"Bait" received extremely positive reviews from critics. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.4 out of 10 rating and wrote in his verdict, "'Bait' was pretty much the grand experiment as far as the Evil Dead-verse goes. As the first-ever Ash adventure not directed by Sam Raimi, the show proved that the blockhead character and over-the-top tone could endure a changing of the guard. The next test ahead will be an episode not written by Raimi. 'Bait' also gave us one of the most defined Deadites to date in Mimi Rogers' Suzy, making me wonder if a 'boss' type demon might do well on a show like this. Army of Darkness dabbled with it by using the 'Deadite Captain' - aka Bad Ash back from the grave - so perhaps this element should return."
