Fishing with Powerbait

[OnTheFly]

I created this thread out of curiosity why some fishermen use Powerbait and there have been some very valid reasons. Most of you enjoy using it because it is easy to use and a great way to introduce kids to fishing. Some of you mentioned that it is a simple way to fish while you kick back and enjoy the day or just socialize. My favorite reason was the use of two rods; one for plunking bait while using the other to fish with spinners.

I’m sure everyone agrees that Powerbait is very effective and fish will probably swim across the lake to get it…well almost. It can be a good back up choice if nothing else works. Everyone enjoys fishing the way they like to do it best but by no means is anyone wasting their time by fishing differently any other way even if Powerbait is the only thing the fish are biting on.

But the bottom line here is the ‘convenience’ of Powerbait. Very little effort is involved in using it. Teaching kids how to fish with it takes very little time and they lose interest in a short while if no action occurs. Yes I know that Powerbait is formulated to attract stocker trout like hatchery pellets but they will bite other things as well and this is when the real education and understanding begins about fishing.

My point is that learning what fish will eat naturally and developing skills in presentation, reading water, and fish behavior will produce a life long interest in the sport. Lucky are those who learn their fishing skills from a mentor. Teach your kids to fish like my dad and my uncle did for me.

 

[ColoradoTroutMan]

The reason I bait fish primarily is simple. That's what I grew up with. Now I mention "bait" as I use all forms of bait.

Powerbait was added simply for the fact it's effective and simple.

I do have some experience with fly fishing however the cost was prohibitive (hence another reason for bait).

I will admit though that powerbait can be just as ineffective as any other form. It's not a can't miss bait.

The addition of powereggs has also made things a bit easier and allows for a different type of presentation.

I guess as others have mentioned it's a very simple, effective, easy and relaxing way to do what we all love to do, catch fish.

 

[SiletzTroutKiller]

The reason I use power bait is because it works. Its easy and fun to catch fish especially when I bring my younger cousins along who don't really know how to rig up. I only use it on stocker trout tho. When ever I fish river, like the Siletz, I only use spinners, bobber/jig, or bait (sandshrimp/roe). A reason why I don't fly fish is because few from Siletz really do it. People fly fish the Siletz a lot but usually they're Valley's from Salem/Eugene/Albany/etc. not locals. So not fly fishing is a way to separate ourselves from others. I personally have no problem with fly fishing or fly fishermen. I myself have done it and have been successful. Truly the main reason I don't fly fish is because it's hard for an 18 year old college student to afford all the fancy fly gear. And at the end of the day I'm pretty sure us local boys with our bobber and worms can out fish any fly fisherman on our home river. But I do encourage all fishermen to try every style and see what they like best

 

[montym]

Hi;

Don't know if it is a bad deal to dig such an old thread up, but I am new to Oregon and re-learning to fish after almost a 30 year gap and thought I'd add my 2 cents. Before this month, last time I caught any fish was back in the 80's in India with a bamboo pole and line without any reel. Now I am mostly self taught with the help of the great God Google with tips from a few generous friends here, and honestly for a novice fishing is incredibly complicated these days. If you want to do a test, get one of your friends who does not fish and get him/her to read one of the threads here and see if that person understands half of it. I know what bugger means, but a wooly bugger leaves me stumped.

So I am using power bait/power eggs today, it is the easiest thing to start off with. I do dream of the day when I will be waist deep in a stream on a sunny day casting a fly, but first I need to catch some fish or the wife will be upset about me spending too much money on the gear.


Just for the record, I have only caught two stocked trouts so far, my hooking technique really needs some work. At $100+ per trout or more so far, it's been a bloody expensive hobby to be honest.

Cheers
M

 

[OnTheFly]

Hi;

Don't know if it is a bad deal to dig such an old thread up, but I am new to Oregon and re-learning to fish after almost a 30 year gap and thought I'd add my 2 cents. Before this month, last time I caught any fish was back in the 80's in India with a bamboo pole and line without any reel. Now I am mostly self taught with the help of the great God Google with tips from a few generous friends here, and honestly for a novice fishing is incredibly complicated these days. If you want to do a test, get one of your friends who does not fish and get him/her to read one of the threads here and see if that person understands half of it. I know what bugger means, but a wooly bugger leaves me stumped.:lol:

So I am using power bait/power eggs today, it is the easiest thing to start off with. I do dream of the day when I will be waist deep in a stream on a sunny day casting a fly, but first I need to catch some fish or the wife will be upset about me spending too much money on the gear.


For the record, I have only caught two stocked trouts so far and catch and release is a dream far away. My hooking technique really needs some work. At $50 per trout or more so far, it's been a bloody expensive hobby to be honest.

Cheers
M

montym, I was surfing around the forum and noticed that my old thread had been resurrected. If I may, I'd like to comment on a couple things in your post. First, I had a good laugh about how you new what a bugger was. I've heard the term many times during my visits to New Zealand.

I am happy you have decided to fish again and yes, there's a lot more to it than a Tom Sawyer Huck Finn style of fishing. You mentioned the cost of the sport and how expensive two trout took from your pocket. Be thankful you don't fish for salmon. As you accumulate the gear you need, it won't be so bad each time you fish. But here's the thing; don't think of it as failure or a waste of time if you don't bring fish home. Think of it as a day in your life where you were on a mountain lake or walking a crystal clear stream where the air is fresh and far away from fast track society. It will make you feel rejuvenated and appreciate life even more and you will take this home with you every fishing trip. Priceless!:thumb:

btw....Next month I will be taking a trip to eastern Oregon to flyfish for big brown trout. It is an 8 hour trip one way, it will cost nearly $300.00 dollars in gas alone and I will be releasing all the fish I catch (after a picture of course.)

 

[Chromatose]

"this is when the real education and understanding begins about fishing.

My point is that learning what fish will eat naturally and developing skills in presentation, reading water, and fish behavior will produce a life long interest in the sport. Lucky are those who learn their fishing skills from a mentor. Teach your kids to fish like my dad and my uncle did for me"


Very well put!!!

 

[Lancep51]

I know what you're thinking. Why is a fly fisherman making a thread about powerbait.:think: It's not because I'm trying to stir the pot by pitting bait guys against the fly and lure guys, it's because I am genuously curious why one would choose to fish with it. Ok...Ok...I know....it catches lots of fish but are you really getting the most out of the experience? Does plunk fishing really do it for you? If one were to bait fish why not use crickets or grasshoppers? Or bloodworms? It just seems Powerbait has made it more convenient to bait up. Can someone enlighten me?

Trust me I am trying to get ahold of the concept of not using a fly rod fishing for trout... I have to use a spinning rod for the first time since I was a little guy for this competition my buddies want to do. I have to use a spinning rod to fish for a whole week on our camping/fishing trip up on a few mount hood lakes. My buddy has to use a fly rod which he never really fly fished before, so we have to see who catches the most fish on the trip. I think the reason why I never got into fishing when I was younger than 13 was because I got bored waiting for a fish to bite on a rod that was sitting there for hours... I got introduced to Fly Fishing at East Lake in a drift boat with NYMPHS! What a great way to get addicted to fly fishing because I felt like I was actually doing something to catch the fish and catching tons of them at the time. Then it was over to Dry flies on the Crooked then after that it was an addiction hitting every small creek and river in the Mt.Hood area in my Highschool years. It became a lifestyle which I have not lived while in the Army, but returning again very quickly now that I am on my home stretch of returning to Oregon. I was and still am a stuck up towards people that use powerbait... guess where that got me... In a bet with someone that thinks fly fishing is for the rich and entitled, and me that thinks spinners are for kids. So with a bet of some fine small batch bourbon I got into a competition that will make me switch roles for aweek. I already find it interesting all the STUFF that's out there for trout on spinning rods and its hard to match the hatch with you are looking at Captain America powerbait but I will use anything to win in Oregon and not lose to somebody from MN lol. So we will see how this experience will open my views and I think it will and be more considerate towards the powerbait guys. I am already open to the idea of people using inline spinners now that I see how they work... but powerbait that will have to wait till we kick this thing off. I know I will fly fish for the rest of my life. I think when the times are right then I will just cast out a spinning rod and just sit in a chair, drink a beer or six, watch the landscape, relax and wait for some poor trout to eat a Captian America color power bait for some ungodly reason. Tight line everybody and hopefully see you on the water..

 

[Lancep51]

More reasons:
-Fly fishermen fish to catch fish, bait fishermen fish to eat fish.
-Fly fishermen go home to tie more flies when they run out of flies, bait fishermen open another jar of powerbait.
-Fly fishermen adjust to nature, hide behind bushes, walk for miles to enjoy and release a fish, bait fishermen change the position of their chairs to get more/less sun.
-Fly fishermen drink from flasks, bait fishermen drink from coolers.
I still have more Jim

This is all a true statement. I remember having my great grandfathers flask in my vest with whatever I could get when I was around 17, slipping away wondering why all my flies ended up in the trees instead of the water. My dad knew I was using his Canadian Whisky, but never said anything about it till he saw my flask when we fly fished together when I just turned 21. Theres nothing like hiking in miles to catch a small rainbow, cutt or brookie and releasing it.

 

[Diamond Lake Charlie]

I guess I will add my 1 1/2 cents worth, first of all like fly fishing there is more than one way to use power bait. Second there are various reasons for powerbait. Personally I cannot get the grasp of fly fishing as I have never been able to get those little buggers to hang on to the hook. Second I cannot swim very well and third I don't like wading and fourth my feet, diabetes, cannot handle the cold which is also why I don't ice fish. Fifth because of back problems my legs are not that strong and then sixth that is the way I was taught to fish....that is bait. Ok so I am a bit on the lazy side and I have not set a hook for over 10 years with power bait but I have caught a lot of nice fish. At my best, when I was fishing more, I did close to 500 fish at Diamond Lake in 3 years and my shortest limit time for two people was 1 hour. My 5 year old grandson did 17 fish in one day on power bait. I will admit I don't just go out there and plunk down some bait and sit there and wait, I go after them moving my boat several times if I have to till I find them and very often I am the only boat around. Last of all the experience I get and the experience others in my boat is just as good for us as fly fishing is to you...it is all in the interpretation and sometimes the ability of the fisher. I may get some flack on this but I have never found much of a challenge in having somebody on the road with binochs directing the person in the water as to where the fish are holding. True I do use a fish/depth finder but that only tells me about the fish "directly" under my boat and does not tell me anything about what is 3 ft past the transducer. In short, like you it is what we enjoy doing. Some fish for the experience, some to kick back and relaxe, some to share time with others.....it is all about what you enjoy. I have two fly rods, one was my dads and the other my father in laws. Both hang on the wall and have been there for over 15 years and they are very comfortable.

 

[troutdude]

The very first time that I tried Berkley's Power Nuggets (little brown marshmallow shaped tidbits); I nailed over 60 'bows in 1 day! It was a Detroit; back in the day. I let others fish my pocket--after some 30 C & R's, and while I ate my lunch--then went back to the same spot. You should've seen the dumbfounded looks, on their faces, as I then C & R'd 30 more! LOL

 

[TheKnigit]

I guess I tend to sit in between the "I am a fly fisherman" and the "I am a bait fisherman" camps. I love fly fishing. It is most definitely my preferred method. However, there are times when it is nice to kick back in a chair a relax. Fishing with my wife tends to be with bait, since that is her preferred method, and I am sure it will be the same with my young son when he finally gets old enough to hold a rod. I always seem to have a thing of powerbait in my tackle box just in case.

 

[LingFace]

When I was a teen my dad often took me fly fishing at fly-only venues. I enjoyed the scenery but rarely caught anything. Now I fish bait with my kids who catch stocked rainbows and panfish like crazy while my heart breaks for the garbage and loud crappy music. Once in a while I get out to my super secret salty solace where I can fish bait and not get smacked in the ear by a drunken water skier with hippie hair and "look at my Juvenal narcicistic naivety cause I'm my own brand of awesome like the world has never heard of" tattoo asaulting my retinas.

 

[troutdude]

once in a while i get out to my super secret salty solace where i can fish bait and not get smacked in the ear by a drunken water skier with hippie hair and "look at my juvenal narcicistic naivety cause i'm my own brand of awesome like the world has never heard of" tattoo asaulting my retinas.

rotfl!

 

[newfydog]

You should've seen the dumbfounded looks, on their faces, as I then C & R'd 30 more! LOL

My only problem with bait is that C&R with bait can be pretty hard on the fish---do you have any secrets for lip hooking them?

"Researchers investigating rainbow trout survival found that mortality of fish caught using flies ranged from four per cent to 10 per cent and mortality of fish caught using natural baits ranged from 32 per cent to 64 per cent (Schisler and Bergersen 1996; Stringer 1967; Shetter and Allison 1955). Trout often swallow bait hooks deeper than flies, resulting in greater damage to sensitive areas such as gills, gill arches and the throat."

 

[TheKnigit]

My only problem with bait is that C&R with bait can be pretty hard on the fish---do you have any secrets for lip hooking them?

I have had pretty good luck with hook removers when it comes to bait. However, I am normally not fishing C&R if I am bait fishing.

 

[troutdude]

I just cut the line, in front of their mouths, and return them to the drink. An ODFW Fisheries Biologist once told me that, there's an enzyme (in their blood) that dissolves the hook. It takes a couple of days, for that to happen. But he assured me that, the fish would be fine.

 

[LingFace]

My only problem with bait is that C&R with bait can be pretty hard on the fish---do you have any secrets for lip hooking them?

"Researchers investigating rainbow trout survival found that mortality of fish caught using flies ranged from four per cent to 10 per cent and mortality of fish caught using natural baits ranged from 32 per cent to 64 per cent (Schisler and Bergersen 1996; Stringer 1967; Shetter and Allison 1955). Trout often swallow bait hooks deeper than flies, resulting in greater damage to sensitive areas such as gills, gill arches and the throat."

My solution is not to target fish I don't plan to eat. Medical science alleges fish in balanced proportion with other foods such as vegetables is good for you. I don't expect to get all my protein from fishing but I also don't have any issue with accepting my natural place in the food chain. I target fish that are abundant and delicious and I knockout, bleed, and ice each fish promptly. When I catch my fair share for the day I move on to another activity. For those who wish to release fish unharmed I would recommend flies or artificial lures with barbless hooks. Realistically, edible baits are for edible fish. I don't get any excitement from torturing an animal so that is why I kill it and ice it right away. C&R always involves making a fish fight for its life just for entertainment. To me that seems a little like a dogfight. I have no animosity to those who try to release fish unharmed. Just know that if you succeed at doing so there is a chance your unharmed hatchery trout will find its way to my plate.

If if I accidentally bait catch a fish that can't be retained, I either remove the hook from its lip or cut the line if it is deeper in hopefully without touching the fish with my hands and causing additional damage. I have caught several lively fish that had a hook lodged in deep and the line cut. A fish can survive the hook if you don't try to get it back in some cases.

 

[newfydog]

I just cut the line, in front of their mouths, and return them to the drink. An ODFW Fisheries Biologist once told me that, there's an enzyme (in their blood) that dissolves the hook. It takes a couple of days, for that to happen. But he assured me that, the fish would be fine.

Your biologist friend may believe that, but little actual data exists.

If you catch and release 60 fish caught on bait, on the average you will kill 20-40 of them. To remain under your five fish daily limit, you must be 4-8 times better than average at releasing them.

I fish with bait too, I just keep everything I catch when I using bait.

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To our knowledge, almost no studies have followed the fate of fish with hooks in their esophagus. Studies of immediate and delayed mortality of hooked fish have invariably found the highest mortality in fish hooked in the gills or esophagus.

John Foster, Recreational Fisheries Coordinator for the Fisheries Division of the Tidewater Administration of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, studied whether fish shed hooks left in their gullets. The Chesapeake Bay striped bass fishery, which was closd in the mid-1980's due to low population levels, was reopened when fish spawned heavily and stocks rebounded. Atlantic coast states imposed various combinations of size and bag limits to protect the growing striper population. But limits that required release of fish won't work if many released fish die.

Biologists throat-hooked medium (16-to-22 inch) and large (22-to-28 inch) stripers and held them in tanks of half-strength seawater (15 parts per thousand). Stripers in Chesapeake Bay occupy water that ranges from nearly fresh to almost full-strength seawater, so the experimental treatment represented average water conditions. And of course, hooks in saltwater rust much faster than in freshwater.

Foster and his colleagues at the fisheries lab ran two experiments to test long-term hook retention. In the first, they tested hooks of stainless steel, bronzed (steel with a polyurethane coating), nickel, and tin-cadmium. They placed 1/0 or 2/0 hooks in the fish's esophagus, with the point up and left an 18-inch length of line on the hook. Thirty fish were hooked with each type of hook.

After 120 days, 78 percent of the hooks remained in the stripers, including fish that died. . Bronzed hooks were the likeliest to fall out, though 70 percent remained after four months in brackish water.

In the second test which ran for 60 days, line was clipped at the hook eye. 81 percent of these hooks remained, with retention of hook type ranging from 100 percent for stainless steel to 56 percent for tin. Mortality was higher in the secon test, when all the line was trimmed.

Foster theorizes that the length of line hanging from the fish's mouth kept the shank flat and allowed food to pass below it. Without the line, food tended to force the hook eye and shank down, which blocked the esophagus. With the shank held flat, the hook may move to one side, allowing the fish to feed. Hooks that rusted did so in stages, leaving ever smaller portions of the bend and point in the fish.

Stripers also formed scar tissue around the hook, the body's way of isolating this foreign matter. Once tough fibrous scar tissue forms in the mouth, however, it can't be removed. Months after hooking, fish developed latent infections around hook wounds, which caused mortalities. These infections might have been caused by bacteria that became active as water temperature changed, or they may have been triggered by seasonal stress, such as spawning.

Based on these findings, Foster recommends that anglers carefully remove hooks from deeply hooked fish,

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