what is the best bait for rainbows

[hunter5156]

I want to know what the best bait for rainbows their is to use on tipups.

[Outdoors_Nut]

I don't think there is a cut and dry answer. Alot will have to do with the forage of the body of water your fishing. I use small smelt and shiners. Others swear by power bait and or salmon eggs.I know a few guys that only use crawlers and have great luck.You'll have to put in the time and see what works best for you. This can change from lake to lake.

[coldbum]

i agree small smelt, crawlers and I have had luck with a small sweedish pimple tipped with a meal worm

[Cha-Chi]

depends- if the rainbows are stocked then mealworms or minnows
If they are a self-sustained population, they will probably be larger and therefore want a larger bait, such as smelt.

[Fish Monger]

I read on NES where they were chuming (more or less) for rainbows using Salmon Eggs in shallow water. I always tried one on a hook with little luck, but they reported dropping them down the hole slowly and watching for the Rainbows to swoop in after them. I have yet to try it.

[rob3197]

depends if rainbows are stocked. if they are powerbait.teardropjigs tipped with waxies and fresh roe works well.

[PAcatchreleaseman]

real salmon eggs-treated special with kosher salt is the absolute BEST bait for stockers. You put one on a hook/swedish pimple/kastmaster/teardrop/whatever, drop it down the hole and they come a runnin.  most of the time anyway   Native trout id have no idea, im not privilaged enough to have that type of h2o round here.

other favorite baits include the medium fathead/wax worm/mealie worm.

powerbait?  c'mon people!

-PA-

[Master Angler]

If you can find krill in a bait shop near you, I would give them a try. The ones I found were frozen in packs of 50.  They can come dyed in different colors or not dyed.  I used the non-colored ones which are naturally pinkish on a stocked lake near me a couple of years ago and they out fished minnows, meal worms and powerbait severely.  I used them on tiny green, chartreuse and orange jigs.

[Spicoli]

stocked rainbows go crazy for corn, it sounds funny but it really does work!

[iceintheveins]

For fishing rainbows on tip ups, use live baitfish in the 2 - 5" range. If live minnows aren't legal, put a nightcralwer on the tip up. I usually catch way more trout jigging than on tip ups. I think the best overall baits to tip jigs with, whether the trout are stocked or wild, are nightcrawler pieces, maggot, mealworms, and waxworms. Sometimes salmon eggs or powerbait work too. Overall, nightcralwer pieces are the best.

Tyler

[TroutFishingBear]

stocked rainbows go crazy for corn, it sounds funny but it really does work!

not trying to be mean spicoli but please don't use corn even if it catches fish. Fish can't digest it and their (well, butts) aren't big enough to excrete it. They do like corn, oh yes, but please don't use it as it will kill the fish. That's one of the laws I agree with in colorado, no corn allowed.

[billditrite]

no cornholeo 

[Bean]

not trying to be mean spicoli but please don't use corn even if it catches fish. Fish can't digest it and their (well, butts) aren't big enough to excrete it. They do like corn, oh yes, but please don't use it as it will kill the fish. That's one of the laws I agree with in colorado, no corn allowed.

IFB, We've been down this road before(March & April 2004 on MFF). Corn does not kill trout! Yes, it's true that trout don't digest corn very well, but neither do humans! I'd be glad to see the documentation you have recited this from, but I think it's been told to you by someone that was told by someone else, etc...(urban legend). Here's my documentation from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission:

Question asked to the Fish commission:  During the last few years, I have seen more and more people using corn for bait. But it seems as if they are now being so bold as to sow the stream with handfuls at a time before casting their lines. I have always had the understanding corn cannot be digested by the trout and they would die from ingesting it. If this is the case, is it illegal to sow corn?
 
 
Answer from the Fish commission:  Commission fisheries biologist Tom Bender at our Benner Spring Fish Research Station conducted a study in 1992 that examined the impact of corn on trout. For the study, two groups of hatchery rainbow trout were held in separate tanks and tested for 54 days. In one tank, 20 rainbow trout (average size 8.3 inches) were fed a diet of whole kernel corn. In the second tank, 20 rainbow trout of the same size were fed a standard trout pellet diet.
During the 54 day study period, no mortalities occurred from trout of either study group. However, study results did show that the trout fed with a corn diet did not digest the corn particularly well. The growth observed by the corn-fed trout during the study period was only about half of that observed from the trout that were fed the standard trout pellet diet.

The conclusion from this study was that there appears to be little reason for concern about the short term health hazards for rainbow trout when whole kernel corn is used for bait. Although there are better diets for trout than whole kernel corn, this study confirms that mortality does not occur when trout ingest whole kernel corn.

You also asked about the practice of anglers using handfuls of corn to attract fish - a practice sometimes called "chumming." For waters managed under statewide regulations, chumming with corn or other bait to attract fish would be considered a legal practice, providing that anglers don't get carried away and liberally coat the bottom of the stream with corn. If this were the case, then it could be considered littering.
 
Here's the link:  http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/images/pages/qa/2004/04-13corn_chum.htm

[TroutFishingBear]

"chumming" is not legal for good reason in colorado. Corn kills trout, plain and simple, or it wouldn't be illegal in colorado for that VERY REASON

Okay you guys can use corn but just know it may be harming fisheries. It's just another FACT out there that fish CANNOT DIGEST corn and CANNOT EXCRETE IT BECAUSE OF SHAPE AND SIZE. I will research this a little more, I will ask the local biologists here. (of course they wil agree with me in this case)

[iceintheveins]

I honestly really don't know the truth. It could be that thing with corn was that fly fishing purists made an excuse to try and ban it like they do all baits on simple correlations. Or it could kill fish. I know they don't digest it well, but neither do humans or other mammals. I would trust a Pennsylvania Fish and Game report a lot more than I would my state. I am thinking it's probably another "bullcorn" statement from fly fishing purists who hate bait fisherman. No offense meant to any fly fishers on this board. Just don't like the ones who want bait banned.

Tyler

[Spicoli]

IFB, seriously they can digest corn, and it doesn't kill them, trust me i have seen corn come out of a fish before, and it was still alive!

[Bean]

"chumming" is not legal for good reason in colorado. Corn kills trout, plain and simple, or it wouldn't be illegal in colorado for that VERY REASON

Okay you guys can use corn but just know it may be harming fisheries. It's just another FACT out there that fish CANNOT DIGEST corn and CANNOT EXCRETE IT BECAUSE OF SHAPE AND SIZE. I will research this a little more, I will ask the local biologists here. (of course they wil agree with me in this case)

IFB, When you get "documentation from an organization" and not heresay, post it on here so all can see it. I've shown you my side plain and simple. Please don't sow your words of wisdom on here proclaiming they are true if you don't have any documentation to back them up. I also remember you as the one saying that 95% of the U.S.'s imported oil came from Venezuela. Another false story.

Here's another one and it's from the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited:
   My hopes are that we can dispel many urban legends with scientific facts and accurate data. Where factual data is lacking, hopefully this program can help fund some of that research that will make a real difference and positively affect how the river is managed and perceived. We all know some of these legends:

•    If you eat a fish from the river you will glow until dawn and die three days later.

•    If you swim in the river your skin will crack and your hair will fall out.

•    Thou shalt not keep any fish and thou shall release all fish caught.

•    Corn should be outlawed because small trout cannot digest the kernels and intestinal blockage then kills them.

•    And as some county officials up stream have been heard to say, "We do not see mud as a problem." is a problem.

Here's the link I got that from:  http://www.georgiatu.org/publicoutreach.htm

For the record, I don't use corn for trout. I just want people to know what the truth is about it!

[OTIS]

IceFishingBear, are you also TroutFishingBear on MyFishFinder?

[TroutFishingBear]

The oil thing was a complete mistake on my part.

Bean, I am sorry if I sounded like I was lying to you. I just have heard, and even talked to a biologist today that told me corn CAN kill trout but doesn't usually unless they eat a lot of it. I have not found a publication about it though, so maybe he is wrong. The CDOW biologists have proven themselves just that quite often. I will request the opinion of other experts and hunt down any publication I can find about the matter.

Thanks for your insight!

[Bean]

"chumming" is not legal for good reason in colorado. Corn kills trout, plain and simple, or it wouldn't be illegal in colorado for that VERY REASON

Okay you guys can use corn but just know it may be harming fisheries. It's just another FACT out there that fish CANNOT DIGEST corn and CANNOT EXCRETE IT BECAUSE OF SHAPE AND SIZE. I will research this a little more, I will ask the local biologists here. (of course they wil agree with me in this case)

everything I state on this forum like this post is  fact, or what fisheries biologists have a consensus upon what is fact. (And the controversial corn killing some fish if too much is eaten has been confirmed to me by many fisheries biologists.)
Do you read infisherman? I'm not sure which one it is, but it says this in a bit lesser detail in it. I have asked fisheries biologists if it is true, and they gave me some more information. (FYI: I didn't ask colorado ones, they know less than I, a sophomore in high school)

Well, I emailed the CDOW and asked about corn being illegal to use as bait in colorado.
This was my question: 

Hello, Do you have any studies that show corn kills fish that ingest it? I heard that using corn is forbidden as a bait in colorado and wanted to know the reasoning.

and this was the e-mail response I received:

Hi,

We do not have any information on corn killing fish.  Corn as bait is legal here in Colorado.

Have a nice day.

David Dokken
Denver, CO  80216

Sorry to be blunt, but it seems that some things you post on this forum are not fact!
I think I'll believe the stated fact coming directly from a member of the CDOW.

[Fishrmn]

Since this has become a debate about corn as bait or chum, I'll jump in with both feet.  In the great state of Utah you cannot use corn as bait.  The reason is because it is illegal to chum.  If someone has a can of corn with him while fishing, what would stop him from tossing a little out to chum with?  Since you cannot chum, you cannot have the very thing which most Utahns used to use for chum.  The reason you cannot chum in Utah is this.  People used to chum with reckless abandon.  There were areas of certain lakes (not the entire lake mind you, just the bays that were the right depth for baitfishing) that were covered with corn a couple of inches deep.  My cousin and his friend were scuba diving once and came out to the boat that my uncle, my dad, and I were fishing out of.  They told us that we could stop chumming, because the corn was already as deep as their fingers were long.  Few people believed that the corn was much of a problem until the drought of the late '70's.  When the reservoirs dried up, and the water levels went down, there were places that smelled just like moonshine.  The "corn squeezins" smell would knock you just about on your keister.  It is a water quality issue, and it contributes to algae blooms.  But it doesn't kill fish.

Fishrmn

[TJC]

If corn doesnt kill trout then why would they outlaw the use in many states? Is it because it catches trout so well or they really dont know if it kills trout? May PA. trout have bigger cornholeos and get rid of the corn better than in other states.

[rayrob]

Corn does not kill trout-chumming  with corn does,creates a feeding frenzy and trout WILL over eat and rupture their small stomachs.

[Flash_King]

Back to the original question. velevetta cheese swettened with a little anise or garlic oil or if you can get them - hellegmites!

[Icemanjim]

Answer to the original question:  Try different baits until you find the right combination.

Answer to the controversy:  Maybe we should chum with cream corn and fish with whole kernel?   It don't matter, in Wyoming I can't use either one.

[FishHawk01]

In Colorado, I do well with Salmon eggs.  the next bet bait is a minnow.  As to corn I know of plenty of people who use corn and swear by it.  I don't think its illegal.  I do know chumming is illegal in Colorado.

[fastribs85]

ok live bait has to be minnows and mealies tied for open water minnows for ice a,ong with castmasters in open and hard water used to do good on thosemepps thunderbugs and also used to do good on flys for the soft water season

and as for corn they can get it out have caught trout with corn in their stomachs and some were pushing it out on the stringer and no animal digests corn very well thats why i was told by game comission to put out cracked corn for the deer and turkey

[FishHawk01]

Ok, Now this debate about corn is getting out of hand and despite Ice/Trout Fishing Bear's many opinions, corn is legal (as well as Minnows, see keeping live bait alive topic) in Colorado.  I also think that the Colorado Division of Wildlife makes mistakes and does its job to the best of its ability.  I also don't think it would be a good idea for me to second guess everything that happens in Colorado because I don't agree with the results.  (after all I assume they are degreed in fisheries biology)  So if anyone wants a Forum Topic to slam our local/state Wildlife Divisions/Departments or whatever your state calls it, start a new forum topic. 

Thanks, 

[TroutFishingBear]

Live Minnows are NOT legal in any of the waters I fish in colorado Idratherbfishing (west of the continental divide), so I guess we both were only giving pieces of the rule and not the whole thing.
Ditto with me with the corn. Cannot chum anything in colorado, and that does not exclude corn bean. I have talked to a local biologist for CDOW, and he said he believes corn does kill fish, but CDOW does not have enough proof to come out and say that yet I guess. Use corn at your own risk would be a fair statement I guess. I'm done on this topic until it becomes a proven fact.

[FishHawk01]

I stand corrected on the minnow issue,  I was only stating half the fact.