Gamefish along the Northeast Coast, such as stripers, bonito, weakfish, and tuna, can be downright ravenous during a classic baitfish blitz. In these exciting cases, you can just about toss anything into the fray and connect. But then there are times when these species can be a stubborn as a wary rainbow trout.

There are near-countless forage options in salt of the Northeast, and knowing how to identify what the gamefish are eating is of dire importance for presenting baits and choosing lures and flies. So here are 20 of the most prevalent bait species from North Carolina to Maine, including schooling baitfish, non-schooling fish, and invertebrates. This primer will help you figure out where to find them, how to match them, and how trophy bass, blues, and weakies stalk and attack them.