Can you really catch fish using fast food?
Since man first baited a hook, anglers have tried nearly everything in their quest to catch a fish. Odds are you've tried a few odd baits from the grocery store in your time. I think almost everyone has tried canned corn or hotdogs at some point or another. Maybe you've tried cheese or hand-made doughballs for catfish or carp.
Have you ever considered that fast food restaurant you stopped at on the way to the lake as a bait source? It turns out, some anglers have.
It's the type of weird fishing challenge that could only happen here in the United States. We went scouring YouTube and found numerous examples of fishermen using fast food chains as their bait shop of choice.
This is a very strange concept for a fishing challenge, but also, a bit hilarious.
McDonald's
We'll start with the most well-known chain and probably the most common choice for fast food fishing challenges. These guys head out with some McDonald's chicken biscuits and some hash browns for a little saltwater fishing. They manage to catch a few triggerfish using this rather unconventional bait. Time for these guys to make their own filet-o-fish!
Chick-fil-A
Have you ever noticed the drive through line for Chick-fil-A seems to stretch all the way around the block? If humans love it, why not fish too? First State Fishing catches three different species (including a rainbow trout) using Chick-fil-A in this episode. The sucker we would have expected, but a game fish like a trout is a surprising catch indeed.
Hungry Howies Pizza
Who doesn't love a nice, greasy pizza? No one sane that I know. In this video, Paramount Fishing heads to a fast-flowing pipe filled with carp and baits his hook with chunks of a personal sized Hungry Howies pizza. It turns out, this is one incredibly effective carp bait!
McDonald's Burger Buns for Dough Balls
This video also uses McDonald's, but in a totally different way. The guy here mixes up a McDonald's burger bun into a dough ball for carp bait. The result is a hefty 58-pound grass carp. Maybe wildlife agencies can start teaming with fast food franchises to start combating invasive species? Keep watching after the carp catch to see an unexpected accidental catch of a snapping turtle on the same bait. Who would have thought?
Taco Bell
Here's another First State Fishing video. This guy did a whole series of videos on fast food fishing, so he made this list multiple times. In this video he uses Taco Bell. This one is interesting because there are so many components to the taco and burrito that can be used. This one doesn't work as well as the Chick-fil-A challenge, but he still catches a few fish.
French Fried Fun
Everyone loves French fries (or "Freedom fries" to use a now-dated reference). In any case, this guy noticed people were chucking food into the water from a nearby marina restaurant. This inspires him to try French fries as bait. This set up is as simplistic as it gets: a hook, sinker and a bobber. It turns out, it works quite well for both bluegills and catfish! You always hear about anglers matching their baits to what the fish are feeding on, but this is the most unusual case of "match the hatch" that we've ever seen!
Popeye's Chicken Sandwich
Remember when Popeye's released that chicken sandwich and people went bonkers for it? There were traffic jams due to the lines and people were even getting in fights in the stores over it. In one case a man was killed in an argument over it! Monster Mike Fishing was one of the many who stood in line for hours for one of these sandwiches. However, he didn't eat it, he used the different parts of the sandwich as bait with great success!
Burger King
In yet another First State Fishing video, he's using Burger King fries and chicken fries. Not surprisingly, the bluegills and catfish eat this stuff up. I'm starting to think you can catch these two species on literally anything.
So, there you have it. Proof that you can catch fish on fast food.
Now you can make your lunch stop and bait stop all in one location!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
NEXT: MIKE IACONELLI TELLS US ABOUT HIS NEW FISHING SHOW ON NAT GEO WILD
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