How Used Coffee Grounds Can Ensure You Have A Successful Fishing Trip

Most fishermen know early morning is one of the best times of day to go fishing. Many fishermen also start their day with a steaming hot cup of coffee. However, many may not realize they can combine these two morning rituals to ensure they have a productive day on the water.

While there are a number of strange things you can use for bait when freshwater fishing, coffee is one productive substance that is often overlooked. To that end, coffee-drinking fishermen may be short-changing themselves, as many species of fish find coffee just as enticing as they do. As a result, there are a variety of ways coffee, coffee grounds, and coffee beans can be utilized to help you catch fish. So, next time you head out to your favorite fishing spot at daybreak, don't forget to bring your morning brew — and the remnants left from making it. Besides keeping you alert and awake, there are a number of ways coffee and used coffee grounds can ensure you have a successful fishing trip.

Without a doubt, live worms are one of the best baits for freshwater fishing. They are effective in every body of fresh water and for just about every species that swim in those waters. The next time you head out to a river, stream, or lake with a can of worms, add some used coffee grounds to the soil in order to keep the worms lively and wiggly, which will enhance their fish-attracting ability. 

There are also long-term benefits to utilizing coffee grounds in worm dirt for those who have a worm bed or compost area from which they harvest worms to use for bait. Mixing coffee grounds into the soil of the worm bed or compost pile has numerous benefits, each of which can enhance the health of your worms. When added to a worm bed, coffee grounds enrich the soil and provide nutrients to the worms. They also act as a pesticide to ward off insects that may prey on the worm and even have some antibacterial traits that can help keep the worms healthy.

There are a number of other ways coffee can be used to ensure you have a successful fishing trip. For starters, coffee beans are an effective bait. So, before you grind them up for your morning brew, set some aside for bait. Coffee beans are often used for carp by fly fishermen who fashion a fly pattern out of them simply by gluing them to a small hook. These flies are also effective for a variety of panfish and a growing number of anglers have been using them for rainbow trout. You don't have to be a fly fisherman to utilize coffee beans as bait. Conventional tackle anglers can pin coffee beans to their hooks and use a small weight just a few inches above the hook to help them cast.

Bass fishermen have also taken to scenting their artificial lures with coffee. Some manufacturers such as Strike King Lures even offer coffee-scented lures. DIY fishermen can accomplish the same thing by storing their soft-plastic lures in a container of used coffee grounds or soaking them in a container of brewed coffee. Those who make their own lures can also add coffee to the mix when pouring baits. This trick also works for panfish, trout, and crappie lures. One last tip for using coffee to help increase your catches is to toss a handful of coffee grounds in the water to help get the fish in a feeding mood.