by Keith Hamburger

Created on: February 04, 2009

Arguably the most effective trout bait available, Powerbait dough baits can be rigged really only a couple of ways. Since Powerbait floats it is specifically intended for bottom fishing.

The first way, and the one recommended by Berkley, the manufacturer of Powerbait, is to rig the bait on a slider rig. This allows the greatest sensitivity at the rod tip while reducing the pull the fish will feel when it takes the bait. Often trout will quickly release bait if they feel any significant resistance.

To rig the slider rig you will need a treble hook, egg sinker and a tiny split shot sinker or a swivel. The hook to use will be a number 12 to 16 treble hook, a very small hook but one that is large enough to effectively hook the fish and not weigh down the bait. If you're using a swivel you will need a length of line to use as a leader. With a tiny split shot to use to stop the egg sinker that's not necessary.

To start you slide the egg sinker onto your line. Use the split shot a couple of feet from the end of the line as a slide stopper for the egg sinker. Otherwise, tie a swivel onto the end of the line. At the very end of the line, or at the end of the leader if using a swivel, tie the hook. Of course, if you're using a leader you will tie the free end of that to the swivel.

Apply a small amount of Powerbait to the hook in a small ball. Use enough to completely cover the hook but not too much. If you use an excessive amount it might interfere with the hook set. From there you just cast the line and wait for the rod to tip indicating a strike. If you don't get a strike after a while you might try a different length of leader or sliding the split shot up and down the line to see if the fish are holding at a different depth.

The other way to rig for Powerbait would be to use a three-way swivel. Tie one end of the swivel to the line leading to your rod. Another leg of the swivel would be tied to a leader and a weight. Bell weights are perfect for this application. Your small hook would be tied to the final leg of the swivel with another leader.

This would be fished in a similar manner, cast your line out to the bottom and wait for a strike. Again you can experiment with different leader lengths to find where the fish are feeding.

On either rig, along with varying the depth, play around with different colors. Trout can be finicky and what attracts one fish on one day may not work at all on another fish or another day.

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