Bait

Bait is a group of items used for Fishing. Most consist of Critters caught via the Bug Net. When a Fishing Pole is cast, at least one Bait item must be in the player's inventory, or else nothing can be caught. Fishing Poles will visually cast with no Bait, but will not catch anything.

Bait essentially serves as ammunition for Fishing Poles. Unlike ammunition, however, Bait only has a chance of being consumed, which can only happen on reel-in (rather than on casting the line).

There are several items that can serve as Bait, and they must be obtained in different ways depending on the type:


 * Most Critters that are insects, snails, or worms can be used as bait, and must be caught with the Bug Net.
 * Blue, Green, and Pink Jellyfish bait items are unrelated to the Jellyfish enemies. These function only as bait or for crafting Jellyfish Jars, and must themselves be caught via Fishing.
 * Apprentice Bait, Journeyman Bait, and Master Bait are acquired as rewards for completing quests for the Angler NPC.

The Truffle Worm is unique in that it summons Duke Fishron, cannot be used to catch any ordinary fishing items, and will only work when used in an Ocean biome.

Bait Power
Bait power influences the quality of the catch (see Fishing for details and other factors), as well as the chances that the Bait item will be consumed: Higher bait powers mean less chance that the Bait item will be consumed.
 * 5% Bait power means the bait will be consumed immediately
 * Higher multiple of 5% means that bait will last approximately that many fishing attempts (50% bait = 10 catches on average, or 10% chance of bait consumption)
 * Tackle Box adds 5% of bait power that is used only to compute the chance of consuming bait. That means it is not very useful for the high profile baits, but can significantly improve the number of fish caught with 5% or 10% baits.

Tips

 * Running through a Forest biome during the Rain is a good way to gather Worms for bait.
 * On the surface:
 * Destroying short grass/plants has a 1/200 (0.5%) chance per tile to spawn a Worm. From tall grass/plants: 1/200 (0.5%) per tile. 1/6 (16.7%) chance per dirt pile.
 * Grasshoppers have a 1/100 (1%) chance per short grass/plant tile. From tall grass/plants: 1/50 (2%) chance per tile.
 * Forest biomes at night tend to spawn large numbers of Fireflies, especially when close to one's home base.
 * You can destroy some forms of debris (such as stones and little patches of dirt) to gather worms.
 * Fireflies spawn with significantly higher concentrations on the night of the Moon's second phase (as numbered on the Moon page), and the same applies to Butterflies during day that follows that phase.
 * Worms tend to mass themselves in the lowest part of terrain as they cannot even climb a one tile high wall. Standard placed blocks being square makes a perfect trap for them. It is possible to catch several dozens in one rainy day, by just collecting them in the hole at the end (standard spawning limits seem to not apply for critters). Note that the hole must be at least 2 tiles wide for you to stand in, preferably larger for the Bug Net to function properly.
 * The presence of NPC nearby is very beneficial for the proportion of Critters (including those used as bait) in the number of total spawned creatures, as it reduces the spawning of enemies. NPCs can even prevent enemies from spawning entirely, provided they are in a sufficient number and no special event is happening. In this case, the only creatures that can still spawn are harmless critters.
 * This can be used to transform vast expands of land into farms. Just make a NPC house each half screen (so that there are always 3 NPCs in the vicinity), and have a stretch of flat land on another level, on which you can run back and forth collecting critters. Ideally, you'll want NPC high in the sky or underground, so that you can jump for catching flying critters.
 * This is especially worth the trouble on the nights when Fireflies spawn rates are high, or when it is raining (for Worms). Alternatively, a flat expanse of hallowed grass allows you to catch the more effective Lightning Bugs.
 * An effective way to gather Worms for bait is to create a new world, then walk around the forest biomes and small surface caves destroying background objects like stones, patches of dirt and big rocks, which seem to have pretty high chances of dropping worms (or even several worms in some cases). All you need for this method is any pickaxe and a Bug net.

Trivia

 * The Truffle Worm's bait power of 666% is a reference to the biblical number "666", commonly associated with the Antichrist or Satan, and other generally evil themes.
 * The Master Bait's name is a double-entendre on the word "masturbate", which is a common fishing joke. Considering Golden Shower and Mourning Wood, this would not be the first time such humor was used in Terraria. While it is possible no joke was intended, and "Master Bait" merely followed from "Apprentice" and "Journeyman" baits, it is more likely that the Apprentice and Journeyman Baits exist to act as the "straight line" to offset the joke.

History
Apprentice, Journeyman and Master baits now have new sprites.