I often fish hoochies for both migrating and resident fish - and I hate fishing bait. I find myself messing around with it way too much.

To be honest this is mostly true of fishing cutplugs, but is also true of fishing herring strips as well. I find myself needing to check my gear much more often to ensure everything is working properly. I am a big believer of more time your gear is fishing = more fish in the boat. Constantly checking my gear cuts down on my fishing time so I fish naked gear most of the time. Instead of using a herring strip to add scent to my gear I use a paste or liquid scent which lasts longer and is a easier to apply.

The second big reason that I don't fish bait is that I usually only fish on weekends. It can be a big old funky mess when Sat rolls around after I have forgotten about the herring from the week before.

I have learned alot since my days of trolling cut plugs behind banana weights around Elliot Bay when I was a kid. I have paid special attention to some of succesful fishermen that I have come across. Quite a few fish gear almost all of the time.

Steve