Bait for Trout
& other Freshwater Fish

See also:  Fly Patterns

See also:  Bait for Saltwater fish

Trout will eat a variety of food, but prefer their food live or a very good imitation!

WORMS

Worms are a readily available and inexpensive bait.  You can purchase them at a tackle shop or dig your own. They are easily farmed at home in a worm box, and you can feed them on vegetable scraps from your kitchen.  They are very hardy and will stay on the hook well.

Types of worms are red wrigglers, garden and scrub worms.

When using worms for bait, use a small, light hook that allows the worm to more freely without killing it.

GRASSHOPPERS

Grasshoppers are popular with Trout in Summer, when many end up falling into waterways and lakes.  Use a fine net (such as a butterfly net) while walking through long grass to catch them as they jump or fly.

Use a small hook, placed through the base of their wings.  You can fish grasshoppers either weighted or unweighted.

MUDEYES

Mudeyes are the larval stage of dragonflies, and a delicacy to trout.   They are found all around Australia.

You can collect them yourself, by looking under submerged logs and under rocks and gravel in lakes or farm dams.  They are also available for purchase in a lot of tackle shops.  Though they are a bit expensive, they are a proven bait.

Presentation of a mudeye is very important.  Conceal a light No. 10 size hook in the abdomen of the mudeye, use a very light trace (1-3kg) and suspend under a bubble float.

YABBIES

Also known as freshwater crayfish.  Yabbies are a major part of trout and other freshwater fish.

You can collect your own yabbies, using traps baited with meat or fish.   They will often come ashore at night on the banks of rivers and dams, and can be collected by hand or a net after spotting them with a torch.

Hook a yabbie through the tail with a  No. 4 to No. 1 size hooks, as you would a prawn or shrimp.  Be careful to keep the yabbie suspended off the bottom, because if they reach the bottom they will crawl under the nearest snag!

BAIT FISH

Small fish are readily taken by trout.  Trout prefer live bait, but you can use good quality whitebait, that is sold frozen in Tackle Shops as a standby.

OTHER BAITS

Like we said earlier, Trout eat a wide variety of food. Take a look around the location you are fishing, insects and grubs, ants and beetles are all natural food of the Trout.  But remember, presentation is very important.  Try different ways of presenting your bait to make it as natural and lifelike as possible.