| If you would like to increase the chance of | | | | ingredients. Who knows, you may find an |
| catching more fish in your next excursion, | | | | ingredient that no one has even considered. |
| you might want to consider making your own | | | | |
| fish bait. Why? If you look at the store | | | | 1) Uncooked oatmeal - popular as a base |
| bought baits, there are only a few brands. | | | | (keeps all the ingredients together in a |
| Imagine going to your favorite fishing hole | | | | doughy mixture) |
| and the majority of the baits cast into the | | | | |
| water are from the same company. | | | | 2) White bread - also popular as a base |
| | | | |
| The fish won't have much of a choice but | | | | 3) Water - required in most cases to help |
| being attracted to the same store bought | | | | make the mixture workable |
| bait. Now imagine if you brought along fish | | | | |
| bait that you made yourself. Your bait will | | | | 4) Garlic salt - found in most store bought |
| stick out like a sore thumb from the other | | | | baits (probably a good idea if you used it |
| baits and the fish will seek you out. | | | | also) |
| | | | |
| Making your own fish bait is not only easy, | | | | 5) Garlic powder - similar to salt but may |
| it is fun and cheap. You can make the bait | | | | alter the fish attractant properties |
| with your children and share the fun the next | | | | |
| day catching fish knowing that you made the | | | | 6) Mini marshmallows - also found in store |
| bait yourself. You can make pounds of bait | | | | bought baits (helpful for flotation purposes) |
| for literally pennies and keep the unused | | | | |
| portion in the freezer for months. | | | | 7) Can of tuna - found in many homemade bait |
| | | | recipes. Maybe the old timers know something. |
| There is going to be some experimentation on | | | | |
| your part. However, I have included the more | | | | 8) Anise oil extract - almost a requirement |
| popular ingredients and descriptions found in | | | | for trout bait |
| homemade baits. When you are making your | | | | |
| bait, make sure to write everything down | | | | 9) Red food coloring - it seems color |
| because if you fill your stringer full of | | | | attracts along with smell and taste |
| fish, you want to be able to duplicate the | | | | |
| winning formula. | | | | 10) Yellow food coloring - same |
| | | | |
| Most of the following ingredients can be | | | | 11) Cheese - I've seen recipes with American |
| found at a well stocked grocer and feel free | | | | and especially Velveeta cheese |
| to experiment with other ingredients not | | | | |
| listed below. Also, these ingredients are | | | | 12) Ziploc bags - great for mixing your |
| commonly found in trout baits so I would like | | | | ingredients, storage, and taking to fishing |
| to advise you that you will probably have | | | | hole. |
| more success utilizing these ingredients for | | | | |
| catching trout. | | | | I hope this information gives you a great |
| | | | head start in developing your own homemade |
| Also, this list is not the end all be all of | | | | secret fish bait. Just remember to have fun. |
| ingredients. Feel free to add your own | | | | |