Article by Sue Foster
“Do anglers still use Fishbites?”
Fads in fishing, like styles of clothing, come and go all the time. But one fishing product that has continued to be popular year after year is Fishbites. When I go to a buying show in the winter, I might buy six of this and a dozen of that, but when I buy Fishbites, I buy over a thousand!
“What is this stuff?”
In a nut shell, Fishbites are “fake bait.” The company explains their product as such: “Fishbites products are infused with a concentrated flavor/scent that replicates natural feeding stimulants and creates a powerful scent trail, so you’ll catch more fish.” Several companies have tried to copy Fishbites, but none have succeeded. The process is a well kept secret.
Fishbites were invented by Dr. William Carr from St Augustine, FL in 2001. He is a marine researcher and angler. The family business continues to make this product in St. Augustine.
Although many of their products are not as popular in our area as they used to be, the one product that continues to be extremely popular is the Fishbites Bag O' Worms. These “fake bloodworms” are actually little strips of “bubble gum” looking material that are infused on a piece of white mesh. They need no refrigeration and they retain their scent for over a year. If you keep them over the winter, take them out of the tackle box and store them in the house in a dark place like a dresser drawer. You can also put them in the refrigerator. Extreme heat and extreme light can take away their color after a long period of time. Keep the package closed and sealed.
“How do you use them?”
Fishbites are simple to use and great for kids (and parents) that are scared to touch real bloodworms. They are less expensive than real bloodworms and are an available bait when the tackle stores are temporarily out of bloodworms. They are non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The product will slowly melt in the water, attracting the fish.
Cut a small piece of the material off, and put it on the hook. The white mesh helps keep it on the hook. If you are fishing for small fish like spot, just use a small little square of the FishBites. If you are surf fishing for kingfish, spot and croaker, use a little longer piece.
I believe in combo baits. When surf fishing, I like to use about a ½-inch piece of the bloodworm Fishbites and combo it with a little triangle of box squid (I think surf fish like the dirty squid over the cleaned stuff). Another great bait to combo with the Fishbites bloodworms is fresh or frozen bunker. Bunker is a natural bait in the surf, is oily and gives out a nice fresh scent of its own. Putting on a little strip of this natural bait with a ½-inch strip of FishBites bloodworm on a kingfish rig with size #6 hooks will give you a bait that is hard to resist. If you don’t like using bunker, fillet the side of a finger mullet with a sharp bait knife and cut it in about three pieces. Combo this with your Fishbites on the kingfish rig. Another option is to just start fishing with the Fishbites Bloodworm till you catch a Norfolk spot or snapper bluefish. Fillet the fish into small strips and use it in combination with the FishBites Bloodworm.
I noticed this spring that the Fishbites Crab flavored strips became quite popular in the surf on Assateague and on the Delaware beaches for black drum. Most of the anglers dug up sand fleas (mole crabs) on the beach and combined the Fishbites Crab Strips (chartreuse color was most popular) with a couple of sand crabs on the hook and had great success.
In the fall, FishBites Clam Strips become popular for red and black drum. Orange is a good color for this bait. Again, anglers usually combo these strips with sand fleas and/or real clam or bunker.
Change your baits! Whether using real bait or fake bait, pulling off the bait that has been on there for over a half hour is a good idea. Put on a fresh piece rather than continuing to use a piece that is half melted away.
Fishbites also has a bloodworm product out in a red package that is a faster release product. I like to use this because, since there isn’t any mesh, you don’t have to pull out the scissors to get the white mesh off the hook.
I also had a customer come in the other day to say he added the Fishbites Bloodworm Fishy Sauce to his Fishbites Bloodworm strips and thought it made a big difference. I haven’t tried that yet. You can also drip some of the Fin-Essence Shedder Crab Oil on your Fishbites. More scent is never enough as far as I am concerned. Don’t try to soak the Fishbites first, or you will have a mass of red jelly! Put it on dry, and then dribble any essences on it.
Speaking of, when you cut a piece of fishbites off, never put a wet piece in the dry ziplock bag.
Fishbites Bag O’ Worms is also good for flounder fishing! I know a lot of anglers that take a 1-inch piece of the red material and hang it next to the minnow or shiner bait instead of a squid strip. It’s attractive, red, gives off scent and cleaner than using squid.
People fishing in the bay also use Fishbites in combination with a squid strip on a size #4 hook for croaker, blowfish, little sea bass, small sea trout or any other panfish caught in the bay off the bulkhead, piers or around the Route 90 Bridge. When croakers arrive in mass, the Fishbites Shrimp flavored Fish Strips are also popular. I like the pink color in that one.
Fishbites also comes in squid flavored strips. I’ve never been especially impressed with it, but maybe I didn’t give it enough time. I imagine it would work fine offshore for sea bass combined with a piece a clam or shiner. Since flounder are site feeders, it would look nice on the hook next to a minnow or shiner. Personally though, I’d stick to the bloodworm flavor! It’s the best!
Good fishing….
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.
