PowerBait or mealworms for fishing?

Q. 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.”