Worms.
These can be used to catch most species from Squeaker to Tiger, there are very few (if any) species that do not eat worms.
Worms come in three basic varieties and it is almost a personal preference that decides what you use. These are :-
a)Selukwe (ordinary) Worms
b)Red Worms
c)"Puff Adder" Worms
The Red and Puff Adder worms are hardier than the ordinary worms, and generally they don't crawl out of their boxes at night (unless they have a problem).
All worms taken out for fishing need to be looked after so that they will last the whole day, so care for your bait, as that is what you catch the fish with. No worms means no fish.
For some methods and species you need to put on two or three worms and for others only one. More about this under the species.

Flying Ants
These are a seasonal bait and are found during the rainy season. The first ones to come out are generally small and have browner wings than the larger ones. Later in the season the larger ones come out and they are the most sought after as they are easier to use and to collect.
Generally they are used on the surface and then later in the day on the bottom.
Most fish do eat flying ants, and they are great for bringing tiger up to the surface, but these are mostly smaller fish and not the giants we all look for.
The most common fish caught on flying ants are the Red Belly Bream (commonly called Mellies).

Cutworms
These are found in compost heaps and depending on their size decides what species you fish for.
The smaller ones can be put on a number 10 hook and used to catch mellies during the flying ant season when the Mellies are on the anthills. The occasional Robbie may also be caught.
The larger ones are generally used to catch Barbel.

Crickets
The real fun here is actually catching them in the garden by tickling them out of their holes. Be careful when doing this, as you never know what may come out of that hole. Someone I know tickled out a scorpion so look before you grab.
These are a fairly common bait for Robbies and the Mellies among the locals fishermen.
They have been known to catch Barbel and the occasional other species.

Frogs (Plaaties)
These are mainly used to catch Barbel but they are very successful for Cornish Jack and Silver Barbel also provided they are not too big.
They are fished either whole and complete, or "Splaatied" where they are cut up so that their insides hang out and they bleed etcetera.
Some anglers will hook them through the mouth (bottom to top), and others put the hook through the leg. This is a personal choice and both methods seem to work.
Where the frogs are large they can be cut into halves or quarters and used that way.
If you are not squeamish you can cut his legs off and take of the skin, (known as a skinhead) and use them, and they will often produce tiger this way.

Algae (Slime)
There are two different types of slime, one that looks like a mosquito net, which is known locally as "Masaka" and the long filament type, known as "Zerere".
Fishing with Algae is not very common any more, as it only seems to work in some of the dams and rivers, and generally the anglers try other methods and baits to catch the same fish, because algae is not always easy to get.
It is mainly used for bream, but when rolled into balls and a small hook is used it can be used to catch Hunyani Salmon and the other Labeos in the rivers such as the Zambezi both below and above Lake Kariba.
When using algae it is important that the float you use is sensitive and suited for the conditions in which you are fishing.

Kapenta
This is mainly used in Kariba and the Zambezi River and as is well known is mainly used for Tiger. It also can be used to catch Squeakers, Silver Barbel, Barbel and Cornish Jack. Occasionally it has been known to catch the odd big Bream in deeper water whilst drifting for Tiger.

Other baits
Some of the other baits you may see occasionally are :-
i)Chicken Liver - Mainly Silver Barbel and Barbel.
ii)Fruit or berries from local trees near the rivers and dams - Figs - Bream.
iii)Reeds and Grasses in the water - Bream species that eat vegetation.
iv)Dead Day old Chicks, unhatched Embryos (Very Smelly) - Barbel and Vundu
v)Sadza or Mealie paste/Dough - Carp and Labeo species. (Also other odd fish)

Since these are generally for special species such as Bass and Robbies, they are only basically covered under the species later in the booklet.