About 10 years ago I did a fish survey for the Division of Wildlife in my home state of Utah. I was assigned to travel to 4 different reservoirs to take pictures of the fish that were being caught, interviewing the fisherman to see what they were catching them with, and what species they were catching. I happened to run into an old friend who had just reeled in a big Rainbow Trout at one of my destinations. I asked him what he’d done to catch it, and he showed me a new setup that I’ve used to catch dozens if not hundreds of fish since!
The point is, never stop learning. I had been fishing most of my life and thought I knew it all. How wrong I was. There is always more to learn and try. And with some states allowing anglers to use 2 or more poles at once, the opportunities to try different baits and techniques are even easier to try. In this article we will go into fishing strategies to try using different baits to catch the fish you’re looking to reel in!
How to Catch Fish with Powerbait
There are several different ways to fish with powerbait. In this article we will go over 3 Strategies/set-ups to try, including:
#1 – Fishing With a Floating Bubble – This entails putting a bubble or bobber (I use clear, 2 inch bubble) on the main line, with a leader (a more fine line that is harder for the fish to detect) anywhere from 12-36 inches in length to the treble hook. The power bait will float, so placing a small sinker next to the treble hook will make it sink. Bait the hook, making sure to cover the sinker so it can’t be detected, cast the line out as far as you can, and watch the bubble on the surface for a strike! Fill the bubble anywhere from ¼ to ½ full to help the line get out a little farther but will still float. This strategy is for catching fish that are looking for food near the water’s surface. I generally use a size 14-16 treble hook.
#2 Fishing with a Sinking Bubble – The strategy is much like #1, with the same setup except for one major difference: filling the bubble 90 to 100% full! The bubble will sink part of the way down, but not all the way to the bottom when done correctly. You also don’t need to put a sinker near the treble hook because the bubble will sink the line. Then watch your line closely for a strike! This is good for fish that are swimming in medium depth water.
#3 Fishing with a Sinking Bubble and Sinkers (or just sinkers) – This strategy entails sinking the line to the bottom and then allowing the powerbait to float up 1-3 feet off the bottom. First, fill the bubble completely with water. Second, put two large split shot sinkers on either side of the bubble, and tie on a swivel hook. You can also just use sinkers and ditch the bubble, but I would only do that if the bottom of the lake or reservoir is sandy. Rocky bottoms will snag your sinkers, causing you to lose your hook and possibly the whole setup. Bubbles help prevent snaging on rocky river or lake bottoms.
Then, depending on how much you want the bait to be from the bottom, tie on a leader line of 1-3 feet with a size 14 or 16 treble hook. Place the powerbait on the hook and make sure the hook floats before casting! Then cast out and watch your line closely for a strike. This is for catching fish that are cruising for food off of rocky surfaces or near the bottom of the lake or reservoir.
TIP: Oftentimes the fish with Strategy #3 swallow the hook, so you may want to consider smashing the barbs if you are doing catch and release. Also, make sure you have good pliers to remove the hook safely.
How to Catch Fish with Worms:
Set Up #1: Classic Worm and a Bubble – Similarly to set up #1 with powerbait, the most well-known way to fish with a worm is to take a bubble or bobber and drop a big nightcrawler anywhere from 1-3 feet below. Fish love the smell the worm gives off, and any fish cruising the surface will want to take a look. I generally use a 2-inch clear bubble filled about ⅓ full of water (this helps with getting more distance on the cast without sinking your bubble), then tie on a swivel, followed by 1-3 feet of tippet, (generally size 6x tippet) and anywhere from a size 12-16 worm hook.
Once I have my bubble/bobber, swivel, and worm hook, I take a nightcrawler and split it into two. I take one piece and slide it onto the hook, starting with the split open end of the worm until the whole hook is covered. Then slide the pointed end through the worm so it can hook the fish when it bites. The smell and taste of the worm attracts the fish. Watch your bubble closely for a strike! This setup is good for catching trout, bass, perch, panfish, and even catfish.
Once you cast your line out, you can let the worm sit in one spot or you can slowly reel in the worm, and then re-cast over and over. If one way you are trying isn’t working, try the other strategy to see if it gets the fish interested.
Worm Set-Up #2 – Floating the Worm Up from the Lake or River Bottom: Did you know you can float a worm up off the worm or lake bottom? The simplest and most effective way to do this is with the help of floating fish marshmallows! These are marshmallows you find in the bait shop, NOT your local grocer. With this setup, you want to put some egg or split-shot sinkers about 1-2 feet above your worm hook. Then place your worm on the hook just like in setup #1 above, and put a scented marshmallow securely on the hook with the worm.
What this setup does is sink your worm to the lake bottom, but floats the worm up off the bottom. This is a good strategy for fish that are feeding in the deeper, cooler water. The scent of the marshmallow and worm combined will interest any fish in the area. This setup has been good for catching trout, perch, panfish, and catfish.
How to Catch Fish with Live Bait
“Live bait” is kind of a misleading term for this: the bait isn’t actually alive. But they are real! Minnows are most commonly used for this style of fishing. The most common way anglers fish with live bait is by putting a bubble or bobber on with a leader off it with anywhere from 1-4 feet. Often anglers use sinkers (I usually use 1-2 medium sized split shots) to help sink the minnow about 1-2 feet up from the hook. The hook type for this style of bait fishing is a worm or “J” shaped hook.
When presenting your live bait to the fish, you want the minnow to look like it’s alive, so the best way to do that is to cast out and then reel the minnow back into you. It’s good to try different pacing when reeling in to see what presentation the fish are attracted to on a given day. Sometimes the fish are striking when reeling slowly, with some pauses along the way, while other days the fish are biting at a more moderate to rapid reeling. If you aren’t catching anything, try mixing up different speeds and pauses until you find what’s working. This style of fishing is good for bass, trout, and really, any kind of fish that relies on predation of smaller fish species.
How to Catch Fish with Salmon Eggs as Bait
Salmon eggs have a strong fishy smell to them that fish find hard to resist. Plus, fish eggs can be a natural part of a fishes diet, depending on your location and fish-type. The most common setup for using Salmon Eggs as bait entails using either a bubble to sink off the top of the water, or a sinker to sink the eggs to the lake or river bottom, but coming off the bubble or sinker at a tippet of 12-24 inches. The trick is choosing what type of hook to use.
Some anglers using Salmon Eggs prefer a worm hook, while others prefer a treble hook. It really comes down to your preference. In either case, putting 2-3 Salmon Eggs on the hook will allow the eggs to give off their scent which will attract fish to the area. I’ve used Salmon eggs primarily to catch trout, but there are many other types of fish that will want to eat them given the chance.
Conclusion
Bait fishing can call for some exciting, fast action! It’s good to know and try different ways of fishing to find the way that works for you. If you watch the Bass Tournaments on TV like I do, you’ll notice they have a bunch of poles on their boats with various set-ups ready to go. It’s really a good idea for all of us to use the same logic: have different set-ups and bait types so if the fishing is slow, you can quickly change to something that might work better.
Even the pros never know what exactly will work on a given day. It’s therefore important to know various ways to fish using different baits in our quest for catching the big one!