Powerbait Fishing Rigs – Catch More Rainbow Trout

When it comes to fishing for rainbow trout, especially if the rainbow trout that are being targeted Powerbait. While trout fishing "purists" may scoff at using dough style trout baits such as Powerbait to catch a rainbow trout, the truth of the matter is that Powerbait is an extremely effective rainbow trout bait, especially when it comes to fishing for trout that have been raised in a hatchery. And can you guess what the most popular and prevalent hatchery raised trout species is? You got it, the rainbow trout.
have been stocked, there is one bait that stands out above all others in terms of effectiveness and that bait is known as

When you are fishing with Powerbait, trying to catch rainbow trout, it is vitally important that you use an effective rig and in this article I will outline a few of the rigs I have found to be effective over the last three or so decades of trout fishing. Truth be told, catching stocked rainbow trout isn't that God awful difficult, but if the proper rig is employed it tends to be much more effective, which means that you will catch more limits of delicious rainbows. These Powerbait fishing rigs are being listed in no particular order, are all effective, and all involve 3 common elements. A 12-24 inch two or four pound test leader, a weight, and a barrel swivel.

1. The Gang Hook Rig – The gang hook rig involves the use of a set of #8 or #10 gang hooks. A bullet or egg weight is slipped onto the end of your line. You want enough weight to hold the rig on the bottom and no more. A swivel is attached to your line which will act as a "stopper" and to prevent line twist. A set of gang hooks (which are tied on a 12-18 inch leader) is then tied to the opposite end of the barrel swivel. Each hook is then baited with a small ball of Powerbait (enough to cover the hook) and the rig is complete.
2. The Treble Hook Rig – This Powerbait rig involves the use of a #12 or #18 treble hook. The first thing that you do is cut a twelve to twenty four inch length of line (leader) from the end of your line and set it aside. Now, just as with the rig above a bullet or egg sinker is slipped onto your line and a barrel swivel is attached. Now the leader you just cut is tied to the opposite end of the swivel and a single treble hook to the opposite end of the leader. Powerbait is added to the hook and the rig is complete.
3. Adding Beads to Your Powerbait Rig– For either of the above rigs, a wrinkle that many rainbow trout Powerbait fishermen like to add, is a small plastic bead in between the sinker and the swivel. Why do they do this? Added attracting power. Lightly 'jigging" your rod tip as your Powerbait is sitting on bottom will cause a faint underwater tapping noise when the bead comes in contact with the sinker and it is said that this noise attracts hungry rainbows. I have success using beads and rather than letting my rig sit on the bottom while I "still fish" I slowly reel the Powerbait in while "jigging" my rod tip with every crank or two of my reel.

The bottom line is that the aforementioned Powerbait fishing rigs all work extremely well when fishing for rainbow trout. If you aren't using any of them, they should be added to your repertoire sooner, rather than later.