You could just go out to the fishing shop and buy “the latest and the greatest” commercially produced fishing bait, or you can make your own bait that is just as effective in catching fish. Homemade bait is great for catching panfish, will save you a few bucks, and you will experience the excitement of landing fish with your own homemade bait. Working with doughbait saves the hassle of keeping a live bait fish alive on the hook.
When making your own dough bait you need three things:
1) Scent – ingredient(s) that will attract the fish by smell. Use ingredients that have a strong smell/odor like: cheese, garlic powder, fish oils (like cod liver oil), fish eggs, fish organs and meat, sardines, worms, bugs and anything else you can think of.
2) Look – something that will attract the fish visually. Use food coloring to add color to your baits. You can also add glitter to your bait to give it that sparkle.
3) Binder – something that will keep the bait together (in this case, dough). Flour, water, and an egg.
Directions:
Grind your scent ingredients to a fine consistency. I would use at least two of the ones I mentioned above. The scent ingredients should make up at least 1/3 of the finished recipe.
Add the egg and water to the scent ingredients. Mix well. Add the food coloring of your choice and the glitter (if you have any). Then add flour until the mixture is thick enough to stay on the hook.
Make sure the dough bait has enough scent, color, and glitter. If not, add more.
Experiment with different scents and colors to figure out what works best. I have caught many rainbow trout using homemade dough bait. I’m sure it would work for other species too.
Looking for other ways to save a few dollars on bait? You can also catch nightcrawlers and earthworms for fishing bait with these great tips.