What is the most fish you have caught on a single bait?

[Natural Lefty]

I was fishing at Perris Lake this past Thursday at Sail Cove Pier, and caught 13 small Bluegills by my count on a single Waxworm. I don't usually use Waxworms, but they do work great for Bluegills, especially small ones. I was trying to fish another pole farther out, and just dropping the Waxworm straight down on the left side near the end of the pier, and every time I tried to cast the other pole, I would already have a fish on the Waxworm. All put together, the 13 fish would have barely added up to a decent size Bluegill:Confused: but it was fun. I eventually caught a couple of keeper Bluegills and a couple of keeper Redears, plus a 14 inch Bass I released of course, farther out but nothing very noteworthy except for the huge number of little ones on the single Waxworm. Those things are tough. The fish finally stopped biting on what was left of it, so I threw the rest into the lake.

What is the most number of fish you have caught on a single natural bait? On a single artificial?

I have caught bunches of fish on a single artificial numerous times, but cannot remember any specific number. However, I heard another fisherman recently saying that he had caught something like 200 Bass on the same lure. But he also claimed to have caught 337 Crappie from the same downed tree that fell into the water at Silverwood one day, over 900 total for 3 guys, so who knows? :Confused:

[ART HILL]

I once caught 7 fish on the same 4 inch plastic worm while dropshotting. I kept biting the end off to re-hook the bait after evey fish, and the worm finally flew off the hook during a cast. The worm was only about a 2 1/2 inch worm by then. They were all rats, but we were having fun with it while it lasted.

[Natural Lefty]

Hello Art. I have had jigs I caught fish on (mostly Crappie) until the plastic totally wore out. I didn't keep track of how many fish I caught on them, though, and I didn't bite the end off. If the worm hadn't fallen off the hook, you probably would have caught 7 more on it.

By the way, I used to go to Vail Lake with my dad all the time when I was growing up. It was open to the public like Henshaw Lake still is, and you had to pay $5 each for fishing permits. I think I caught my first Crappie and first LMB there and we nearly always caught something while shore fishing. We called it "never fail Vail."

[TUNAVIC]

Multiple Sandbass on one swim bait fish trap style,it was one time during the spawn on the flats,we were drift fishing in my 18ft skiff,we started catching them and they stayed under the boat as we drifted for at least two hours,that one bait with nothing on it got so beat up I ended up just fishing a chunk of it on the leadhead because they had eaten the tail and half the body off,I don't know the exact count,but I can assure you it was more than 15fish on that one bait.avg fish 3-5lbs.

Cya Tuna Vic

[Thisfool]

ive caught about 4-5 vermilion, sculpins a on the same strip of squid

and once at Irvine when i caught the stocking truck i caught 6 trout on the same trout king jigg

[The Fishing Queen]

I have to say crappies. In the beginning of June, I went to the mountain lake and fished for panfish. I was catching some bluegills on and off from 5:30 - 7:00 pm with an Elk Caddis fly. Then after 7 pm, I found a honey hole full of crappies and I had a fish on the fly almost every cast. I estimated maybe 60-70 crappies that night. I was fishing in the bright full moon ( and there was a street light behind of me) until my husband called my cell. He was getting worried because I wasn't home and it was almost close to 10pm. I was the only one fishing in that lake by that time and I guess that I had too much fun that day and didn't want to quit. It was very romantic fishing under the moonlight all by myself.

[old pudd fisher]

Black 4 inch plastic worm at the sail boat cove after a rain it was 1976, caught and released about 9 or so that were around 1 or more pounds. They were fly lined with 4# line. I went home happy. Oh I forgot to say it was at the pudd and they were bass.

[plumbertom]

Not exactly a bait but using a Kastmaster 3/8 oz chrome lure At lake Nacimiento, I've caught over 100 white bass, black bass, blue gill and crappie combined in one day of fishing.

[Natural Lefty]

Yes, Plumbertom, lures count too. Saltwater anecdotes are fine too. I just posted this in freshwater because I had to choose one or the other, and my 13 Bluegills on one Waxworm was in freshwater, plus, I haven't been fishing saltwater lately. That's a great catch at Naciemiento. I have always wanted to go there but have never been.

Thanks for all the anecdotes so far. I hope they keep coming. I did think of another sort of personal record that I kept track of. About 15 years ago at Perris, when the water level was higher, I caught Bluegills on 9 casts in a row using a bobber and fly. I think I was using a mosquito imitation and this was at Sail Cove, in September I think. Once, at Vail Lake when I was a teenager I think, my father and I kept track of all the Crappie we caught, and it turned out to be over 160, all on jigs. The Crappie were overpopulaed there for some reason at that time, and they were all small, like 6 inches.

Old Pudd Fisher, fishing is often very good during or after an unseasonal rain during the warmer months.

Fishing Queen, that was a great story about the cockatiel, but I have been so preoccupied, I didn't reply. We have had a bunch of birds nesting this year at my house in Moreno Valley for some reason, and I did successfully save one that fell out of its nest and into my cat Gorjilina's mouth. Another one actually got its leg stuck in its own nest somehow. I managed to free it after a lot of effort, and it flew toward the honeysuckle hedge, but to our dismay, it wound up as cat food for Gorjilina a moment later. We can't seem to explain to her how to distinguish between "good" prey (such as gophers, rats and mice) and "bad" prey (such as birds and lizards). My mom is a big bird watcher and feeder, of native birds. They have even had Blue Herons, and Mallard Ducks visit their fish pond and pool. When I first went to college, there was a guy we called Frank Romeo Cockatiel who went around with a Cockatiel on his shoulder. He used that to attract the gals, I think, but I don't know what he did with the bird when he went on a date.

I think I know which lake you were at, and I have often caught bunches of small Crappie there, myself, usually on jigs until the jig was beat up and fell off. I have caught some on flies there, too. Occasionally, I have caught some larger, 8-9 1/2 inch Crappie there, too, but not often.

Tunavic, I have never fished for Sand Bass or Kelp Bass from a boat but it sounds like a blast.

Thisfool, Squid is another one of those tough baits that you can catch a lot of fish on. I like using it too when fish are biting, for its durability, especially when fish keep stripping other baits off the hook.

[smokehound]

I generally try to get the most use out of a soft plastic as possible.


When I'm using grubs or brush hogs, I'll take my lighter and melt the damaged portion back together, provided the tail hasn't been ripped off completely.

I was re-using the same lure over and over Until it finally just fell apart.

I had around 10 baybass on just one brush hog knockoff. The smell doesn't repel fish, either.


When I was using earwigs as bluegill bait, they stayed on the hook for around 2-3 fish, then got ripped off.

[Natural Lefty]

I remember a report which mentioned my friend SirBluegill using earwigs for bait, and I think he was putting it on the fly I gave him. I guess those earwigs really work.

I have never thought of trying to mend the plastic on a jig. I am sure that would work for awhile, but I don't carry any lighters or matches. I remember when I was a kid, we used to have these molds for pouring plastic in, but they made toy dinosaurs, not fishing lures. My parents should have gotten me one that made fishing jigs instead of dinosaurs -- nothing against dinosaurs though -);

[smokehound]

I remember a report which mentioned my friend SirBluegill using earwigs for bait, and I think he was putting it on the fly I gave him. I guess those earwigs really work.

I have never thought of trying to mend the plastic on a jig. I am sure that would work for awhile, but I don't carry any lighters or matches. I remember when I was a kid, we used to have these molds for pouring plastic in, but they made toy dinosaurs, not fishing lures. My parents should have gotten me one that made fishing jigs instead of dinosaurs -- nothing against dinosaurs though -); The stinkier the insect, the better!

Earwigs release a foul odor as a defense and fish REALLY like the scent.

Green Stink Bugs (pictured below) work well, too!

http://www.utcrops.com/cotton/cotton_insects/images/GreenSB-adult.jpg

You can attract these by allowing Mallow to grow, they flock by the hundreds to these plants:

http://www.msuturfweeds.net/images/galleries/mallow/1.jpg

Leaf-Footed plant bugs (pictured below) are also a great bait, they get to an inch long, so they're large enough for bigger hooks. They also release a foul odor like green stinkbugs, and like their relatives, they are very tough and stay on the hook. They really like roses, so if your rose plant looks like crap, you might have an infestation.. They look freaky but they cant bite you. Look for damaged unopened rosebuds. They will hide on the dried dead rose hips.

http://www.treeplantflowerid.com/documents/Insects/Hemiptera/leaf_footed_bugs.jpg

All of these have a tough shell and will stay on after several bluegill attack!

[Natural Lefty]

Thank you, Smokehound. You are truly a fount of information about various lifeforms. I mean that sincerely. I have not been seeing any Green Stink Bugs or Leaf-Footed Plant Bugs around here, though. Earwigs, on the other hand, are quite common around here.