for fishing saltwater game:

Fresh Shrimp Bait Tip

When you have live shrimp that you are going to fish, it is important to make sure they are alive and kicking hey will catch more fish this way. Keep them uncrowded, well aerated, and cool.Use an ice chest as a shrimp box. It has a strong lid that can double as a seat, a plug for easy draining, and is well insulated to help ward off the bait-killing heat. Instead of using ice to keep the shrimp cool, freeze water in plastic bottles so that when the ice melts it won't dilute the water and kill the shrimp.

When the shrimp is failing to get strikes, use brightly colored shrimp by dying them with food coloring. This will stimulate strikes if regular colored shrimp aren't working. Using sand shrimp as bait is an excellent choice because it is a popular meal for bottom feeders. Additionally, it gives of a big scent, which will attract them. Unfortunately, they are fragile and almost impossible to keep on a hook.

Use a safety pin hook designed especially to hold soft baits like sand shrimp. The pin of the hook should run the full length of the back of the bait, leaving the tail and pincers free to move. Some people use a few turns of lead wire, the kind used for weighting flies, to help hold the shrimp.

A Brilliant Way To Store Your Jigs

Large saltwater jigs are not only heavy but also bulky. Finding a place to store them safely and conveniently can be a problem. Use a five-gallon plastic bucket with a lid. Just below the bucket's lip, drill or punch equidistant holes all the way around. Place the jigs inside, hanging them through the holes from their big hooks. Pop the top back on; label the bucket, and presto! Your lures are stored in a safe, untangled and accessible container.

Catching Free Bait

The second part of this article will show you some tricks for catching bait in a few different situations.

Gathering Winter Bait: Goldenrod grubs, wasp nets grubs, and mousies are easy to come by and are great winter bait for ice fishing. Also, you can scoop out larvae from the wastes (with permission from a dealer) from a local bait shop. Keep everything cool when storing.

Attracting Minnows: Trying to attract more minnows? Try this. Put some cat food in the middle of a six inch square of cheesecloth, fold up the corners, and tie into a small sac. Suspend the bait bag inside of your minnow trap with a paper clip or small piece of wire.

The cheesecloth will prevent your bait from washing away yet will allow small amounts of cat food to disperse through the water, attracting the minnows into the trap.

When in doubt, use some of the bait tips to make fishing easier, less expensive, and more productive.