Synthetic trout baits have become quite popular with anglers all over the world. They have different names, but the most popular is Berkley's Powerbait. My fishing buddy and I have always joked that they must feed trout this stuff in hatcheries, because they love it so much! Synthetic trout baits work very well for catching stocked trout. These "play dough" like baits don't work nearly as well on native trout or in river situations for that matter. But in lake situations, especially that get stocked with trout, synthetic trout baits are hard to beat.

The best way to fish these synthetic trout baits is through the use of gang hooks. What are gang hooks? Gang hooks are simply 2 small hooks tied in tandem, thus enabling the angler to present twice as much of this synthetic bait. Here's the best way to rig up for fishing in a lake. First grab the end of your line and slip a slip sinker onto your line, and then tie on a small barrel swivel. The barrel swivel acts as a "stopper" for the weight. Now tie a set of gang hooks onto the opposite end of the barrel swivel. Simply cover each hook with enough synthetic bait to completely cover the hooks. Cast this rig out, let it sink, and slowly reel in the slack line until your line is taught. Now just wait. Your line will bounce when a bite happens.

This is the simplest way to use synthetic trout baits, such as Powerbait. It's quite effective as well. As I said, stocked trout have a hard time resisting these baits. Personally, I would rather not catch stocked trout. I enjoy catching native trout much more. To me catching a trout that has been raised in a glorified aquarium is anti-climactic, but hey, you've got to do what you've got to do, right?

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