Fishbites.

Post by **Cranfield** » October 8th, 2003, 2:44 pm

Now that they have been around for a while, are they really any good ?
Has anyone done serious tests as to their effectiveness ?

Post by **Ken K** » October 8th, 2003, 2:49 pm

They work very well but they are not a panacea.

Post by **CSMarine** » October 8th, 2003, 4:38 pm

Fishbites for bait= white pork rind works better for me. Fishbites for Trout= Have not seen a big advantage with or without them. Handy in your box in a pinch I guess, but I won't go out of my way for them.
Did use the catfish fishbites, Flint River cats havn't heard of them yet I guess, cause I used them heavy and didn't do anything with them in freshwater.

Post by **Cranfield** » October 8th, 2003, 4:51 pm

Its interesting to hear comments.

Doesn,t the Manufacturer or Distributor post on this Forum ocassionally ?

lightchop · Post by **lightchop** » October 8th, 2003, 5:07 pm

Cran,
Because I know everything about everything, I'm saying that Fishbites are the greatest!
Seriously, they have awesome water dispersed scents, but you have to use them on fairly sedentary fish, like bottom fish that are ambush feeders, smell the attractant and move to it and inhale it!
It's way less effective for pelagic or sight feeders that are moving about looking for their prey and go at it like a bullet. There may be a few exceptions to some pelagics that often pick-up a sent trail, then go up scent trail and nail their prey -- Kings, Mahi, etc., sometimes.
Like as always you have to analyze the bait or lure then, the intended fish.
It ain't as easy as catching foxes in nets . . ., er, rabbits in nets!

Post by **Cranfield** » October 8th, 2003, 5:36 pm

All the reports on here in the past, have semi praised them.

Along the lines, "we caught fish using them, but would we have caught those fish anyway?".
They seem to have been used mainly for "tipping off" lures.

Anymore users want to comment ?

Post by **billystix** » October 8th, 2003, 6:13 pm

hi guys
billystix here i am a member of the fish bites pro team, we find that fish bites are great for grouper as well as ,red fisg and sea trout, it just really depends on conditions, like some one said i caught trout on fish bites but i would have caught them any way.
well that could be so very true howe ever fishing for red fish using fishbites vs shrimp we find the fish bites work just as well as shrimp, like some one else said it works best on fish that are looking and sniffing, not haulling up to something and knocking the fire out of it like kings and spanish, howe ever we have tried using fish bites trolling for spanish and caught a lot of fish in this manner.
i believe that fish bites are a welcomed addition to our tackle box, you just have to really give them a chance.
see you guys next month at the meeting, looking forward to talking with you guys.
later stix

dstockwell · Post by **dstockwell** » October 9th, 2003, 6:41 am

Like others have said, it depends on conditions. A couple of outings we used them off and on throughout the day. One day with them the bite was way better, another day did not make a difference with or without them. So if the bite is slow, give them a try, may make the difference for the day.

Post by **wevans** » October 9th, 2003, 7:06 am

I mainly use them on a slow bite day

if the fish are biting without it, I don't use it! However, if the fish are slow on the bite, Fishbites will definantly increase the amount of bites ya get

and I have been using them for around 2 years now

Post by **CSMarine** » October 9th, 2003, 7:53 am

Flint River Flatheads are as about as "sedentary" as fish get. They are "ambush feeders" for sure. Their main hunting instinct advantage is smell.
I've tried the Catfish Fishbites on bush hooks and rod and reel. As of yet I havn't had any luck with them. I just knew they would be great for bush hooks, could set the lines early without the bream pulling your bait off. However, if the cats don't come to them.

lightchop · Post by **lightchop** » October 9th, 2003, 8:53 am

csm,
I was hoping someone would report about freshwater use for Fishbites.
If you'll go to their website (I believe they still have it posted) they admit that their original formula was made for saltwater, only.
They have been aware that Fishbites don't work in freshwater like they do in saltwater and they are in the process of finding out, why not, and then developing a freshwater product. Maybe, by now they've accomplished it.
I talked to one of the developers of Fishbites at the last Tallahassee Florida Sportsman show about 4 months ago and all of his reference to the use of Fishbites was for saltwater use. He claimed they have done extensive field trials, Fishbites vs. natural bait, for grouper and according to their claims, the results are convincing to me -- but, I took him at his word.
They now market triangular wedges to be fished inshore as substitutes for jig grubs, but for trout, and as someone's mentioned, they are mostly good for a slow bite. I would suspect these would be better suited for redfish and flounder using a very slow retrieve on the proper tide.
Thanks, for the freshwater catfish report!

Post by **Tom Keels** » October 9th, 2003, 9:07 am

Fishbites not only work, they have become a staple in my tackle bag that I cannot live without. Whether catching bait, or tipping jigs, or just straight for bait, I can vouch that they work. Yeah and before you say "they're paying you to say that", I fish because I love it. And I love to catch fish. Anyone who has fished with me knows that I use them all the time, and they also know I catch fish. DOA could give me a $1000 and all the free tackle I wanted and I wouldn't recommend them because I don't catch fish on them. Fishbites work. Period!

Post by **wevans** » October 9th, 2003, 9:09 am

I was part of the test group for the fresh water Fishbites

I had very little success using them

We tested Clam, Shrimp, Crab and Crawfish flavors but the fish just did not seem interested

They did have some fairly good results down South using the exact same product

I guess them fish down there just aint as picky as ours

Post by **Ken K** » October 9th, 2003, 9:16 am

I tried some of the saltwater formula fishbites in my pond for bream and they werent the least interested. I have been wishing they would come up with a bait that would affect Bluegills the way regular fishbites do Pinfish.

As I, and others have said they work very well. You just can't expect them to catch fish when the fish aren't around or the bite is absolutely shut down. On the other hand, we all have been fishing on those occasions when the fish were so agressive anything would work.

What I like the most about the fishbites is that they stay on your hook and have a good long shelf life.

Post by **Ken K** » October 9th, 2003, 9:22 am

I have a bag of good sized scraps of various flavors. I'm going to try them on Grouper very soon.

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Fishbites.

Fishbites.

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