🪝 Practical Guide

Which Bait Catches Which Fish

The Mediterranean natural baits, what each one targets, and when those species spawn.

🏷️ A note on the names

Acrobat, Pharaoh, American, Monodoli, Rockworm, Mana. These are names of the market, not of science. You will not find them in any zoology book. They are a whole vocabulary built by fishermen and tackle shops, and among themselves they work perfectly well.

Some of them name the animal. Others name only the size. Mana, for example, means the big grade of a ragworm, so depending on the supplier and the season it can be a different species of the same family. That is why the same name can look different from one shop to the next, without anyone having misled you.

On every bait page we give the scientific name where one is established, and we say so plainly when it is not.

The Baits

Grouped by what they are. Tap any bait for the full page.

Fish and Their Baits

Each row lists the baits whose own guide names that species among its targets.

Fish	Baits	Spawning
Gilthead Seabream Sparus aurata	Acrobat Korean Worm American Bloodworm Carpet Shell Clam Live Shrimp Shore Crab Mud Shrimp Mana Ragworm Bibi Worm Maggot (Fly Larva) Mussel Mediterranean Limpet Purple Dye Murex Sardine Razor Clam Rockworm Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
White Seabream Diplodus sargus	Acrobat Korean Worm American Bloodworm Carpet Shell Clam Live Shrimp Shore Crab Mana Ragworm Bibi Worm Maggot (Fly Larva) Mussel Mediterranean Limpet Purple Dye Murex Sardine Tube Worm Rockworm Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Sand Steenbras Lithognathus mormyrus	Acrobat Korean Worm American Bloodworm Carpet Shell Clam Live Shrimp Mud Shrimp Red Sand worm Bibi Worm Maggot (Fly Larva) Sardine Tube Worm Razor Clam	—
Pandora Pagellus erythrinus	American Bloodworm Carpet Shell Clam Mud Shrimp Red Sand worm Mana Ragworm Mussel Sardine Razor Clam Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Seabass Dicentrarchus labrax	Acrobat Korean Worm Live Shrimp Shore Crab Mana Ragworm Maggot (Fly Larva) Sardine Razor Clam	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Saddled Seabream Oblada melanura	Acrobat Korean Worm Maggot (Fly Larva) Sardine Tube Worm Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Brown Meagre Sciaena umbra	Bibi Worm Mussel Rockworm Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Two banded Seabream Diplodus vulgaris	Acrobat Korean Worm Mediterranean Limpet Pharaoh Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Annular Seabream Diplodus annularis	Acrobat Korean Worm Red Sand worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix	Sardine	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Garfish Belone belone	Sardine	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Leerfish Lichia amia	Sardine	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Greater Amberjack Seriola dumerili	Sardine	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Picarel Spicara smaris	Maggot (Fly Larva)	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Striped Red Mullet Mullus surmuletus	Red Sand worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Mottled Grouper Mycteroperca rubra	Rockworm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Horse Mackerel Trachurus trachurus / Trachurus mediterraneus	Sardine	—
Black Seabream Spondyliosoma cantharus	Mana Ragworm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Scorpionfish Scorpaena scrofa / Scorpaena porcus	Tube Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Comber Serranus cabrilla	Tube Worm	J F M A M J J A S O N D
Wrasse Symphodus tinca / Labrus viridis / Labrus merula	Mediterranean Limpet	J F M A M J J A S O N D

Where This Comes From

The pairings are not opinions. Each one is read straight out of the bait's own Targets and Catches section, and the spawning months out of each species' Reproduction section. Follow any link to read the full text.

Species with no spawning months shown are simply those whose page does not name specific months. Nothing has been filled in by guesswork.

Spawning periods are shown as biology, not as fishing advice. Closed seasons, size limits and permitted gear are set by law and change; check the current rules before you fish.

All baits → Fish encyclopedia →

Which Bait Catches Which Fish

🏷️ A note on the names

The Baits

Worms (9)

Shellfish (5)

Crustaceans (3)

Other (1)

Fish and Their Baits

Where This Comes From