Recent Comments

PowerBait or mealworms for fishing?

powerbait-200x148Q. My dad and I go fishing a lot. We used to use PowerBait but we just didn’t catch anything. So we started using mealworms and we caught much more. But the next time we went fishing and the other fishermen were saying the fish were biting the PowerBait! My dad and I love catching trout but we don’t know what bait is best for that?
–Matthew Mealworm, Gillete, New Jersey

A. Hello Mr. Mealworm. Thanks for the question. For this one, I’m going to defer to my buddy Justin Lucas. He’s a 23-year-old pro fisherman from Folsom, California, who fishes for Team National Guard and catches trout and bass that probably weigh as much as you do! Anyway, here’s what Justin had to say:

“That’s a good little question. Throughout most parts of the United States, Berkley PowerBait ($3.50-$10; www.berkley-fishing.com) is actually, overall, the best trout catcher there is. But, obviously there are times when live bait is going to work a lot better because it’s real. Think about it like this—On certain days you might want to eat a hamburger but someone is trying to feed you a taco and you just don’t want to eat it. Then, there are other days when you want the taco but you’re getting fed the hamburger — and you don’t want to eat that. So you just have to experiment and learn what the fish want each day. I would stick with the PowerBait and live bait like mealworms or night crawlers, but some days they just might want one or the other.

Here’s another tip to help you catch more trout: Let your bait soak more. Instead of reeling it in fast, let your bait sit there longer than the other guys — up to 10 to 20 minutes after each cast. Remember, you’re waiting for the fish to come to you rather than going after the fish.”


Ask the Gear Guy

Not sure which gear to buy? Need tips for maintaining your equipment? Click here to send in your questions for the Gear Guy. Selected questions will be answered here and in the printed magazine.

10 Comments on PowerBait or mealworms for fishing?

  1. fishhawk7590832 // June 5, 2009 at 2:33 pm // Reply

    Vitamin fortified Wonderbread sandwich bread pieces in about one inch pieces and moistened into a dough bread ball and placed on a fish hook will catch seven inch carp and some of the smaller fresh water pan fishes. The Wonderbread sandwich bread one inch pieces usually really attract small fresh water fish such as carp as well as wild pond ducks when tossed into the fishing pond before casting the fishing hook with the moistened sandwich bread dough ball.

  2. fishhawk350921 // June 5, 2009 at 5:39 am // Reply

    Regular soft whole kernal corn from a grocery store and placed on an Eagle Brand fishhook size #5 will catch carp that measures over fifteen inches from a fresh water river.

  3. mealworms all the way! caught 34 fish in a pond with them!

  4. i have some of those powerbait trout nibbles i dont really like just having one or two on a hook so if i use them(which is rare) i put one on and a worm but i do agree live bait is SO MUCH BETTER! though some plastic and rubber lures are good

  5. good ole owl // April 27, 2009 at 1:09 am // Reply

    live bait will almost always win out over rubber or other artificial lures, but some places the fish are raised on the same thing each day, the trout especially, they jump all over bright colored puff balls with a hook in them.

  6. worms are soooooooooooooooo much better than power bait for just about every thing i fish for. Bass, pike, crappies, and sunfish.

  7. I like worms better than powerbait

  8. do you mean meal worms or wax worms

  9. pedro's boss // April 10, 2009 at 3:35 pm // Reply

    when me and pedro go fishing I usually use his tail as bait.

  10. I fish in lakes around detroit and my dad and I use always use powerbait when we fish for trout.

Leave a Comment

Please don't use your real name.