When it comes to trout fishing, there are many baits that can be employed, and it seems as if everyone has their favorites. Some are completely natural such as any form of live bait, and some are completely unnatural such as corn, cheese, and marshmallows. In many cases it depends on what type of trout that you're fishing for. No, not the species, but rather whether the trout are stocked or native. If the trout are stocked, then crazy things like marshmallows and synthetic baits will work. If the trout are native, then live bait will be more effective. I'll break the two main types of trout baits down for you and you can decide for yourself which way you want to go.

Natural Trout Baits - Natural trout baits would include such things as minnows, hellgrammites, leeches, meal worms, crayfish and of course the earthworm. Live worms are probably the best and most popular trout bait. Live worms rigged on a set of gang hooks is great trout bait. Crayfish are also wonderful bait for large trout. Any time my fishing mentor had a large fish located, if that fish wouldn't bite a worm, he would fish for it with a live crayfish. 90% of the time he caught that large trout too! Call me a traditionalist, but I prefer to fish for native trout with live worms rigged on gang hooks as bait. I've just always had such success with live worms that I have a hard time using anything else. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for natural trout baits.

Unnatural Trout Baits - Unnatural trout baits would include such baits as cheese, marshmallows, salmon eggs, and all forms of synthetic trout baits. Synthetic trout bai0ts are the ones that come in little jars, like Powerbait. Although I have a personal dilemma with trout that eat things such as cheese and marshmallows, the fact remains that stocked trout can be caught using such baits. Synthetic trout baits such as Berkley Powerbait are very popular and quite effective for lake fishing. A set of gang hooks with Powerbait as your trout bait is hard to beat on lakes that have been stocked with trout. Although unnatural baits aren't my cup of tea, when high water makes the rivers un-fishable, even I will use them to catch trout.

The bottom line is that the most effective trout bait is really up to personal preference. The two most popular have to be live worms and synthetics, such as Powerbait. My favorite is live worms rigged on a set of gang hooks. I've always had great success trout fishing with live worms as my trout bait. Although those anglers who prefer to wave feathers back and forth may disagree with the concept of fishing with live worms, I'll put my techniques up against a feather wavers any day of the week. At the end of the day, the most effective trout bait is the one that works best for you and that you feel most comfortable with, even if that involves waving feathers in the air.

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