What Fish Bite PowerBait? (Review, Tips, & Best Colors)
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PowerBait is one of those baits you see lining the shelves of just about every outdoor store and bait shop across the country. But what fish can you catch you actually catch using this mystery bait and how good of a fishing bait is it?
After all, if you are going to be fishing with these baits, you should know which fish you can catch and how good they work compared to other baits in your tackle box.
What fish can you catch using PowerBait? While PowerBait is best suited for catching stocked trout, it can work very well for wild trout, small bass, catfish and bullheads, as well as panfish like crappie, bluegill, and yellow perch. This convenient and moldable bait can be fished in a variety of settings and deliver good fishing action. This bait can be just as good for fish as some more mainstream fishing baits such as corn, bread, and cheese.
I have used PowerBait a number of times and usually had good success, especially for trout. I have caught a few small bass by accident while I was fishing for panfish.
Bluegill and crappie respond well to this type of bait and you can catch some nice catfish and bullheads too. Let’s dive deep into this topic to see if it is a bait worth you using.
Click here to learn if what fish worms as the best bait for.
What is PowerBait?
PowerBait is a colored and scented dough mixture that comes in bottles designed for use as a fishing bait. On its own, my versions of this bait are naturally floating so they can work well as a floating bait or suspended in the water if you tie on a split shot weight.
This bait is easy to use and very pliable which helps you mold it to your hook. I think PowerBait smells good but the scent has proven effective at drawing in trout among other species. It is a perfect bait for beginner anglers because it is easy to use, not messy, and will catch some fish.
Click here to learn if herring is a good fishing bait. You may also be interested in learning if worms are a good fishing bait.
PowerBait for Trout
From everything I have read online, this bait is best-suited for trout fishing. And to tell you the truth, most of the fish I have caught throughout the years on PowerBait have been trout. This is a good trout bait that is not messy, easy to buy and use, and will catch some fish.
Wild Trout vs. Stocked Trout
I think you will have a lot better luck using PowerBait to catch stocked trout rather than wild trout. Stocked trout are oftentimes raised on diets consisting of corn, grain, and pellets so they are used to consuming man-made food on the surface.
Stocked trout will be much more open to biting your bait as a result. Of all the trout I have caught using this made, I would guess that almost 90% of them were stocked fish. It works very well on stocked trout but you can catch some wild trout too with it.
Best Color for Trout
You could probably catch trout using any of the available colors but the best PowerBait color I have experience with is the chartreuse, the yellow, and the fluorescent red colors.
I don’t know if these ones are truly the best but from the many times I have used PowerBait, these were the colors producing the most trout. They have always been the ones I continue to buy so that has to be worth something.
PowerBait for Bass
I have had some success catching small and even medium-sized bass (2 or 3-pounders) using PowerBait. I admit I caught these bass by accident while fishing for panfish.
I would never target bass directly using PowerBait but I cannot argue with the fact I did catch about 10 bass on this bait.
Can you catch bass using this type of bait? Sure, but I would use actual bass lures or live bait instead for bigger bass and a much more reliable bite.
PowerBait for Catfish & Bullheads
You can definitely catch small channel catfish and big bullheads using this as bait. I have caught a lot of bullheads using the chartreuse color but for catfish and bullheads, the color really doesn’t matter. Catfish and bullheads don’t rely heavily on their vision to feed.
Instead, they use their superior sense of smell and feel to find food. PowerBait releases good scent which can draw in catfish and a good taste and texture to make these fish hold on once they bite.
PowerBait for Panfish
PowerBait original paste will catch you some panfish but they came out with the Crappie Nibbles which work awesome for panfish.
If you want to catch crappie, bluegill, and yellow perch, you need to try the Nibbles. These tiny baits have really been adopted by top crappie anglers because they catch fish.
You can add one or two Nibbles to a plain live bait hook but I actually prefer using them as a scent and flavor enhancement. This is becoming a pretty popular practice.
Take whatever lure you are using whether it be a tube jig, a marabou jig, or a small crankbait and literally smear the Crappie Nibble along the side of the lure. The smeared bait will add very good scent to your lure and even some good flavoring which crappie and bluegill will love once they bite.
As a result, these fish will hold onto your bait a little longer and give you enough time for a good hookset. Go with Crappie Nibbles and smear that stuff all over your lures for great panfish action.
PowerBait for Carp
I don’t have any experience fishing for carp with PowerBait though I have met some fishermen who have caught carp using these dough baits.
I love fishing for common carp so it is somewhat surprising to me that I’ve never tried fishing with PowerBait before. Carp respond very well to pack and dough-type baits that smell not-offensive and have good flavors.
It would stand to reason that carp would love PowerBait for these reasons as it is both flavored well and not offensive in nature. Carp also respond well to doughy textured baits. I bet you can catch a lot of carp using this bait.
Colors to Choose for Water-Type
When selecting which color to select given the water conditions, it is important to select baits that can be easily seen in the water by fish. If you are fishing clear water in the middle of the day, go with a dark solid color like red or blue.
For early morning or late afternoon when light is reduced, go with a light green or silver as these colors seem to do well. In muddy or stained water, chartreuse or yellow is best. At night, I think once again chartreuse or silver will be your best bet.
How to Rig PowerBait
The simplest way to rig these baits on a hook is to simply mold the PowerBait around your hook like dough. The bait itself is very soft and pliable so you can easily mold it and mash it.
While I would never say this bait is sticky, it is sticky enough to easily latch onto your hook and not fall off. I would go with a small fish hook like a size 6 or 4 bait hook on 2 or 4-pound test monofilament.
Fish these baits with ultralight rods and a bobber if suspending the bait beneath the surface. If you see fish feeding at the surface, go without any split shot weights and fish this bait floating on the surface. My favorite PowerBait to use is actually the Crappie
Vs. Live Bait
Generally speaking, live bait can and will outperform almost any type of fishing bait. For trout, the only bait I have found that works better than live bait is artificial flies for those fly fishermen out there.
Trout and many other species like panfish, catfish, and bass prefer live bait but will bite on PowerBait if presented.
I firmly believe that trout are the focal species PowerBait is designed to catch and accordingly, this paste has proven its worth catching a ton of trout. Stocked trout seem to respond better to PowerBait than wild trout though.
If you cannot acquire live bait or are fishing in waterways such as special sections of rivers that don’t allow the use of live bait, then PowerBait can be a suitable and very effective option.
I have caught a lot of trout using this bait before as well as some small bass, decent-sized catfish and bullheads, and quite a few bluegills. It is cheap and easy to store in your tackle box. It’s a convenient bait that can catch you plenty of fish.
