Some kind of bait is going to be used to catch a trout. There is a big selection of bait that a trout will hit. At times they will hit live bait and other times they will be caught on synthetic baits. They were even caught on some baits that were used in the olden days.
There are an enormous different kinds of live bait that can be used to catch trout. Nite crawlers or worms are one of the first to come to mind. Nite crawlers are easy to get and they cast very well, while worms are smaller and harder to cast they do very good at catching trout. Hellgrammites, which here in Michigan we might call them wigglers are very good for trout. They are the larva of some of the insects that live around the water of a stream or lake. Minnows and crayfish are a couple of live bait that work very well on trout. The big trout like live crayfish and will hit them very hard.
There are many synthetic baits on the market today. There are synthetic minnows that are as soft and pliable and some times look more like a minnow than the real live minnow looks. They also make synthetic grass hoppers, spiders, wigglers or just about every type of bug or crawling thing you can find around water and they are all good for catching trout.
Years ago you just went out and dug up some worms or picked up some nite crawlers off your lawn at night and you were ready to go fishing. Some other old fashioned baits we used were cheese and corn, but for me I mainly used them to seed or chum a good run or hole before I was ready to fish it especially if I thought there were some good trout in them.
You can go through quite a few different baits on one fishing trip because trout will hit on one type of bait one day and something quite different the next. It is going to be impossible to say what they will hit on one day or the next.
Eugene Killian
