Beach Fishing w/ FRESH Bait VS FROZEN Bait - Which works better? (Fall Fishing 2020)

What’s the real difference between fresh caught fishing bait and frozen fishing bait? Does one work better for saltwater beach fishing? Is it worth it to catch your own bait? And how can you tell if bait shops are actually selling fresh bait or not? Today, I will show you exactly how to determine whether a bait is actually fresh or not and we will also be testing which bait works better. Which bait do you think will win? Comment below!
This week, we are fishing in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We are out camping on the beach and practically fishing 24/7. I’m hoping to use my scavenged bait to target some trout or maybe a big red drum, but I’m also just excited to see what Mother Nature throws at me.
0:00 Intro
1:02 The difference between baits
4:45 Baiting up/Casting out our rods
9:56 First fish
13:08 What will we catch?
22:27 Wildcard catch!
24:23 Conclusion
27:41 BLOOPERS
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[@SuperBlazain]

Love when someone makes a video comparing two things and throughout the whole thing is biased towards one side

[@ryanking4642]

Not to mention that they were completely different baits so it wasn't a fair test

[@goobygoober_69]

Yeah. They were also two different types of bait fish. I used to watch this guy a lot but it’s just the same shit over and over.

[@matthewh117]

@@goobygoober_69 But he is a master baiter

[@aquawarrior4567]

This test is pointless the water the fish everything is different whenever you go fishing some days the fish want fresh bait other times just frozen hell some days they won’t touch both and only want lures. Still love the Channel tight lines to you and your wife 💪🏾 🎣

[@triptre3638]

What you can also do is when it’s not fresh bait.... Get yourself some elastic string and wrap it! It’s not coming off then. It also helps from the crabs going a job on your bait too.

[@junballs6576]

Or them surgical finger gauze. Been using them for thawed shrimp. Works like a charm.

[@fuzzy_little_duckling]

HELLO AGAIN!!!! Thank you so much for creating these fun and informational videos! They have helped me improve a lot! I hope you have a great day, Brendon and Erin!!

[@HeySkipper]

Happy to help:)

[@ianlaccohee7180]

Two words, bait elastic.

[@howardandjanetaylor4250]

Q

[@sangerbois]

Man you’re so close by. I Wish I could make a trip out to see you at one of my families fav shore fishing area (the amazing putter banks). You’re doing one hell of a job skipper. Keep it up 👍🏽

[@screwballjoe3039]

Great content defiantly seem like a chill dude to fish with First video I’ve seen

[@Professor4555]

Any bait elastic thread could solve bait flying off the hook, it's so common in the UK and South Africa , it even helps with the small fish cleaning up your bait

[@brianferris1233]

thank you for posting your video 👍

[@mikkofishingadventures7986]

Very nice tutorials bro amazing tynx for the new idea 💪👍🎣🐟🐟

[@jerradjankowski3930]

Love your videos. I am absolutely excited to go surf fishing. Frozen bait loses it's firmness not because of decomposition, but because freezing cells causes ice crystals to form, which ruptures the cell. The smaller the cells, the better the chances are that it won't happen. Flash freezing will reduce this, but ice crystals can still occur.

[@lethalj21]

When I use frozen, I never let it thaw out. I cut and place it on the hook while still frozen.

[@mudassirfishing]

Your channel one of my favorite YT channels ever. Awesome video keep going,

[@HeySkipper]

Thank you:)

[@mudassirfishing]

@@HeySkipper You R Welcome

[@brandonpierce4412]

Fresh is always best in my experiences. Love the channel

[@easylistening1377]

Thank you.

[@susystem7901]

broo the intro gets me so pumped

[@HeySkipper]

👍✊

[@albertoreyes9509]

Love to watch your video regarding techniques on surf fishing with bait from frozen and fresh baits.

[@frankiev-tech4630]

Awesome you guys you brought this video up...I'd like to share something that works wonders on old frozen bait...this was shared with a great fisherman down here in Miami if you need to buy bait on the cheap...what I usually buy is frozen shrimp and frozen pilchards whenever it's difficult to find fresh white bait...get a 5 gallon bucket full of fresh saltwater...dump the amount enough you're going to use for the amount of time and put the rest back in your cooler...add to the water garlic salt mix...I'd say about 1/4 of the bottle...garlic salt is very strong...you'll see in about 10min or wait till they firm up and also the garlic salt scent makes more attractive. Believe me you'll be surprised how firm they get like as hard as just catching a fresh fish. Ive caught all sorts of slammers from 18" to 20" snapper, sharks, ladyfish, trout, red fish, etc...works everytime!

[@scrobtimusprime]

New product from Hey Skipper: Panty bits! Salted pantyhose for frozen bait rigs. Stays on the hook, every time!

[@wade0069]

You need 2 buy bait cotton 4 those kinda soft baits

[@jacosdrumworx9319]

Hey skipper i love your videos. Shout out from South Africa

[@jamesmullin6371]

I'm in Texas. I'm still new too the off shore fishing. I am watching you all the time. I will be trying a lot of your tricks

[@jjmangelsweet]

I love OBX fishing.. especially in late fall/winter.. hardly anyone there.. beer & fish.. niceeeee

[@martindevilliers1345]

fish like sardines that's not fresh are good bait, you use them with a combination of sardine and octopus together big fish loves it.if there's small peckers, they will feed on the sardine that's soft but won't eat the octopus for its much tougher. This attracts the big fish.

[@justinbiondi]

Hey man, if you ever have soft baits, use elasticated bait thread. You can buy it at some baits shops around NC but definitely online. Let me know if you have ever used it before!

[@vincentimportante5185]

I also have that problem, but since I used elastic threads my bait stayed on the hook longer. I have to spend quite a bit of time tying the bait on, but it's worth it.

[@Willywado1973]

When you're using soft mushy old bait..you can't cut it in sections. You have cut them in only two pieces. Cut it n half...use head or tail.. guaranteed it'll stay longer on hook..but you have to constantly check the bait.. because it gets softer the longer it sits in water..love your show..thanks for the great tips,my brother...GB

[@manuelbover4816]

you're complicating it too much when you have mushy bait hook it twice. and here's another idea take rubber bands and put it around it and it will hold give it a try remember sometimes you can't get fresh bait so you have to settle for what you got. Good luck

[@joedoordash4560]

Great point

[@mixiepalms8338]

in the uk we use bait elastic for frozen baits,. Whip it to the hook and it doesn't fly off. ps do you ship to the uk? re salted baits? I am going on a boat trip in November. would be fun seeing if they work over here. regards Mick

[@BasicFishingNZ]

some baits you can get fresh but some baits that are impossible to get fresh haha i prefer fresh because i can buy the exact amount of bait i need for the day and have no left overs. freezing bait and using it again for me personally is no good. but usually for frozen bait unless its squid, i always use bait cotton to keep the bait on the hook.

[@roderickjefferson1438]

Hi Skipper, Thanks for sharing your fishing secrets. Where can I buy the bait Scissors from? Brand? Thanks for all you do!!

[@bgmedia4199]

To keep my bait on the hook i use my bait band to tie it on, nice fish good video thanks for sharing

[@sammas2184]

Using Magic thread helps hold the bait for "soft bait"

[@michaeleverton4882]

Yes, indeed, - bait cotton! !🙂 🐟🎣🐠🎣🐟 🙂!

[@sockgoblinamazingwtf6511]

We call it ghost cocoon

[@olmeijer67]

Yep, bait elastic keep soft bait on

[@FishingwithTruth]

Great video as usual guys. Blue fish eats anything but the experiment was interesting. Fresh bait is obviously best

[@jons868]

First time seeing a speck hitting on cut bait. Nice bro!

[@myanponugoti2271]

love the videos

[@clintlong5268]

Awesome video champ 👍

[@clintlong5268]

Thanks for watching

[@teopaladuta5038]

hey skipper, I watch with interest your channel and I learned many things from it. I would like to know what reel do you use in this video? I mean the long cast one thanks Teo Luca

[@sightfish]

Hey y’all !!! I love using Freshly caught spot as bait! Redfish love it 🔥💪

[@jedipokemob3940]

Where are you at

[@HeySkipper]

I would totally but I couldn’t find any spot!

[@beckyzimmerman1915]

@@HeySkipper what's up man love your vids I just wanted to reach out to you and I have a video suggestions feel free to comment me back if your interested! 😀

[@sightfish]

@@jedipokemob3940 Virginia Beach Virginia

[@jedipokemob3940]

@@sightfish took you a week to respond 😂😂 but thank you for responding have a good day

[@imthebestthingsinceslicedr5400]

Hey Skipper can you do a vid on when to go fishing when theres a cold front coming now that its fall season? Thanks again for creating content to inform new fishermen to the joys of fishing

[@flukeguru1]

I see you fishing with a peculiar sinker that I saw before. What type of sinker is it? I also like the rods you are using. Where can I purchase it and how much are they? I definitely love the videos. I also like the bait boxes. how much and where do I pick them up..

[@robertmckee5737]

here in Scotland we tie frozen/soft bait with bait elastic along the shank and keep the barb clear if you can't get the bait elastic try sewing thread/cotton that will keep the bait on and last a bit longer also it will stay on the hook when you cast Rab fae Scotland

[@michaelmassey2396]

I needed to hear that..

[@SaintJohnWaiting]

I fish the southern OBX almost weekly, hope to bump into you sometime! They also changed the limit for blue down to 3 for 2020. Truly bums me out.

[@559kingsucker]

There’s a thread call magic thread that just tie it around the bait to kept hold on to the hook so wen u cast off ur bait won’t fly off

[@IrfanMukadam.]

Your videos look so awesome. Which camera do you use to film your videos?

[@vishnuvijayan5900]

Love ur videos.. ❤️ Do a handline fishing..?

[@fishingsodium904]

Dont know how you can compare the 2 because it looks like mullet and the other is croaker. These 2 baits are totally different

[@svgblurkilla5363]

It’s not the about the bait it’s about the quality of it

[@dalfonzowilliams4792]

New subscriber here! Love the videos. I like seeing fishing videos where you have 'real people problems' like bait flying off, bad cast, etc. Are your salted baits in stores?

[@fish-n-chip4482]

I always put a lot of salt on the fish when I freeze them. they stay firm that way.

[@ddselvig]

When I fish for walleyes in Manitoba I can't use live minnows. So, I have to use frozen salted shiner minnows. The fish gobble them up, but they are very delicate when trying to cast them. Quite often they fly off the jig hook when I cast. To remedy that I pull about a dozen salted minnows out of the container and leave them in the open air to dry out. They become more leathery when they dry out but they stay on the hook much better when casting.

[@benrwilburn]

Hey question for you.... I was wondering how fresh freshwater fish species for bait compared to fresh saltwater baitfish? I can catch sunnies all day long and bring them to the beach, but I don’t know if it would even work. Do you have experience on this? FYI I’ve brought sunnies and put them in crab traps where I usually catch a lot in NJ and didn’t catch a single crab that day.

[@garybeesley340]

For black drum vote is for mushy old bait They really respond to the the smell and texture.

[@MikeMcInroe]

Just a heads up...we here in Florida throat cut the blues to bleed them out before throwing them in the cooler. Helps get rid of some of the extra blood they hold in the dark meat area. Which gets cut out anyway but it still seems to help. Little tip I learned from an old angler. I enjoy your videos. Mike in sunny Florida

[@marcelocasanova9490]

Good job 👏👏👏

[@HeySkipper]

Thanks!

[@SparhawkM]

Interesting test guys!! I’ve always said that if you’re willing to eat it the fish you’re after would be willing too. That’s how I tell fresh from frozen!!😂😂 Keep safe and enjoy your time on the beach!!!

[@HeySkipper]

Some people use lobster for bait for stripers! That’s so $$$ but I bet it works great!

[@t7m7]

Really like your vids and tutorials!! Can you make some vids for catching amberjack on shore by using live /frozen bates? Thanks!

[@davidtaylor3452]

I'll be out there next week, at the inlet and the point, keep up the good work

[@HeySkipper]

Good luck!

[@jaydonhodges3515]

hey skipper u try a snelling two 5/0 or 4/0 with a running sinker

[@KnightWolf102]

use bait cotton, when you have mushy baits. Thinner the better.. Enjoy your video's. I don't use hooks that size.. 7/0 recurves with half a pilchard salted & a bit of cotton. Braid is 20lb with 30lb leader. Rod is 14.6ft .. catch mainly snapper, Kahawai, Trevally & odd yellowtail Kingi...I'm in NZ... keep up the good work, look forward to some of the Florida stuff, to be coming out... cheers

[@gertrudejones8300]

Hi, I love your channel. I am a 64 grandma and enjoyed fishing with my mom and dad when I was younger, I really like that you spend time your family. I am teaching my grandson who is 17 how too fish and his just get into it and love it so much he wants to go everyday . I'm a little rusty hoping to get better at it, we got a late start do the Covid 19 Oct here .We live in Illinois close to St Louis so we are looking for a good place to catch fish. I would love to enter into your drawing . Any suggestions would be appreciated

[@-Scotty]

We call Bluefish "Tailor" in Australia, best to bleed them straight away then fillet, cook on the day you catch them, pan fry in butter, some fresh lemon juice and pepper.

[@markf3812]

Why don't you use clip down rigs so your bait doesn't fly around when you cast? Also why don't you use thin elastic thread to hold the baits on?

[@martindevilliers1345]

hey guys .to tie bait to our hook's we use thin elastic that we call ghost cotton. it's very thin and doesn't stick to your hooks and it's not bad for the ocean and fish. i think i must send you guys a video on our bate presentation. what do you and Erin think.

[@ricardocamarillo1957]

Dam I hate working on Thursday got to watch this tonight after dinner I’ll be back 🐟

[@HeySkipper]

Thanks!!!

[@BobbyZataTv]

You're legend.....

[@bitsquirrel140]

Salted is the best :) Looks like you're at Oregon inlet across from the CG station, love that place!

[@Bbj_-_]

5th comment keep up the work skipper love to go fishing with you one day haha.

[@HeySkipper]

Thanks! And maybe we will cross paths one day!

[@nathanjuarez6012]

Hey Skipper, what do you think of fishing in the summer versus in the winter?

[@fishingwithmike828]

Now I have a question for you I live in Norfolk Virginia Beach at the temperature we are in full from catching trout and drum nonstop what would be your best suggestion for fall fishing

[@tangmamatx]

Hey Skipper! What sorta scissors do you normally use to cut bait? It looks much more convenient than using a knife!

[@pacmangonzalez6812]

Hi just a question when you salt the bait you frozzen next?

[@mkoic11]

What rod holders are you using? I can't seem to find that Sea Striker model with the foot pegs.

[@ryanburr8419]

Hmm... I mostly agree that fresh is better than frozen but often times needs must. Sometimes if I have frozen I don't bother to fully defrost it which helps it stay on the hook when casting out. Some species of frozen bait seem to stay firmer than others (Australian mullet seem superior to Pilchard/Mulies for example). Also there's nothing stopping you from salting some frozen prawns and putting it in the fridge to slowly defrost while the salt absorbs moisture making a firmer bait.

[@carlhamilton7572]

I'm going to the Lutherans for the first time. I think🤔 I've got what I need to start-up with. But I was looking when reel that you were using. The silver one with the large head.name and model please. Wish me lock and fun.😎

[@jasonshemnitz5886]

I know this is a old video but I have a circle hook question for you. When you attach the straight eye circle hooks onto your dropper loop, do you go through the back or the front of the hook?

[@garythompson1800]

You should do a video at Atlantic beach NC on the peir brandon.

[@HeySkipper]

We were just there!

[@marlonxxi1]

what kind of raeels do you use I do like the chrome one

[@samuelwaring6202]

where do you buy your fresh bait? grocery store / fish market? the tackle shop near me only has frozen.

[@ronallan]

Happy Birthday!

[@Mororoadster]

Hi guys,how is it going ,. please can you show us another test using a sonor but from the beach to see the fish activities.

[@demarcohitch7630]

I agree, frozen bait is not that good. I tried frozen peelers..., horrible. Thanks Skipper! Great work!

[@antoniosoares-mm7ks]

hello, how is everything the 3 rods you have to fish how many meters do you have?

[@Jerard1311]

You should try ghost cotton so that the frozen bait holds better on the hook 💪🏻

[@fl1nx181]

maybe try baiting elastic for the frozen bait, thats how we keep the bait on the hooks in the netherlands

[@sergioreyna3041]

I have a question, what do you prefer using braided or monofilament line

[@awiono]

Good info friend..

[@fishhubbd]

Very Nice content!!!

[@martindevilliers1345]

every person uses bait differently. but we target big fish, so we just cut the head of .and put the rest of the fish on the hook. using ghost cotton. don't know how big the fish gets there, but by us anything from 1kg up to 30kg plus.

[@juergunmagerkinsquirter1280]

Surf casting off a beach with a whole pilchard for Chopper Tailor here in Oz.....so much fun

[@miltonneliodossantos922]

🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣👍👍👍

[@briankoundry3401]

I agree frozen baits sometimes are like working with sausage casings filled with oatmeal 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@rogerbeaird5742]

How true baits are and make all the difference between catching and not catching 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟

[@artravels2191]

what is good salted bait or fresh bait?

[@brennanreese798]

Got to be nice and firm for it to work

[@dalgarvenbooks]

To make it a real comparison, would it not have been better to use the same fish fresh and frozen. Just a thought. Hello from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 BTW. Keep the videos coming love what can happen when you conserve your fish stocks unlike over here

[@daniellarmour3521]

Can you make a video about bait elastic? You should try it it makes beach fishing a hell of a lot easier.

[@daniellarmour3521]

This is the stuff I get

[@oliviernheoun1992]

I think we might of drove past u guys the other day, I've been subscribed for a few years now. Would be nice to run into yall

[@zw5509]

Need to use some elasticated thread to stabilize the softer baits!

[@michaeleverton4882]

Yes indeed, bait cotton! Loose bait can slide over hook's barb, which may prevent a solid hook up, especially with tougher baits! 🐠🐟🐠

[@peppergrower1891]

What about a catch, clean, and cook on blue fish ? Thanks

[@HeySkipper]

Sure!

[@syaifulnazmee9442]

Try using a bait thread to hold ur bait buddy..cheers!