Best Trout Bait – The Only 5 Baits You Will Ever Need

As a full time river guide, I use these top 5 trout baits when fishing for trout to increase the amount of trout my clients catch. I’m also going to let you in on some of the best trout baits that our guide team uses which means you get 5 bonus baits. I also discuss why and when certain trout baits work and how to make them even better.

Trout bait is what anglers put on their hooks to catch trout. The best trout bait will be something that imitates the natural food found in a trout’s diet. There are many trout baits available but the 5 best trout baits are worms, fish eggs, flies, artificial baits, minnows, and live baits.

Updated May 22, 2022: Added 1 more great trout bait.

Updated February 2023: Added rigging details for a very productive bonus bait

This article is part of a series starting with our very popular article Trout Fishing: A Complete Guide.

Best Trout Baits River Guide Use

I’m sure you know that river guides tend to catch the most fish, especially when compared to the average angler. There are multiple reasons why they do and one of those reasons includes the baits that they use, how they rig their baits, and how they use the baits.

But there are other things that some river guides will do to actually improve the effectiveness of a baits they use.

There are also certain methods that I and other river guides will use to make these and other baits more effective, and this is something I will discuss below because we know that good bait combined with a bad method or a bad setup is likely not going to be very effective.

Good guides will also have many different types of baits with them because they know that the best trout bait is the one that the trout are willing to eat at that time of year or that time of day, and a trout bait that worked yesterday or last month may not be good today.

What I mean is that you may use a worm as your trout bait in the spring when worms seem to be all over the place because of all the spring rains, and you may do very well with that kind of trout bait then, but in the heat of the summer when the ground is super dry and there aren’t many worms around, a worm may be a poor choice for a trout bait.

During the heat of the summer or in the winter, the trout may be keyed in on another bait or food source which is more prevalent at that time, and imitating that food source is often best.

That’s exactly why anglers should have these 5 trout baits in their vest or tackle pack when they hit the river or lake.

The Best Methods For Fishing Trout Baits

Before I get into the best baits for trout let me just say that regardless of how good your bait is, it’s always more important to present your bait properly and effectively, especially if you are fishing for wild trout and not stocked trout.

A poorly presented trout bait might catch a fish or two but a well presented trout bait might catch 10 or 20 trout. The good thing is that presenting your bait well isn’t that hard, and with me as your online river guide, I will teach you my methods for fishing trout baits.

Presentation is the key when fishing trout baits and the two methods that I recommend for presenting your bait to the trout in a river are float fishing and bottom bouncing.

For information, tips, and my tactics for doing these well visit my page on Bottom Bouncing – 5 Proven Guide Tips For More Fish and my page on Float Fishing: Tips From A Pro River Guide For More Trout

Best Time To Use Bait For Trout

Trout bait can be used at any time and in any type of water whether that be in clear water or dirty water, or even in very cold water.

I have read some articles that say that natural bait works better than imitation trout baits or that natural baits work better in high muddy water because the trout can pick up on the scent of the natural bait easily.

After fishing hundreds of days in muddly water I’m not convinced that a natural bait with scent is actually best, or better.

Muddy water is full of dissolved dirt, and there is usually lots of debris in the water which masks or dilutes the scent from natural trout baits. This means any benefit of a scent coming off a bait is limited.

Also, if a fish actually picked up on the scent of natural bait, I and everyone around me would still be catching trout in muddy water, but we don’t! Muddy water is very tough fishing regardless of your trout bait choice and the scent it might have.

The only thing I will say is that I use bigger trout baits in dirtier water and smaller baits in very clear water so the fish can see them. In my opinion, bigger a brighter baits are more important than just the scent of the trout bait.

I don’t use bigger trout baits in dirty water because I want more scent, I just want a bigger bait that the trout can see easier if I get lucky and I get my bait close enough to them.

A combination of the bigger trout bait and the scent combined might improve your chances in dirty water.

I also choose trout baits that look most natural to the fish.

In other words, if the fish are feeding on single eggs in gin-clear water and I chuck a golf ball-sized spawn bag at them I’ll probably scare more fish than I will catch.

The Best Trout Bait Is The Worm

There are different types of worms in North America that anglers will use as trout bait.

Worms are also called earthworms, dew worms, nightcrawlers, red wigglers, red worms, trout worms, garden worms, and even garden hackle. Most of them are the same thing.

The dew worm, which is the largest of the worms is very popular at tackle stores and some gas stations near rivers or lakes. Dew worms can range from 5 to 10 inches and can be quite fat.

Dew worms of this size might be good for very large trout, but a full-sized dew worm of 8 inches is not a good choice when you are fishing a river full of 5 to 10-inch brook trout.

Many anglers will break dew worms in half or in 3 or 4 pieces and although this can work sometimes, it’s not the best method for fishing large wild trout.

The garden worm or red wiggler worm is a smaller worm ranging from 2 to 5 inches in length and this is the type and size of worm that I prefer to use. Garden worms are easy to get and are a good size bait for both small and large trout and even for steelhead. In fact, most of the large steelhead I catch are on 3 to 4-inch worms.

Plastic Worms For Trout

These plastic worms are my preferred choice when worm fishing for trout because the plastic worms work equally well in moving water and they stay on the hook better when cast out.

So aside from not getting your hands all dirty when putting the worm on the hook, these plastic worms also don’t come off every time you set the hook. In the long run plastic worms will likely be more economical too because they last longer than live worms.

I rarely find that a reel worm is much better than a well-presented plastic worm in moving water. I also like the fact that the plastic worms come in multiple colors and some of them are deadly.

Check out my page Fishing With Worms: Guide Tips For More Trout And Steelhead. On this page, I discuss the best worm rigs, the best colors, and brands of plastic worms that I use, as well as the best hooks for using worms. I’ve even included what not to do when fishing live and plastic worms so you don’t look like a total newbie and you start catching more trout.

Worms can be fished under a float or using a method called bottom bouncing. These are the two most productive methods and ones that I use and teach when guiding my clients.

Some anglers will also cast a large weight and worm and let the bait just sit stationary on the bottom waiting for a trout to swim by and pick it up, this is called plunking. In a river, this plunking method is not a great method since trout usually stay in one place and feed for long periods of time.

Therefore, the bottom bouncing method and the float fishing method cover a lot more water which puts your bait in front of a lot more trout.

Some new anglers will even add a worm to the hook of a lure which is also not a great method for using worms since it really does nothing to entice a trout in bitting the lure or not.

If you are going to use a worm for bait it’s important that you rig it up properly and that you fish it effectively.

Even though worms are a great bait for trout, some trout will ignore your worm if you rig it up wrong or fish it poorly. You might think this is common sense but I still see lots of anglers doing it wrong and I have some great tips to fish worms better.

Have you ever seen those guys that put a worm on a hook so it looks like a ball, I do. They do that so the worms doesn’t come off when they cast or because that is how they were taught. Guess what, those guys catch few if any trout.

The reason is that trout do not curl up in a ball when they naturally drift down the river so a worm all balled up on a hook doesn’t look natural and most of the biggest and wisest trout will ignore a balled up worm.

Call it a jig tail, a grub or a worm, a trout bait that has been effective for many anglers and one that gets a ton of great reviews in the Trout Magnet.

I have used this myself under a float, or when bottom bouncing and it works for big and small trout.

I’ve also had success with this bait when fishing for great lakes steelhead and salmon.

My two most effective colors are the pink and purple. The trout magnet can be placed on the hook of a jig, or on a bait hook. You can get this bait in a kit or single packages, and I have also used the trout magnet worm.

Fish Eggs Are A Great Trout Bait

There are also a lot of alternative egg imitations like beads, and plastic or rubber eggs.

Just like worms, there are right ways and wrong ways to rig up and fish eggs. For my guide tips on using eggs as trout bait go to my page Spawn Bags: Guide Secrets For More Fish. On this page, I discuss colors, sizes and provide tips on the best types of eggs and even how to preserve them.

Pre-Tied Eggs

The best-pretied eggs that I have tried that are available to buy online are the Spawn Sacks by Superior Outfitters, plus they get great reviews. Check below to see where you can get these.

Loose Eggs

Some of the not-so-good eggs are cured wrong or with chemicals, or they are oil-packed in jars, which I believe can prevent the eggs from scenting into the water well, or it can make them turn a lighter color faster.

The best eggs to buy if you want loose eggs are the Pautzke Balls O’ Fire Trout Eggs. I like the Natural color but they also have the black eye and the premium which is a darker orange and all 3 colors have been great.

Other good options for loose eggs that work and are liked by many anglers are the that can be used as single eggs or that can be tied into sacks work and are liked

Beads Are A Great Trout Bait

Beads are one of my favorite bonus baits that you may now have considered yet but you should.

Beads are a hot bait for trout in all seasons and I would say that I use beads on almost every steelhead trip that I do when I am float fishing or bottom bouncing.

Unfortunately, beads only work well if you know how to set them up properly and if you know how to present them properly.

If you are interested in learning more about trout fishing with beads, which ones are best, and how to rig them, check out my page Bead Fishing For trout or my Fishing With Beads: 5 Guide Tips For More Fish which is geared towards fishing for steelhead with beads.

I use beads from 2 specific brands of trout beads and I will often use the 6mm and 8mm beads the most for trout. For plastic beads, I use beads from a brand called Trout Beads which are great in all types of water and they come in lots of sizes and colors.

The trout beads brand has been the most consistent quality with few to almost none having issues with clogged holes from the manufacturing process and their colors are consistent.

For the best glass beads that come in all the best sizes and a ton of colors, I use the ones from Creek Candy Bead Company.

Don’t forget to get yourself a good bead box to keep those beads organized and safe. I prefer boxes with individual compartments that open one at a time so if you ever drop your box or the box opens inside your fishing vest or pack you won’t have a huge mess to pick up.

Plastic and Artificial Eggs As Trout Bait

There are actually a lot of imitation egg patterns from single eggs to egg clusters that I have used for trout and had good luck with. There are even some like the dough baits that can be molded into eggs shapes that can be effective and inexpensive.

Some of the best egg imitations that I use are these ones from FishUSA.com and Bass ProShops:

Live Baits For Trout

I have also done well with maggots and mealworms. With these types of trout baits, I use a size 10 or 12 egg hook to secure these guys to the line.

Since finding these types of bait is difficult, instead of live bait, I will use imitation grubs with good success. A small hook under a float with the right sized leader and these imitation grubs can be deadly on big and small trout.

You can also fish them using the bottom bouncing method.

I use imitation crayfish under a float or with the bottom bouncing method with good success.

I actually prefer the imitation crayfish over the live ones in faster-moving water because they stay on the hook better and in fast water, the trout can’t tell the difference anyway.

Imitation Crayfish are also easier to store and carry with you and there are some really great ones that the bass guys use to catch a ton of bass. These are also great for trout.

When fishing crayfish I will usually use the float fishing method or the bottom bouncing method.

You can also fish these like a jig for trout, the same way the bass guys do, and jigging or crawling imitation crayfish along the river bottom can be deadly on big trout.

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Many tackle stores will sell live leeches as bait for the bass anglers, but trust me, they work for trout too if you rig them and fish them properly.

If you can’t get live leeches I have done well with the Berkley Gulp Leeches under a float.

You can also check the price at FishUSA – HERE

If they are live leaches, let them wiggle, I use a small single size # 10 egg hook and I only hook them once in the mouth so that they stay alive longer and so they wiggle like crazy which attracts more trout.

Crickets and Grass Hoppers and Beetles

You can also fish imitation crickets that can work well and one of the best ones I have tried is the Berkley Gulp Crickets.

I have used these Berkley Gulp 1″ crickets from FishUSA.com or from Bass Pro shops with good success.

Aquatic Insects As Trout Bait

Since trout feed on insects a lot when they are younger, they and the larger trout still see them as a good food source that is hard to pass up. A size 12 or 14 hooks should do the trick with real insects.

In fact, there are many days when I will catch 10 times more trout with small imitation insects, also known as flies, than all the guys around me fishing with worms and live bait.

The simple matter of truth is that if the trout are feeding on flies all day and you put another fly in front of them they will eat it. That is providing that you present it well enough.

If they don’t eat a fly, you have my list of other great baits that you can try.

Flies Are One Of The Best Trout Baits

Check out my page How To Fish Flies With Spinning Gear: 2 Best Methods

Flies are one of my all-time favorite baits in trout rivers and if I had to choose only 1 bait to use for the rest of my life I think I would use flies. Flies can be so versatile and do not need to look like bugs. I have flies that imitate leeches, minnows, crayfish, and even mice.

Every trout angler should have some of my most productive flies in their vest or pack. If you want to know my favorite flies check out my page on the Best Trout Flies.

Minnows And Baitfish Are A Great Trout Bait

I use the same hooks when using minnows as bait as I do for other trout baits like worms and spawn bags simply because those are the best hooks. See my page on The Best Hooks For Trout and Steelhead.

I like these minnows in colors emerald shiner, smelt, and watermelon pearl.

Jigs For Trout Fishing

When it comes to trout bait most anglers do not think about jigs or jig fishing for trout. However, jig fishing can be a very effective way to catch big and small trout.

Jigs come in all types, from your standard twister tail jigs, marabou jigs, bucktail jigs, tube jig, and creature jigs.

The same jig and same jig techniques that the pro bass anglers use can work well on trout.

On days when the trout are really aggressive, I will use a faster retrieve or lift the jig off the bottom 24 inches or more, but and on days when the trout are less active, I may choose a crawl and drag type of retrieve with more subtle lifts off the bottom.

I use a jig head and a crayfish jig body or a creature-type jig like the Terminator Pro Series Jigs.

The benefit to jigs is that not many anglers use them so it’s not something the trout will get used to seeing. Jigs for trout also get down to the fish even in 30 feet of water so you can use them anywhere.

Some anglers, myself included will use a drop-shotting method in rivers with great success. The same drop-shotting method you can see here in this Drop-Shotting video is being used on bass or walleye.

My advanced bottom bouncing rig uses a similar drop-shotting rig which is what I use when fishing jigs and other baits.

Some anglers will also use small marabou-style jigs under a float and use the same float fishing method used for other trout baits like spawn bags and worms. These Anglers International Jiggy Bugger Steelhead Jigs, these VooDoo Jigs, or these Eagle Claw Jigs are my favorites for trout and steelhead under a float.

Using and Attaching Skein

There are 2 ways I fish skein for trout in rivers. One is with a bait loop knot, and the other is tying the eggs andmembrane into an egg sac.

Eggs sacs hold the skein on the hook better and allow you to go super small which can be very effective. Skein tied into eggs sacs also has the added advantage of adding different colors to the skein.

The advantage to not using spawn netting is that loose skein attached with an eg loop knot has more natural movement and profile since it’s not tied into a ball.

However, I have found both way usually are equal.

The size of the hook you use is important and hook size will depend on the size of the skein chunk required. For a big chunk of skein that is the size of a ping-pong ball or golf ball, you might use a hook size 2 to 6. For a small chunk that might contain 2 to 4 eggs you should probably use a size 10 or 12 hook.

The size of the skein that you should be using will depend on the conditions of the river and the size of the trout. If your river is full of 5 to 10 inch brook trout you don’t want to be using a golf ball size chunk of skein.

In fast water or water that is not very clear, you would use a larger piece of skien, especially for bigger fish, which might mean your skein chunk wil be the size of a ping-pong ball or the size of a quarter.

If it’s a small stream or/ and it’s very clear water, or all small trout, you will probably do better with a smaller piece of skein with 2 to 5 eggs.

Most often when trout fishing, I will use a piece of skein with 3 to 4 eggs and just enough of the membrane to hold the skein on the hook.

as mentioned, often I will tie the eggs into spawn netting if the skien I have is breaking apart easily or if I want a very small bait. Tiny spawn sacs the size of a green pea or a dime work better for trout than a ping-pong ball size.

I discuss the best spawn netting colors, best types of spawn netting, sizes of the sacs to use, how to hook the sac on, and even determining the proper hook size on my page Spawn Bags: Tips and Tactics.

I should be doing a video on this soon (2023).

Lures For Trout

Some anglers consider lures as bait but to me, they are lures, they are not bait. Check out my page on Lure fishing For Trout for my best tips and advice on lures.

Other Stuff To Make Trout Fishing Easier

Forceps – If you are going to use natural baits for trout you should have a good set of forceps/hemostats. You want ones that are made for fishing and small enough to get deep into small trout’s throat. Check out these Forceps from FishUSA.

Polarized Glasses – A good pair of polarized glasses are a great tool when fishing trout in rivers and I wear mine all the time.

Not only do they provide protection for your eyes but they are great for reading the river and finding those trout holding spots, as well as seeing the rocks and snags. I could not do my job as a guide as well without them.

Polarized glasses are a valuable asset to any river angler. I am currently wearing the Orvis Men’s Superlight Backwater Polarized Sunglasses

Trout Net – You should also have a good trout net that is suitable for river fishing. I have been using the 17″ x 21″ Frabill trout net for around 10 years and it is inexpensive and it works great. The 13″ x 18″ net is a good all-around size but We catch a lot of 20 to 25″ trout every year.

I will have a whole list of recommended river fishing gear on my Best Gear page.

Bait Fishing Regulations

Using bait may not be legal where you live or it may not be legal in some rivers or just some sections of river so check your local regulations before you go fish.

Got A Question About The Best Trout Baits

I hope I covered most of the things regarding the best trout bait, but if you have a question, comment, or want to add some tips of your own let me know in the comment section below.

Tight Lines

Graham

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