From the Tackle Box: Choosing The Best Trout Bait for Stocked Trout

Fishing for stocked trout can be fun and rewarding. As spring settles in, Fish and Game will begin planting thousands of pounds of fish in lakes, ponds, and river systems. These trout behave differently than other trout species like German Browns and native Rainbows. Stocked Trout are raised in fish hatcheries and fed small pellets packed with nutritional supplements like vitamins and fish meal.

They also consume top-water insects. This behavior is natural and will continue in the wild as they develop a pallet for various forages including other fish.  However, while grouped, they can be difficult to catch. Only around the time they begin to disperse can you entice them with bait and lures. This is what makes stocked trout fishing fun. So what is the best trout bait for stocked trout?

Best Trout Bait for Stocked Trout: Planting Schedules

Follow your state’s Fish and Game website for planting schedules. It’s usually good to fish 1-2 days after a plant to let the trout acclimate to their environment. Some Northern California won’t disclose planting schedules due to poaching. In some cases, guys will follow the trucks with nets and net them as the fish are released.

Dough Baits

Power Bait and other dough-style baits are the best bait-and-wait techniques anglers use everywhere. Using a 1/2 – 1 oz egg sinker, a size 10 Gamakatsu bait holder hook, and a double-barrel swivel, cast your line out to where you think there might be fish, let your rig hit bottom, reel in the slack to achieve a tight line, and wait. And that’s it! You can fashion a bell to your rod if you plan to step away and throw lures while you wait. As the sinker hits bottom, your power bait will float. Power Bait is a major go-to for most anglers – you can’t go wrong. Colors like chartreuse, bubble gum, salmon egg, and rainbow, are effective. Garlic scent is a plus when fishing around active fish.

Best Trout Bait for Stocked Trout: Salmon Eggs

When fishing in moving water, a bobber rig with bait that sinks is effective. For this, anglers will use salmon eggs, wet flies, trout magnets, and other soft plastics, and fashion split-shot weights to the leader line.  However, salmon eggs produce solid bites when fished using scented brands like Pautzke Fire Eggs Pink Shrimp. They imitate a small egg flowing downstream, and provide an irresistible opportunity, even to a stocked trout – it triggers an instinct to feed. You can use a size 10 Gamakatsu single egg hook in red with a 6-10 lb main line and a 6-8 lb leader line. Trust me this setup makes salmon eggs the best trout bait for stocked trout in moving water.

Mepps Spinners

Mepps spinners have dominated the trout bait market for years. The flash of the blade imitates a fleeing bait fish. It’s a perfect presentation for when stocked trout begin slowly breaking off in small groups and foraging along shorelines. Consider a light-action spinning rod with a good parabolic bend and a 6-10 lb line. For moving water, consider a braided main line. Black with a silver blade, gold, and red are killer colors in spring. Consider black for poor water clarity and white during lower light conditions. However, low-light conditions generally are best for throwing all spinners. What’s more, you can fish spinners practically anywhere. They also make awesome trolling lures.

Rebel Teeny Wee Craw

The Wee Craw was designed for small water fishing such as creeks and streams and produces the same action as a small silent crankbait. Crayfish are a natural part of a trout diet. It’s common to clean trout and find crayfish in their stomachs. And stocked trout are no exception to this natural behavior. I have to say, this is probably one of the most underrated, multi-species lures on the market. It has a tight wobble action. It also digs well into dirt and mud and deflects off course erratically. This action triggers an instinct to chase and kill. This is a perfect ultra-light lure to throw on a shorter rod ( 5-6′) and light line. The shorter rod length will allow you to make casts on smaller water along banks with low overhanging trees.

Rapala Orginal Floating Minnow

As trout mature and begin foraging for larger prey, they naturally turn to other fish as a main food source. However, this shouldn’t stop you from throwing an original floating minnow. Stocked trout are hardwired to chase smaller fish. The diversity of the Original Floating Minnow is what makes it so effective. You can fish it slow, retrieve fast, and twitch and pause. Even stocked trout can’t resist the wounded minnow presentation. As you retrieve, vary your retrieval patterns until one commits. Standard go-to colors are silver, rainbow trout, and gold – All three represent natural food sources for trout like brown and rainbow trout fry. Additionally, they make great trolling lures behind a set of flashers.

Best Trout Bait For Stocked Trout: Night Crawlers

Nightcrawlers are one of the best organic baits you can fish with. Using a size 10 Gamakatsu hook, thread the worm onto the hook leaving some tail to hang off the end. You can use a slip bobber setup or back-bounce using split-shot weights. 

Worms and grubs are natural to a trout’s diet and often are washed into rivers and lakes by rain and erosion. This is why mealworms and nightcrawlers provide some of the best trout bait for stocked trout. That hardwired instinct to target crawling critters kicks in when you present a moving target like a small nightcrawler on the bottom as if it gently flows with the current.