If you are interested in catching rainbow trout (and you obviously are because you are reading this article) one of the most effective baits that can be used is dough bait. Using dough bait to catch rainbow trout isn’t that difficult especially if a few simple rules are abided by. In this article I will discuss these rules so that you can begin catching rainbow trout using this unique trout bait.
The first thing to consider in regards to catching rainbow trout with any type of trout bait is what kind of rainbow trout you are attempting to catch. There are two kinds of rainbow trout that most people fish for; native trout and stocked trout. Native rainbow trout are trout that were born naturally or have survived two to three fishing seasons in a body of water, whereas stocked rainbow tout are trout that have been placed into a waterway for the purpose of being caught and/or to replenish native trout populations. The type of rainbow trout that you are attempting to catch is important because native trout and stocked trout tend to eat very different things. Native trout eat food that is found naturally in their environment, whereas stocked trout eat food that has been “fed” to them. This means that stocked trout readily bite dough bait (which is similar in many ways to the food that the trout have been “fed”), whereas native trout tend not to bite dough style bait because it is completely foreign to them.
This means that catching rainbow trout while using dough style baits is done mainly for trout that have been stocked (stocked trout). Dough bait is also most effective when used in lake fishing scenarios where you are still fishing (fishing form the bank). This means that you will be using a bottom fishing rig of some sort. When fishing with dough bait most trout fishermen like to use one of two styles of hooks, a single small treble hook or a set of small gang hooks. If a treble hook is being used size #12 or smaller is in order and if gang hooks are being used to fish dough bait size #8 or smaller are the way to go. The bottom line is that when catching rainbow trout with dough bait small fishing hooks are in order and these hooks need to be rigged on a bottom fishing rig that is being still fished in a lake.
Whichever style of fishing hook you choose to use when fishing with dough bait a key to success is to make sure that the hook is completely covered with bait and none of the metal from the fishing hook is visible to the trout. You also want to touch the dough bait as little as possible to keep as many “human scents” off of the bait as you can, because when rainbow trout detect any human scents, they tend not to bite.
There are many types of dough bait on the market with the most popular being the trout bait known as Powerbait. Dough bait is available in many different colors and having a few colors available to experiment with is always a good idea. A great “rule of thumb” is to try one color for thirty minutes to an hour and if you receive no bites, try a different color. Normally the trout will prefer one color to all others on a given day and that color will change from day to day. The bottom line is that experimentation is another key to success when it comes to catching rainbow trout using dough bait.
