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[KarateKick]

For catching trout, has anyone compared the effectiveness of ordinary marshmallows versus the expensive Berkley or Atlas stuff?

[Tadpole]

Many moons ago I used only regular marshmallows, the smaller size, with good success for a bottom fishing from the shore. It also works as a
flotation for your worm. But using fly is more effective almost anytime and is not messy.

[obie1fish]

My favourite for Rolley Lake from shore: mini marshmallow, size 10-12 hook, 18"-22" of 4 lb. leader, and...wait for it... A couple of drops of Berkeley Trout "goop"- a foul smelling liquid in a squirt bottle. Beats Power Bait for me. Works out to be a lot cheaper because the liquid goes a loooong way and marshmallows are cheap as well as being the best tasting fish bait I know, next to gummy worms.

[TheFishingLad]

Many moons ago I used only regular marshmallows, the smaller size, with good success for a bottom fishing from the shore. It also works as a
flotation for your worm. But using fly is more effective almost anytime and is not messy.

This. Mini marshmallows, open bag, let age till hardened and you're set

[Ian Forbes]

Corn works as well... everywhere... including the ocean.

[dave c]

Years ago when living in Ontario we used to fish Lake Ontario tributaries for Springs and more often than not full-size marshmallows outfished roe. We were still fishing with the marshmallow suspended about a foot off the bottom.  All I could figure was that as the marsmallow dissolved it would leave a trail in the slow moving water like milt.  Wierd but true.

[KarateKick]

Corn works as well... everywhere... including the ocean.

Does corn float as well as marshmallows do?

The floating part is important to me, because I can get the right depth only if I start from the bottom.  I just can't figure out how much line to dangle from a float on the surface.

[obie1fish]

Corn doesn't float, but I've seen where the Brits will use a floating something- in their case a Corky-like thing- to float their offerings. They use that bottom setup for flatfish in the ocean. As Tadpole said, marshmallows can be used to float things, too. Other things, like pills, can work, too. Give something a shot and make adjustments as needed.

[KarateKick]

I've seen where the Brits will use a floating something- in their case a Corky-like thing- to float their offerings.

A styrofoam ball may work, but I wonder if it could either distract or scare off the fish.

[leapin' tyee]

A styrofoam ball may work, but I wonder if it could either distract or scare off the fish.



The best is to try it out yourself. You never know.

[KarateKick]

I've seen where the Brits will use a floating something- in their case a Corky-like thing- to float their offerings.

A styrofoam ball may work, but I wonder if it could either distract or scare off the fish.

The best is to try it out yourself. You never know.

Does anyone know a reason why it's not common practice here?

I'm thinking of using a styrofoam or wooden ball (at or near the end of the line) to float corn, but I'm sure others here have thought of it before (and may have realized it's a dumb idea).

[riptide]

You can try any of your floating techniques at home in the bathtub or in a 5 gallon bucket .You'll be able to see what is floating and how it reacts , instead of wondering what is going on at the bottom of the lake .Not much different than downsizing your float and weight system for drift fishing ,getting your presentation as stealth as possible while still keeping your float visible or floating .

[bigblue]

Does corn float as well as marshmallows do?

The floating part is important to me, because I can get the right depth only if I start from the bottom.  I just can't figure out how much line to dangle from a float on the surface.

Corn under a float is very effective in targeting hatchery trout in spring. You really don't need to put it right at the bottom because as water warms up trout become active and also hungry from not being fed their daily meals after release from hatchery. Float to split shot of 3 feet or so with 1.5 feet 4 pound fluorocarbon leader works well in most cases. You can experiment with depth and leader length depending on conditions. A #8 octopus hook can be baited with 3 or 4 corn cobs right out of can.

I would recommend float fishing over bottom fishing as chance of deep hooking trout goes down significantly when quick hook set is exercised. Bottom fishing with Power Bait on a sliding rig is very effective but many times the trout is well on its way to swallowing the bait when the hook is set. This results in way too many deep hooked fish with higher percentage of mortality for released fish. If your intention is to release trout caught, bottom fishing is not a good choice.

[rootbeer]

[I would recommend float fishing over bottom fishing as chance of deep hooking trout goes down significantly when quick hook set is exercised. Bottom fishing with Power Bait on a sliding rig is very effective but many times the trout is well on its way to swallowing the bait when the hook is set. This results in way too many deep hooked fish with higher percentage of mortality for released fish. If your intention is to release trout caught, bottom fishing is not a good choice.
[/quote]

When I first returned to fishing a couple of years ago it was using this method of bottom fishing for stocked trout and it does work really well, but as stated above, almost every fish that I caught needed to be retained as the hook ended up quite far down the trout's throat.  Using a single, barbless hook will help but I would still only use this method for stocked trout that I planned on retaining.

[KarateKick]

Corn under a float is very effective in targeting hatchery trout in spring. You really don't need to put it right at the bottom because as water warms up trout become active and also hungry from not being fed their daily meals after release from hatchery. Float to split shot of 3 feet or so with 1.5 feet 4 pound fluorocarbon leader works well in most cases. You can experiment with depth and leader length depending on conditions. A #8 octopus hook can be baited with 3 or 4 corn cobs right out of can.

So 4.5 feet from the surface is a good depth to start with?