Fishbites Bait for Surf Fishing: Impressive Results

Finding the best bait for surf fishing is essential to catching fish and having success in the surf. If you’re not using the right bait, you’re simply not going to catch fish. During the summertime, it’s easy; the best bait for surf fishing is usually sand crabs. But what happens when the sand crabs go away? To answer that question, I’m going to be talking about Fishbites.

I wrote a recent article on the best bait for surf fishing (alternatives to sand crabs) earlier this summer. Right around that time, I was introduced to another bait alternative called “Fishbites”. I had been hearing about these baits for some time now and was skeptical at first. I’ve always been a big believer of live bait whether its sand crabs, clams, or mussel, but when sand crabs disperse, it’s nice to have a back up.

Clams and mussels are great, but finding a productive artificial could be a valuable asset. I always carry a bag of Gulp sandworms camo color just in case sand crabs are truly impossible to find and/or the fish just aren’t biting. I’ll likely still be keeping the sand worms in the arsenal, but after experimenting with Fishbites for the past month, I’ve had some impressive results. Of all the artificial baits (not lures) I’ve used, Fishbites are seemingly the best artificial bait for surf fishing. So far, they’ve hooked yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, corbina, and some rays.

Fishbites

I’ve spent the last month experimenting different colors and “flavors” of this brand and thus far this is my take:

E-Z Flea

The most productive Fishbites color for surf fishing has been “E-Z Flea” (orange and white). These are supposed to resemble a sand crab. Now, I know if you’ve yet to use or hear about “Fishbites”, when you click that link, you might be quite hesitant. I was too. I opened them up, took a peak, and said to myself, “how could this possibly work?”. They don’t look very much like anything.

But trust me, these things are no joke. I tested them against sand crabs and they give crabs a run for their money. I’d still be inclined to believe sand crabs are the top bait, but fish bites E-Z Flea are close; maybe about 80-85% as effective (that’s an estimate from my experiences thus far). They come in a long strip and you actually cut them into bite-size bait pieces. I’ve found that for this specific model, square shaped pieces work best; at longest, I’d cut them just slightly longer than they are wide.

I think the bright orange might actually resemble the eggs on female sand crabs. If you’ve ever fished with sand crabs, you’ve likely experienced fish nibbling right through those eggs while leaving the rest if the crab (and your hook) behind. So, that factor is definitely one thing these Fishbites have going for them. Another is their durability. you can easily catch 2 or 3 fish on the same bait before it goes bad or falls off. Additionally, they don’t smell until they’re in the water! That’s a nice trade-off compared to Gulp’s sadnworms.

My Experiences with Fishbites

In order for you guys to have a clear picture and idea of my experiences using Fishbites, take a look at the Exact Rod and Reel and Set-Ups (Gear and tackle) I use when I’m surf fishing. The light tackle set-up towards the bottom of the linked page is exactly what I used to test Fishbites.

An area of concern for me was that these artificials would only attract small fish and tiny little nibblers. While I still do believe that these will attract more smaller fish than sand crabs do, they certainly bring in the big ones too.

Now, it’s absolutely awesome to have the option to use an alternate bait to sand crabs in the summertime. But, the real benefit to having alternate baits comes in the late-fall through early-spring. When sand crabs are gone, there’s a good chance these Fishbites will be my go to for the c-rig. I’ll either be using these or throwing Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110s to get on the Halibut bite.

I’ve had multiple occasions where I switched from sand crabs too E-Z Flea or even E-Z crab and hooked up immediately. Although I’ve also had occasions where I switched from Fishbites to sand crabs and hooked up immediately, it’s worth noting that these things have some serious potential. In fact, my first cast using the E-Z Crab, I got bites, where my first cast on E-Z Flea, I hooked up on this nice yellowfin croaker.

E-Z Crab and Bag O’ Worms

The next best results for me have come on Fishbites E-Z crab (electric chicken) and Bag O’ Worms blood worms as well as sand worms. I would say the E-Z crab has produced much of the same that the E-Z Fleas have. They attract yellowfin croaker like nobody’s business and they’re solid for spotfin croaker too. Corbina are the next most frequent catch using these and then perch.

For the Bag O’ Worms, perch have been the number one catch, followed by corbina and yellowfin croaker being tied for second. I’ve yet to get a spotfin on the sand worms, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they take on the worms too. For the color/flavor, both the pure red ones as well as the red/chartreuse work well.