by Fishnislife, September 24, 2008

-The Powerbait Way-

One of my favorite ways to bait fish for trout is what I call the “Ball&Crawl” (B&C). It is a combination of your favorite PowerBait (PB) and a fat nightcrawler. I prefer the Canadian Nightcrawlers. This combo can also be drenched with you favorite sauce. I will use Pro-Cure Trophy Trout scent or Anise. I have not tried their Nightcrawler bait sauce, but I have a feeling it would be a good scent too.

Now to do this take a nightcrawler, split it in half or thirds (depending on your hook size) and tip the hook with it (Pic 2). Then ball up your PB and press it onto the hook on the top end (Pic 3-4), leaving the nightcrawler hanging out (Pic 4). Fish this under a bobber or leader. I prefer on a leader with a slip weight and swivel. The leader being about 1’-2’ in length. Be careful when casting because like most PB, if you don’t have it on tight, it has a tendency to come off. Now sit back and wait for that “tick, tick” and set the hook. You’ll be catching fat bows in no time.





*No nighcrawlers were harmed in the making of this post.

If you are a PB fisher already and want to try a new way to use PB on your hook, listen up. I was shown this by an old trout fisherman a couple of years ago and he swore by it. Instead of taking your PB and balling it up like you would normally do (Pic 1) squishing it on a hook, take a glob of PB and roll it in your palms into a snake or worm shape (Pic 2). Now put this on your hook (preferably a single hook set up) molding around it so to ensure that it won’t fall off (Pic 3-4). This technique works well for stockers and holdovers. Most trout don’t normally eat a big glob of goo, so by shaping into something familiar you are elevating doubt as to whether or not they should eat it. Combined with a great scent you can't go wrong. *Note - make sure to make the snake PB thick enough to float. Test it in shallow water before casting. I always like to dip my PB once before casting it to tighten it up.






Jeremiah aka fishnislife, September 23, 2008.