hungry for whitebait Snook love Pilchards - and they aren't the
only ones! photo: Merrybeth Ryan All about fishing with live
bait.  Why Natural Bait?  Like the song says, there's nothing
like the real thing, baby. I'm an avid fan of artificial lures -
mainly flies and plugs - but it's impossible to argue that, day
in and day out, live bait in its many forms catches more fish
than artificials. It's relatively easy to acquire, gets the
attention of hungry snook and is the best way to prospect for
fish in new water. And added bonus: fishing live bait is the
best way for a novice angler to learn the sport, as it
dramatically increases the odds of at least hooking something
that will pull back, even for folks who don't know how to crank
a reel.  whitebait aka pilchards a favorite live bait is
imitated in flies and plastics photo: Brett Fitzgerald  There
are two ways to acquire natural bait: buy it or get it yourself.
If you opt to buy it, your choices will be limited. Most bait
shops and marinas carry shrimp, and