Article by Sue Foster
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about using Fishbite bloodworm alternative lately. How much do I use? Are they as good as real bloodworms? Come on now, do they really work? What fish bite on them?
Well, nothing works as well as a real, live bloodworm, but Fishbite bloodworm alternative is the next best thing! Third in line would be a live night crawler.
“They look like bubblegum. How could such a thing work?”
Well, there is a story behind the package. Actually, there is a scientist behind the package. If you go to their website (www.fishbites.com) you will find this background story of how Fishbites were invented:
“Fishbites is the result of a lifelong passion for fishing and decades of scientific research. Carr Specialty Baits, Inc., maker of Fishbites, is a family-owned and operated business founded in 2000 in St. Augustine, Florida, by avid angler and world renowned marine researcher Dr. William Carr.
A University of Florida professor for more than 30 years and a founding scientist of the C.V. Whitney Marine Laboratory in Marineland, Florida, Dr. Carr devoted his career to studying the feeding behaviors of marine species. His pioneering research methods led to key findings about the chemical stimulants fish use to detect and track their prey.
What Carr discovered, contrary to popular belief, is there is little in common between what humans smell in the air and what fish detect in the water. Fish can only detect and react to chemicals that have been dissolved in water. Odors that persist in the air do not necessarily dissolve in water and are therefore not detectable or attractive to fish.
Hence, Carr Specialty Baits focused on replicating natural, water-soluble feeding stimulants in the lab, and then creating a more refined and potent form of them. Along the way he also discovered that flavor was equally important in hooking a fish. It wasn’t enough that fish merely check-out the bait with a quick nibble. They had to want to eat it because of the flavors associated with the smell they’re detecting. Having now discovered this two-part formula, Dr. Carr then took that highly refined and concentrated flavor/scent and created an underwater delivery system that stays on the hook much better than natural bait and keeps emitting flavor/scents many times longer than natural baits. Fishbites were born. This ingenious breakthrough represented a new era in fishing bait technology. The Fishbites line of products continues to grow with more flavor/scents and more hi-tech materials to infuse our flavor/scents into. Our mission was, and still is, to produce clean, convenient, environmentally friendly, and very effective alternatives to natural cut bait and live bait. Today, we’re not only hooking thousands of fish, but hooking new believers from coast-to-coast.”
Fishbite Bloodworms look like bubblegum strips but act like bloodworm. The long lasting pack, in the blue package, has a white mesh that helps hold the bait on the hook. When the red bait is gone, only the white mesh is left behind and you need to cut it off the hook. The red package of Fishbite bloodworm does not have any mesh. It is called fast release, and does not last nearly as long. The blue package, with the mesh is the most popular, but there are a few anglers that do not like cutting off the mesh and prefer the red package. Yes, that’s me!
“How big of a piece do you use?”
Depends on what you are catching. If you are catching small bait fish like spot in the canals or up at Northside Park at 125th St, you only want a tiny piece. If you are targeting something like croaker while drifting in the bay, you can go to an inch long strip. For croaker in the bay, orange crab or clam Fishbites are also effective. They are larger, thicker and last even longer on the hook than the Bloodworm. You can also combo your Fishbites with a little strip of box squid or piece of clam if you are targeting larger croaker in the bay while drifting in your boat.
If you are surf fishing for kingfish, larger spot or croaker, many anglers like to use a piece about an inch long and combo the Fishbites with a little strip of box squid or carefully cut a strip of finger mullet or fresh bunker. I like to wait and catch a legal bluefish or spot and fillet that up in small strips with a sharp knife and put that on the hook with the Fishbite strip.
Hint: If you scale the fish, it’s easier to put the strip on the hook. Use a pre-made kingfish rig with size #6 hooks.
If the bait is on your hook for a long time without a bite, cut it off and put on a fresh strip of Fishbites. This can make a big difference. This is true of all fishing and baits. You need to change them once in a while!
“Do they work as well as real bloodworms?”
You will get lots of answers to that question. For a fish like a croaker that eats about anything, the answer is usually YES! As for spot, I think there’s nothing like a real bloodworm, but if they are biting fast and furious, it doesn’t much matter. One thing is for sure, Fishbites will stay on the hook a lot longer than a real bloodworm, and you won’t catch ANY fish if you don’t have any bait on your hook! They are also half the price and you can keep them in your tackle box almost indefinitely, but be sure to zip-lock them back up or they will dry out.
Anglers that are not familiar with bloodworms need to know one thing so they do not scare their kids. Bloodworms have suckers that can grab hold of you like a leech! You need to put them on a cutting board and cut them into pieces. Then they can’t bite! You only need a small piece of bloodworm and you need to thread it on the curve of the hook. There is no need to put a whole bloodworm on the hook this time of year. (Maybe in the spring and fall for stripers!) Use small hooks for bloodworms or Fishbites this time of year. It’s a waste of time to use them on a large hook! You will get nibbles but no fish!
Nightcrawlers are really freshwater bait and have no blood in them. They will work in the bay for croaker and spot as long as the fish are biting fast. Nightcrawlers will wash out quickly. Again, you just need a small piece to cover the hook. Nightcrawlers are half the price of Fishbites, so they are the least expensive bait to use. Not the best, but the least expensive worm to buy.
“Will stripers bite on Fishbites?”
Usually real bloodworms are best for stripers. Occasionally someone will catch a striper on Fishbites but it is not the norm. Kingfish, spot, blowfish, sand perch and croaker are the fish that like Fishbites the best.
“Are there any other brands of Alternative Bloodworm Baits that work as well as Fishbites? “
Well, some people like the Berkley Gulp! version of bloodworms but sales will tell you the tale. We go through thousands of packs of Fishbite bloodworms per season and dozens of packs of the Bloodworm Gulp!
It’s easy, clean, environmentally friendly, and it works! What more could you want?
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.