Best Trout Bait of All Time

Using bait, either artificial or live, is one of the best ways to catch trout. Bait is oftentimes more effective at catching trout than artificial lures like spoons, jigs and flies. It’s something all trout anglers should keep in their tacklebox at all times.

There are several different types of baits that work well for trout. Common baits include worms, shrimp, PowerBait, salmon eggs, larvae, minnows, marshmallows, and cut bait. But with so many different options to choose from, which is the best trout bait that will catch the most fish?

Below we’ll go over some of the best bait for trout, so you can have the best chance at success.

Worms

The earthworm or nightcrawler is the most popular trout bait of all time, and for good reason. Worms are one of the most common food sources for trout. If presented right, trout very rarely turn down a real worm.

Worms are also dirt-cheap, and can be found in most gas stations convienece stores.

It’s important to use the right presentation, so the worm looks as natural as possible. Insert the hook at the end of the worm and slide it along the hook until it completely covers the straight part of the hook. Make sure you pull the hook through the worm at a point where the worm will be as straight as possible, so it looks natural.

Worms can be fished anywhere there’s trout – in rivers, ponds and lakes. When fishing a pond or lake, try fishing the bottom or slightly off the bottom. You can get worms to float by using floating powerbait or marshmallows on the end of your hook, or inject them with air using a Worm Blower.

When fishing worms slightly off bottom, make sure to have a sinker or weight on your line anywhere from 1-2 feet away from your hook.

Worms can also be fished under a bobber. You’ll have to play around with how far away to place the bobber, but a 1-2 foot range is a good place to start.

When fishing a river, simply cast it out and let it float with the current. For deeper water, use a split shot on your line. Split shot placement will depend on how deep the water is.

Berkley PowerBait

After worms, PowerBait is the next best bait to use for trout. PowerBait is a dough bait which resembles playdough, or, you guessed it, dough. It comes in a wide variety of colors and scents and is almost always a good bait to use for trout. Our top choice of PowerBait is Garlic.

One reason why PowerBait is so effective, is that it closely resembles the pellets that fish are fed in hatcheries. Stocked trout are used to eating these pellets, so when they see your powerbait floating in the water, they think it’s food.

Bright colors of PowerBait tend to work best. Colors like orange, green, rainbow and yellow are all great choices. For scents, garlic and corn scented almost always works well.

Fishing with PowerBait is very similar to fishing with worms. You can use regular hooks, bait holder hooks, or treble hooks. Treble hooks can help the PowerBait stay on better and typically result in more hook ups, but are only recommended if you plan on keeping the trout, as they result in more damage to the fish.

To use PowerBait, simply form a ball shape with it that completely encases your hook and place it below a bobber for fish feeding near the surface, or in shallow water.

For fish feeding on the bottom, you’ll want to use a sinker or weight about 1-2 feet from your line. This will help you cast it out further, and bring it down to the bottom, where the PowerBait will float up 1-2 feet, depending on where your sinker is placed.

Fish Eggs

Fish eggs, also known as roe, are a great choice when fishing for trout, and are one of the best trout baits for rivers. They mimic a food source that they are already used to eating, which makes it deadly during the time fish are spawning. It also works great year-round.

Fish eggs typically come in “loose” form, meaning they are all individually separate, but there are some that come in what are called spawn bags, which are little mesh bags containing several eggs.

Fish eggs work best in streams and rivers, but they are also great for trout in lakes too.

Artificial vs Real Salmon Eggs

Artificial eggs work almost as good as real eggs, but nothing beats the real thing. We recommend going with real salmon eggs over artificial. The one benefit that artificial eggs have over real eggs, is they last longer and stay on your hook longer.

For real salmon eggs, we recommend Pautzke Balls O’ Fire Salmon Eggs. The eggs come in a variety of colors and we suggest having a few different ones in your tacklebox. Our top recommended colors are Natural Deluxe, Pink Shrimp, and Silver Label.

For artificial salmon eggs, we recommend Berkley Gulp Floating Salmon Eggs. Fluorescent orange, fluorescent red, or chartreuse are all great options.

Marshmallows

This might sound like a joke, but marshmallows are a surprisingly good bait for trout. They can be used by themselves, or with a worm to help it float off the bottom.

When used as a standalone bait, fish it the same way you would fish with PowerBait. Either floating off the bottom, or a few feet under a bobber.

When used with a worm, put the worm on the hook first and simply tip the hook with the marshmallow. This will help the worm to float, similar to using PowerBait.

While you can use standard marshmallows from your local grocery store, we recommend picking up some marshmallows that are made specifically for trout fishing like Mike’s Glitter Mallows, which are made for trout and come in different colors and scents like garlic, cheese, anise and shrimp that trout love. We recommend going with the Assorted bottle, since it contains several different colors.

Minnows

Live Minnows

Using live minnows can be a great option for trout. But make sure to check regulations in your area to ensure using live minnows is legal. In many places it is against the law and could get you a hefty fine.

To use a live minnow, hook it in the lips or on top of its back just behind the dorsal fin. The easiest way to fish with a live minnow is to fish it below a bobber. This lets you cast it out farther. The bobber also lets you see when the minnow gets hit.

You can also fish minnows on the bottom by adding a splitshot or sinker to your line, 1-2 feet above the hook, in the same manner you’d fish with PowerBait or worms.

Dead or Artificial Minnows

Dead or artificial minnows are also a great bait for trout. You’ll want to use a more active approach to fishing these. Either jig them in or use a consistent retrieve.

Tie a jig head to the end of your line and insert the hook into the head of the minnow. The hook should come out on the top of the minnow with the hook pointing towards the head.

To fish dead/artificial minnows cast it out and slowly jig it back in, varying your speed and technique until you find what works. You can also consistently reel it in like you would a spinner.

For artificial minnows, we recommend Berkley Gulp Minnows.

Larvae: Maggots, Mealworms, Waxworms

Larvae are very common baits when ice fishing for trout, but they will work year round.

They are very effective for the same reason earthworms, salmon eggs, and minnows are – they are natural bait that are very similar to what trout are already eating. Any sort of live worm or insect is great trout bait, and maggots, mealworms, and waxworms are no different.

Because larvae or so small, they aren’t typically fished on their own, but are usually used to tip a small jig like a trout magnet, or tungsten jig.

Like other natural baits, the live version tends to work best, but artificial baits like Berkley Gulp Maggots also work great.

Cut Bait

Cut bait is pretty much just what it sounds like, cut up pieces of bait fish. Cut bait is best for tipping lures or trolling for big brown trout, which predominantly feed on other fish.

Common types of cut bait include chub, sucker, anchovies, and sardines.

Using cut bait is a great tactic for targeting large trout, since the bigger ones feed on other fish often. Cut bait also usually makes for harder strikes, and more hookups, since the fish won’t spit it out, knowing it’s the real thing.

The only downside to cut bait is the shelf life. Unless it’s stored in a freezer or you bring a cooler with you fishing, it goes bad fast.

Be sure to check local fishing regulations to ensure you’re fishing with cut bait that is legal.

Shrimp

Shrimp is a highly effective bait for trout, and is highly popular among ice fisherman. Shrimp are closely related to scuds, which are a very common food source for trout. Shrimp also give off a strong scent, which makes them very appetizing to trout.

Shrimp are typically used to tip lures, and are most commonly used for ice fishing, but will work year round.

You can also fish with shrimp on a bare hook either below a bobber or just off the bottom.

Cooked shrimp tend to work just as good as raw, so we recommend going with cooked, as you can throw back a few if you get hungry. Kidding. But not really. Shrimp are delicious – and the trout agree with me.

What’s the Best Rainbow Trout Bait?

Due to the fact that most rainbow trout are stocked, meaning, they came from a fish hatchery, they are used to eating pellets. For this reason, PowerBait is one of the best rainbow trout baits.

But that’s not the only thing that will work. All of your typical trout baits will work great when targeting rainbow trout including worms, maggots, minnows, salmon eggs, and more.

Bait vs Artificial Lures

As you probably already know, trout are picky eaters. Some days they’ll devour anything you throw at them and other days, they seem to only want one thing.

Which is Most Effective?

Instead of only relying on either bait or artificial lures, we highly recommend always keeping both in your tackle box. There have been days when I’ve thrown out every type of artificial lure in my collection and haven’t caught a thing, meanwhile the person fishing on the other side of me is catching fish left and right just using worms.

There have also been days where the trout only seem to want to eat artificial lures like tubes, or marabou jigs.

Fish Mortality

This is something not talked about enough, but it should be. Using bait like worms or PowerBait will significantly increase the chances of fish mortality. It’s not uncommon for trout to swallow bait, which leaves you with two options: cut the line, leaving the hook inside the fish, or keep the fish.

For this reason we strongly suggest only using bait when you plan on keeping your catch.

Using bait when there is a slot limit, is something we recommend against, as there’s a good chance you’ll have to throw back fish within the slot. Some of those are likely to have swallowed the hook, which means they’ll likely die soon after.

Summary

While we can’t definitively say that any one bait is best for trout, there are definitely some that are more effective than others. All of the baits listed in this article are great options, and usually tend to work well.

With that said, if we had to choose three of the most effective trout baits from the list above, we would go with: worms, PowerBait, and fish eggs. That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider any of the other baits mentioned above.

We highly recommend trying all of the baits covered in this article, as they are all great and can work well in specific times and different bodies of water.