Lure or bait

Question
i am a beginner at fishing and i was wondering do i use lure instead of bait or aswell as?

Answer
Joe; The answer to this question is a definite "IT DEPENDS".

What I mean by this is some kinds of fishing virtually require the use of live or "meat" bait because the fish do not feed  on anything that isn't right.  However, most fish will hit an artificial lure often better than they do live bait.

If you are fishing for catfish of almost any kind you will do much better with bait of some kind.  Most catfish, with exception of the flathead cat  are scavengers depending on smell to find  food.

Fish like bass all types will hit lures often better than a live bait.  Fish like bluegills, yellow perch, shellcrackers will bite a worm or cricket much more often than an artificial.  There are people who will disagree saying that these fish hit flies better.  This may be true but most people are not fly fishermen.

So the best answer I can give is choose that which best fits the fish you are going after.

Since I  fish for fun not meat in my later years I do not often use any kind of bait but use a hundred or more lures at different times.

I hope this less than definitive answer helps.  Thank you for calling on me to answer it.  If you have future questions don't hesitate calling on me.

I am
Jack L. Gaither  (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia