When going fishing, sometimes you need to use live bait. I generally prefer to use artificial lures, but sometimes the fish are picky or there is just a higher chance of success with live bait.
If live bait is needed or preferred, I like to "catch" that first before doing my fishing. When surf fishing on the ocean, I like to use sand crabs. They are generally found in the surf, as they bury themselves in the sand as the waves roll out.
The sand crabs generally found in Southern California are fairly small and do not have pinchers. However, occasional you can find a large one. Here are a couple of pictures of my son and I catching some sand crabs for surf fishing.... this was a huge one that kind of freaked Jacob out!
When it comes to freshwater, live worms are usually pretty successful for bass, trout or panfish. To catch live worms, one trick is to wet a newspaper and place it over a dirt patch and leave it over night. When you get up the next morning and life the newspaper, you will often find a number of worms just hanging out on the top of the dirt, as the moisture and cover draws the worms to the surface.
Of course, there are also minnow traps that work well in freshwater, and using Sabaki rigs to catch baitfish on the ocean.
However you decide to do it, there is something special about catching the bait (as opposed to buying) and then using it to catch something bigger that is rewarding.
Appreciate you stopping by!
Brian