Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi everyone, i was wondering....... Well first of all I should tell you I checked regulations and anything caught can be used as bait. So in the spring when bass spawn is live bait fish a good option? And if so what is the best way to get the baitfish?Traps?possible little salmon egg hooks/small jigs? Does anyone know any places where you can buy native bait fish? And if traps is a good option, what is the best place to set them?Weedlines?In the weeds?rocks? Thanks everyone, Logan

NOOOOO LIVE BAIT FOR BEDDING BASS!!!!!

They'll swallow it and DIE!

My understanding is NO LIVE BAIT FISH IS TO BE USED FOR ANY FISHING IN WASHINGTON STATE.

Bait Rules

It is unlawful to chum or broadcast any
substance to attract game fish.
Where use of bait is prohibited, or where lures
or flies are used voluntarily, game fish may
be caught and released until the daily limit is
retained. If any fish has swallowed the hook or
is hooked in the gill, eye, or tongue, it should
be kept if legal to do so.
It is unlawful to possess or use live aquatic
animals as bait, except:
1. Live aquatic animals (other than fish)
collected from the water being fished.
2. Live sand shrimp.
3. Live forage fish in the Columbia River
downstream of the Rocky Point/Tongue
Point line.

Logan Little wrote:Hi everyone, i was wondering....... Well first of all I should tell you I checked regulations and anything caught can be used as bait. So in the spring when bass spawn is live bait fish a good option? And if so what is the best way to get the baitfish?Traps?possible little salmon egg hooks/small jigs? Does anyone know any places where you can buy native bait fish? And if traps is a good option, what is the best place to set them?Weedlines?In the weeds?rocks? Thanks everyone, Logan

no live bait whatsoever in state of WA.

ckim85 wrote:

Logan Little wrote:Hi everyone, i was wondering....... Well first of all I should tell you I checked regulations and anything caught can be used as bait. So in the spring when bass spawn is live bait fish a good option? And if so what is the best way to get the baitfish?Traps?possible little salmon egg hooks/small jigs? Does anyone know any places where you can buy native bait fish? And if traps is a good option, what is the best place to set them?Weedlines?In the weeds?rocks? Thanks everyone, Logan

no live bait whatsoever in state of WA.

so i take it that you use dead worms!!!!!!!:-"

panfisher wrote:

ckim85 wrote:

Logan Little wrote:Hi everyone, i was wondering....... Well first of all I should tell you I checked regulations and anything caught can be used as bait. So in the spring when bass spawn is live bait fish a good option? And if so what is the best way to get the baitfish?Traps?possible little salmon egg hooks/small jigs? Does anyone know any places where you can buy native bait fish? And if traps is a good option, what is the best place to set them?Weedlines?In the weeds?rocks? Thanks everyone, Logan

no live bait whatsoever in state of WA.

so i take it that you use dead worms!!!!!!!:-"

correct.

jk. i meant to say live bait fish lol.

ckim85 wrote:

Logan Little wrote:Hi everyone, i was wondering....... Well first of all I should tell you I checked regulations and anything caught can be used as bait. So in the spring when bass spawn is live bait fish a good option? And if so what is the best way to get the baitfish?Traps?possible little salmon egg hooks/small jigs? Does anyone know any places where you can buy native bait fish? And if traps is a good option, what is the best place to set them?Weedlines?In the weeds?rocks? Thanks everyone, Logan

no live bait whatsoever in state of WA.

not 100% correct.

as mentioned above, it is not legal to use live fish for bait.

But this rule only applies to freshwater. You can use live fish for bait in saltwater.

Really? thats good news.
a guy over at Edmonds was yelling at some kid for using those small perch as bait saying it was illegal. Must've been wrong.

ckim85 wrote:Really? thats good news.
a guy over at Edmonds was yelling at some kid for using those small perch as bait saying it was illegal. Must've been wrong.

Yeah, that guy was wrong. If he was yelling about it, all I can say is what an idiot.

I think we dealt with this topic before and I was smacked over the head with a frozen fish and got a headache in the process.

Regs said something regarding you can't use live bait for catching game fish.

However - many years ago when I was thinner and had more brain cells than I have now and was more prone to doing something stupid.... not that I've never done anything stupid... a game warden came down to the Edmonds pier and gave somebody the riot act for using live herring. The person was ticketed for it... Anyways the guy was :bounce: hopping mad about it and was cussing up a blue streak:-# . The warden was making multiple issues and one of them was that the live herring was going to attract the harbor seals and the gulls. Well as you likely know the harbor seals don't care if the herring is dead, live, or plugged.

Good news is that warden's no longer around.