Bread as Fishing Bait

Ordinary sliced bread from the grocery store can be used as fishing bait. Why such an unnatural bait and food item is effective is still not well understood. Across the world, bread has been reported by anglers to be able to catch a variety of species, typically omnivores or herbivores. Surprisingly bread works as bait in fresh and saltwater across a variety of habitats. In the USA, bread is typically associated with gamefish like carp, sunfish, and catfish. Bread is also an effective bait for using in traps for bait fish.

Bread can either be used as a floating, slow sinking, or bottom bait. How much you ball up or mold the bread around your hook will dictate its buoyancy. Since bread is cheap and easily worked with, often anglers will chum pieces of bread to attract fish.