Homemade Floating Trout Bait

Wading into just above freezing water …  Pinching dough bait on the end of a number 6 hook and casting upstream through a little riffle…. Watching as it rolls down an eddy… Waiting… waiting… Suddenly, the rod tip bends slightly.

Anyone who has ever been in this position knows how exhilarating it is to catch a trout. There is something about duping a fish to eat your bait or lure that has always intrigued me. I started making my own lures when I was 10. From whittling sticks into crankbaits, to tying flies, there is something even more satisfying about catching a fish on something I created.

The last two years I have fished a plethora of diverse trout baits. I discovered which ones functioned for me, and ones are what I consider to be “Angler Bait” (attractive to anglers because of the colors or cost, but the bait doesn’t produce results).  I probably bought 15 different trout baits just last year. At an average of $6 for 20 nuggets, I spent  $90 for 300 nuggets... I came to the conclusion it was time for me to try to make my own baits.

I did a little research online about homemade trout baits. I found a lot of different suggestions but none of them, with the exception of a company called Bite On (http://biteonfishing.com), had found a way to make their bait float.  If you are looking for a quick way to make your own bait, this looks like the solution. The cost is close to $5 for a regular trout bait container. If anyone decides to purchase this, I would love to have you review it.

Here are some of the recipes and information I found online:

http://www.troutnation.com/how-to-make-homemade-trout-dough-bait

Inspired most of my recipe, except the cooking part. The dough is already dense and I need something soft and pliable for my single hook set up.

http://www.missouritrouthunter.com/BaitFishing.htm

Missouri Trout hunter is by far my favorite information found. It talks about all aspects of fishing for trout, but it also described many different recipes people tried. The most interesting one to me was the info about using earplugs as reusable bait.

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004t3U

A blog with a few different recipes, I haven’t tried their recipes, but if the bait I made works I might diversify and try others.

Here’s our recipe:

1 ½ Cups of Flour

½ Cup of Corn Meal

1 tsp Garlic Powder

½ Cup of Water

1 Cup of Marshmallows

4 oz. of processed cheese

1 piece of Styrofoam board

Start by mixing a ½ Cup of flour, cornmeal, and garlic powder together.  Rub the Styrofoam board into small pills. Mix a large amount of Styrofoam into the dry mixture. Remember, this is what will make the bait float, so the more the better. Add the water. Heat up the marshmallows and cheese; mix in.  Add another ½ cup of flour and begin to knead together. Add the remaining amount of flour to reach the consistency you would like. This recipe makes about 16oz of dough.

Send us your floating bait recipes so we can share with others at thefullstringer@gmail.com.