Grub

Grubs belong on a hook. The game describes the grub as bait first and suggests eating it only in desperate situations. Without bait the handmade fishing rod catches nothing, so a handful of grubs is the difference between a fishing trip and an evening on a rock with an empty line.

Grubs do the same job as worms, the other bait the game names. Nothing in the item data says one works better than the other, so carry whichever you have and mix them on the same trip.

The quieter use is the survival fish trap. Its own description says more bait loaded means a better chance of trout. Picture a base on a river: before a long farm run you drop your grubs into the trap by the door, and when you come back a small trout may be waiting to be gutted. Eaten, those same grubs would have bought you next to nothing.

No bench crafts them and no recipe asks for them. Keep the stack next to the rod.