Powerbait? It worked for me for the first time ever.
Post By: travisbradley1990 Posted: 6/8/2012 9:53:33 PM Points: 335
So we hit antero today and couldnt get a bite on any lures we had, the buddy i was with tried some powerbait after we anchored down and WHAM! He almost lost his pole! Landed the fish and it was a fat 16 incher. I thought it was luck but after ten more minutes of it sitting out there he almost lost his pole again! I decided to try it, while i was reeling my slack in i felt something play with it and then it took it like crazy. They were all the same size and we kept them all. I latched in to the pictured fish before we started heading back and it was about 3 or 4 pounds and gave me the best fight Ive ever got out of a fish at antero, so i let her go and we left with 3 nice ones. I took my buddy who just got back from Afganistan a couple months ago and watched him have the most fun hes had since hes been back. GREAT DAY GOOD LUCK!
That's great man. Its funny how Antero is like that. I've had numerous days where the only thing they were hitting was power bait. I've also experience days where they wouldn't touch the stuff. Congrats on a good day out with a vet. God Bless America!!!
Funny thing is, there seems to be a weird stigma about Powerbait on this site that it sucks and doesn't work......
It works great!! It is a regular trout magnet. It's not about Powerbait "sucking" or not working, it is that it is viewed by some as almost cheating, at least in my eyes. It takes no skill to glob some goop onto a treble hook, toss it into the water, and let it sit there until a fish comes along.
I think Powerbait is a great bait, there is a reason it outsells almost any lure out there. i just dont consider using it to be called "fishing" more than it is "waiting". Tossing a fly or jig out there and mimicking an actual living creature to "lure" a fish into eating it is a skill to be called "fishing".
Hey Jack, there is a time and place for everything. The time and place for powerbait is at Antero. There are a lot of ways to fish and this is one of them. The Universe continues to unfold as it should. . .
"It takes no skill to glob some goop onto a treble hook, toss it into the water, and let it sit there until a fish comes along."
Some of the most classic fishing myself and many others think of or use is worms, leeches, minnows, any live bait for that matter. Since I was a kid and was taken out fishing with my dad, uncle or grandpa, we always would stop at the local vait shop and get some night crawlers, minnows, etc. We would then go to a fishing spot at John Martin Lake uaually the spillway and bait the hook, cast out, then just sit and wait until we got a bite then would have a blast catching them. We caught catfish ALOT, bass and many others.
So my .02 cents is that fishing is fishing and whether you are using bait or lures or whatever method you choose to try and catch fish, it is FISHING. And fishing to me is fun and alot of times exciting and I enjoy all various ways of fishing. Great Fish bud and sounds like you had a blast. If Powerbait was the key this time, then more "power" to ya. lol
Reply by: stowe Posted: 6/10/2012 12:02:42 AM Points: 88
One of my biggest concerns with powerbait is that if you want it to stay on your hook you are likely going to use a treble hook. In my expirience trout caught that way are very frequently injured and that prevents me (or anyone else) from being able to ethically release that fish should I choose to. Of course I also get bored sitting there staring at my rod waiting for something to happen when I could be throwing a lure and searching for fish. People's opinions vary though and if someone is intending to keep the fish for dinner I see nothing wrong with it and it certainly is an effective option.
Reply by: albow Posted: 6/10/2012 10:38:14 AM Points: 154
The "power eggs" available the last couple of seasons are a lot less trouble to work with. You don't have to get your fingers all goopy or use treble hooks they'll work with circle hooks reducing fish mortality.
One thing about Antero this time of year is that a lot of times flies actually work better than lures or power bait. It's worth talking to the guys who are catching up there and you'll find one that will show you what works. If you don't want to invest in a whole fly fishing outfit you can use spinning gear with a "fly and a bubble." Catching is fun no matter what technique you use.
Reply by: shathe Posted: 6/10/2012 11:01:52 AM Points: 44
you do NOT have to use treble hooks for power bait. i did when i first used it but eventually got to where i use small number 8, 10, 12 hooks with the barbs ground off. the result?
I have to agree I like the move toward circle hooks. I still only flyfish but thats cause I get bored just watching a rod sit there unitl something bites I like to go looking for fish plus it reminds me of fishing for steelhead and salmon back home and it never fails to food on the table since my wife and I eat a lot trout out of antero.
We were using size 10 hooks with the powerbait nuggets, and not one swallowed the hook. We would have used lures all day long but we didnt get a bite on anything after 2 hours, so whatever works and it was power bait that day
Reply by: Bass Man Posted: 6/27/2012 10:44:32 PM Points: 37
Folks go fishing for a lot of different reasons. Some go to be one with nature, sit back and enjoy the vista, the mountains, the eagles and hawks and the sun. Some go to relieve stress, to “buzz out” and listen to the lapping water, relax and contemplate their place in the world. Some go to connect or reconnect by spending some quality time talking with a buddy, son, daughter or wife. All of these reasons lend themselves well to fishing with bait.
Others go for the challenge of mimicking bugs, leaches, minnows and worms to see if they can fool a fish into biting. When they do they get a measure of satisfaction out of being smarter than a fish. This they call skill. These folks have a lot of time and money tied up in their equipment. But that shouldn’t mean that they have the right to look down their noses at how the bait casters spend their time on the lake.
Don’t tell me that I’m not fishing because I don’t fish like you do. That’s small minded.
Reply by: setzdahook Posted: 6/28/2012 12:07:55 AM Points: 12
I bet a guy with a fly rod or spinning rod could do all the things mentioned in bass man's first paragraph. I bet they could do it without looking down their nose at anyone, too. I wonder if a bait guy ever goes to the lake with a chip on their shoulder about being looked down upon. (rhetorical)
Reply by: Bass Man Posted: 6/28/2012 8:08:38 AM Points: 37
The answer is no. I fish both methods. Mainly based on who I'm with and my purpose at the lake that day. It was a reply to someone's personal opinion about bait fishing. You missed the point completely.
Reply by: hogbanger Posted: 6/28/2012 8:41:25 AM Points: 84
powerbaiters shouild be looked up to we do an unthinkable act of convincing trout to eat some goofy crap that looks nothing like natural bait fly fishermen on the other hand are using a bait that is so natural the fish are programmed to eat the natural looking flys not the gob of smelly crap come on
Reply by: GotOneOn Posted: 6/28/2012 10:09:52 AM Points: 105
I too use power bait on occasion mainly when night fishing, I do however object to burying a treble in the bait. I use a single hook and mold it at the top of the hook where the line is tied which seems to work well. If I "gut hook" one I cut the line as close as possible to the hook without ever touching the fish or removing it from the water, If it bleeds it's kept
Reply by: fishing bum Posted: 6/28/2012 11:17:14 AM Points: 412
Bassman, sorry but your 100% wrong. noone lis looking down on you for the way you fish. Honestly your the one looking down on other's for something you didnt take the time to try, some of my most memorble times ive had are places where its flys and lures only. Like you said what" we call "skill" i just call "good ole fishing" bait.. lures... flys... etc its all fishing!!! -Tightlines!!!!!!
Reply by: Bass Man Posted: 6/29/2012 12:02:44 AM Points: 37
Fishing Bum...read my second post. We are in the same boat. I fly fish, spin cast and bait fish. I was simply replying to someone who said bait fishing wasn't real fishing because he uses lures which is real fishing because it's based on skill. Or some crap like that. I use all methods but don't look down on those who only bait fish. They pay their license fees just like everyone else and deserve to be there too. This includes me when I take my young grand sons to the lake.
Reply by: MenFisher Posted: 7/2/2012 4:56:16 AM Points: 560
Here's the same discussion we've read here again and again. It boils down to what one's priorities are, and in what order: Catching fish? Eating fish? Being (or being thought to be) a sportsman? Being nice to fish? What other fishermen think of me? What PETA thinks of me? What I think of me? Having fun? Getting a nap in while waiting for something to happen? Keeping my hands and arms busy? Using my equipment for what it was designed to do? Figuring out some new trick for landing a fish? Getting the most fishing action for the least money? Each person fishes for a stir-fry of reasons, and it's a waste of time and attention to criticize another person's priorities for not being the same as one's own. It sounds like "you bad cuz you ain't me."
I was out at Antero on the 4th with my boy. He got a nice 18" rainbow on a night crawler. Tried power bait for a while, no luck. Threw lots of different lures too, no there there either. Worms did the trick. Got home, brined it, smoked it, and ate it. Good times. I know worms aren't fashionable to everyone, but I don't really care about being fashionable when I'm fishing.
some momo always has to put a reply up about "that's not fishing it's waiting". Get off your high horse bro, didn't mother teach you anything,... if you don't have anything nice to say,... shut your pie hole.
I believe when it comes to gut hooked, its better to cut the line so that it hangs out of its mouth and reaches at least to the back side of its gill cover, that way its can still eat.
Powerbait imitates hatchery feed rather than any natural bait. It is much more effective on hatchery raised fish than fish born in the wild.
Personally, I think whatever a fisherman chooses to use is fine. I've caught 90%+ of my trout on spoons, and nightcrawlers work much better for me than powerbait.
Reply by: Bass Man Posted: 7/26/2012 7:11:25 PM Points: 37
My son and his buddy went to Arvada Reservoir a few weeks ago and caught a three pound Bass on pink power bait. While there a couple of guys in a row boat caught a trout on chicken livers.
