Best Power Bait for Trout: Berkley Dough, Eggs and Worms Compared

Our verdict

PowerBait for Trout: Top Picks

PowerBait is a Berkley brand, and the pages ranking for this search are about Berkley’s own range, so this guide sticks to it: ten PowerBait trout products in five forms (moldable dough bait, nuggets, nibbles, eggs and soft worms), each linked at the exact colour, scent and jar or pack size. If you want other makers’ dough or real salmon eggs, our stocked-trout bait roundup sets three of these lines (Trout Bait, Power Eggs Floating Magnum, Power Floating Trout Worm), in other colours, against Pautzke, Atlas Mike’s and Gulp! baits; this page covers Berkley’s PowerBait range alone. For rods, reels and line, browse our fishing gear guides.

Compare the picks

Compare the 10 PowerBait Trout Baits

“Floats” is what Berkley or the Amazon listing states; “not stated” means neither says.

How We Sorted Berkley’s Trout Range

What each pick had to show

• Trout on the label or Berkley’s page. The Power Honey Worm is out: Berkley says “Formulated for all panfish species.”
• The exact colour, scent and size, matched to Amazon by UPC.
• Sold and shipped by Amazon.com, in stock on the day of writing.
• A distinct job: no two picks are one dough in two colours.

Sources, and what anglers report

Sources, and what anglers report

Specs come from Berkley’s pages, checked against each Amazon listing; disagreements are noted. Every Berkley page for these ten products claims “Fish love PowerBait so much they hold on 18 times longer”; it publishes no test with it.

Rigging and use come from two ranking guides, Buzz Ramsey’s for Douglas Outdoors (Douglas makes rods, not bait) and Graham’s on troutandsteelhead.net, plus the FishingPNW colour guide, an angler’s site with affiliate links and no bait sales. None compared these jars head to head.

Owner reports come from the ranking r/ArizonaFishing colour thread and r/troutfishing threads on mice tails and Power Eggs and wild trout, an r/troutfishing thread on why anglers dislike PowerBait, and an r/Fishing mice tails thread. One r/ArizonaFishing poster was told at Willow Beach that “pretty much any color works.”

PowerBait for Trout: Detailed Reviews

Picks: Trout Bait, Glitter Trout Bait, Natural Glitter, Natural Scent, Power Nuggets, Trout Nibbles, Power Eggs, Mice Tails, Floating Trout Worm, Chroma-Glow.

Berkley PowerBait Trout Bait, Classic Floating Dough

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. FishingPNW colour guide (angler’s affiliate site): PowerBait Trout Bait, Fluorescent Orange.

Berkley: “PowerBait scented” and “Easy to shape and use”; the listing adds “Floating formula for maximum scent dispersion.” In its rotation, FishingPNW writes: “Fluorescent Orange — low light, early morning, or stained water. Underrated.” Graham adds that “Colors like orange are particularly effective as they resemble salmon eggs, a favorite food of trout.”

Classic or Glitter Trout Bait? Same floating dough and jar: the glitter version adds flash for sun and clear water.

Specs (linked: Fluorescent Orange, 1.75 oz jar)

• Form and scent: moldable dough, PowerBait scent (Berkley); floating (Amazon listing)
• Jar: 1.75 oz (Berkley and Amazon listing)
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Glitter Trout Bait, Glitter Floating Dough

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/ArizonaFishing: glitter rainbow dough, jar not stated.

The listing: “Infused with glitter to reflect light, increase visibility,” with a “Floating formula.” In the r/ArizonaFishing thread, a poster writes: “I’ve only ever used the glitter rainbow bait.” FishingPNW puts rainbow second: “the glitter earns its keep in sunlight,” but “In low-light or murky conditions the difference is negligible.”

Specs (linked: Rainbow, 1.75 oz jar)

• Form and scent: moldable dough with glitter, PowerBait scent (Berkley); floating (Amazon listing)
• Jar: 1.75 oz (Berkley and Amazon listing)
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Natural Glitter Trout Bait, Garlic Glitter Dough

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/ArizonaFishing: rainbow garlic dough, line not stated.

Berkley offers five scents (aniseed, garlic, salmon egg, garlic and worm, worm) and “Crystalina glitter”; neither Berkley nor the listing says it floats. In the r/ArizonaFishing thread, one poster writes: “rainbow/garlic is usually my first go to,” and another simply: “Garlic/rainbow.” Neither names this exact line.

Natural Glitter or Glitter Trout Bait? Same colour and jar: the Natural Glitter for garlic, the Glitter Trout Bait for stated floating.

Specs (linked: Rainbow, Garlic scent, 1.75 oz jar)

• Form and scent: moldable dough with glitter, garlic (Berkley)
• Jar: 1.75 oz (Amazon listing); floating: not stated
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Natural Scent Trout Bait, Natural-Scent Dough

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/troutfishing: chartreuse garlic dough, line not stated.

Berkley: “Dissolve slowly in water” and “Smells and tastes like live bait.” The listing claims it is “Scientifically proven to outperform salmon eggs and all other prepared baits” but cites no study. On r/troutfishing, a poster who has tried mice tails and eggs writes: “I love chartreuse garlic powerbait. Or corn.” FishingPNW uses chartreuse for “Murky or stained water, overcast days, early spring right after stocking.”

Natural Scent or Natural Glitter? Both come in garlic: no glitter here, for stained water; flash on the Natural Glitter.

Specs (linked: Chartreuse, Garlic scent, 1.75 oz jar)

• Form and scent: moldable dough, garlic (Berkley); glitter: none listed
• Jar: 1.75 oz (Amazon listing); floating: not stated
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Power Nuggets, Hatchery-Food Nuggets

Evidence: No independent test; maker specs. Source: Berkley.

Berkley: “Resembles hatchery food many trout are reared on” and “Blends hatchery food ingredients with powerful scent and flavor.” FishingPNW’s playbook ends: “Nuggets right after a stocking,” though the nuggets it lists are Berkley’s separate Trout Nuggets, not Power Nuggets. On r/troutfishing, a poster who calls “the paste and trout nuggets” (product not named) “incredibly one dimensional and limited” still says “They work great for stocked trout” and “The more recently stocked the better.”

Specs (linked: Rainbow, 1.1 oz jar)

• Form and scent: dough nuggets with hatchery food ingredients, PowerBait scent (Berkley)
• Jar: 1.1 oz (Berkley); floating: not stated
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Trout Nibbles, Current-Holding Nibbles

Evidence: No independent test; maker specs. Source: Berkley.

Berkley: “Long-lasting nibbles stay on the hook even in swift current” and “works well on most traditional rigs.” One of the listing’s fields says 1.75 oz (Berkley: 1.1 oz) and it tags bass and panfish, where Berkley tags trout. Graham, a river guide, writes that PowerBait works on wild trout “usually only in moving water.” No source we found tested the Nibbles.

Specs (linked: Chartreuse, 1.1 oz jar)

• Form and scent: dough nibbles, PowerBait scent (Berkley)
• Jar: 1.1 oz (Berkley); floating: not stated
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Power Eggs Floating Magnum, Floating Magnum Eggs

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/ArizonaFishing: Power Eggs, garlic white; Magnum and jar not stated.

Berkley: “Maximum size floating version offers natural presentation”; egg count is not published. The listing claims “more effective and longer lasting than real salmon eggs,” citing no test. In the r/ArizonaFishing thread a poster writes: “Garlic White or Chartreuse/Yellow Power Eggs is typically my go-to where ever I am.” On r/troutfishing, one poster puts “3 eggs on a hook to float it wherever I set the depth. Works great when I’m fishing with kids”; another found “Power eggs have been hit or miss for me.”

Specs (linked: Fluorescent White, Garlic scent, 0.5 oz jar)

• Form and scent: soft floating eggs, garlic (Berkley)
• Jar: 0.5 oz (Amazon listing); egg count: not published
• Price tier: $ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Floating Mice Tails, Egg-and-Tail Floater

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/troutfishing: mice tail, chartreuse and orange; length not stated.

Berkley: “Combines salmon egg and trout worm into one incredible bait,” with “Different head and tail colors for maximum contrast in the water column.” Posters split: on r/troutfishing, a poster fishes “Chartreuse and orange mice tail on a size 6 hook” with “a 4 to 5 foot leader if you’re after stockers,” while another writes: “The tails are very hit and miss.” An r/Fishing poster: “Great bait for clear water.” For leader knots, see our easy fishing knots.

Mice Tails or Power Eggs? Both float: the Mice Tails add a tail and two colours; the eggs, for one poster, “usually work better.”

Specs (linked: Chartreuse/Fluorescent Orange, 3 in, 13 count)

• Form and scent: floating egg head with worm tail, PowerBait scent (Berkley)
• Length and count: 3 in (Berkley), 13 per pack (Amazon listing)
• Price tier: $ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Power Floating Trout Worm, Floating Soft Worm

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. r/troutfishing: floating trout worm, pink; shade and length not stated.

Berkley lists a “Unique segmented body for more vibration and swimming action” and “Great on Jig Head, Weighted swimbait hook, or Drop Shot.” Graham calls a trout worm “my favorite and most effective Powerbait” (he does not say floating or which colour). On r/troutfishing, a poster writes: “I have good luck with the berkly floating trout worms in pink,” without naming the shade or whether the trout were wild or stocked.

Specs (linked: Pink Shad, 3 in, 15 count)

• Form and scent: floating segmented soft worm, PowerBait scent (Berkley)
• Length and count: 3 in, 15 per pack (Amazon listing)
• Price tier: $ (live price above)

Berkley PowerBait Glitter Chroma-Glow Dough, Low-Light Glow Dough

Evidence: No independent test; owner reports. FishingPNW colour guide (angler’s affiliate site): Glitter Chroma-Glow Dough, colour not stated.

Berkley: “Floating formula glows to provide added attraction in low light conditions,” and its glitter “simulates real fish scales.” FishingPNW calls it “worth having for fishing later in the day or in deeper, darker water where fish are hunting more by glow than by color” without naming a colour.

Chroma-Glow or Glitter Trout Bait? Both float in 1.75 oz jars: Chroma-Glow adds glow; the Glitter Trout Bait has twelve colours.

Specs (linked: Chartreuse with Glitter, 1.75 oz jar)

• Form and scent: floating glitter dough that glows, PowerBait scent (Berkley)
• Jar: 1.75 oz (Berkley and Amazon listing)
• Price tier: $$ (live price above)

Rigging Power Bait for Trout Fishing

Both ranking guides use the same lake rig: a sliding sinker, a swivel and a light leader to a floating bait.

The slip sinker rig for lakes

Buzz Ramsey uses “a six-to-seven foot light-action spinning rod,” “6 or 8 pound test monofilament,” “oval-egg sinkers (ranging in size from a half to one ounce)” and “4 or 6 pound test leader material”: main line through the sinker, a bead, the swivel, then a leader “measuring 18 to 24 inches.” Graham uses lighter weights: “a sliding sinker or an egg-shaped weight, and in sizes of ¼ or ½-ounce,” with a “low-visibility fluorocarbon leader of 2 to 4-pound test” of 12 to 30 inches. Ramsey’s point on floating: “a bait hovering above bottom is much easier for cruising trout to locate.” Step by step: how to rig a fishing rod; for the outfit, see our trout spinning rods and trout fishing lines.

Related guide: Best Light Action Spinning Rod: Light-Power Rods for Trout, Panfish and Small Bass

Hook size: three sources, three answers

• Buzz Ramsey (Douglas): “In order for a 3/8 to 1/2 size ball of PowerBait to float requires the use of a small size 16 treble hook.”
• Graham (troutandsteelhead.net): single “Raven Specimen or Gamakatsu Octopus hook in sizes 10 to 12”; if trebles, “use sizes 12, 14, or 16.”
• FishingPNW: “A size 14 or 16 treble hook works well if you’re keeping fish. If you’re practicing catch-and-release, a #8 single bait holder is easier to remove cleanly.”

For eggs and mice tails, r/troutfishing posters use larger singles: size 6 to size 10.

Rivers, wild trout and deep hooking

Graham: “Powerbait is especially effective when fishing for stocked hatchery trout,” and on wild fish, “usually only in moving water.” In an r/troutfishing thread on rivers, a poster finds “powerbait is best used in stagnate waters like lakes and ponds.” Several posters raise swallowed hooks: one, in a thread on why anglers dislike PowerBait, writes “Even with barbless size 18 trebbles for powerbait, the fish entirely swallow the hook,” while another uses Power Eggs for catch and release and says “all you gotta do is set the hook early.” Graham skips trebles because “Treble hooks are hard to remove and cause a lot of damage.” Ramsey starts with “reviewing a current copy of your state’s angling regulation pamphlet.”

Frequently Asked Questions

No source here names one. Graham writes that PowerBait suits stocked hatchery trout, while posters in the wild-trout thread prefer spinners or worms. Our stocked-trout bait roundup compares dough with real and plastic salmon eggs from other makers.

Stocked trout do, per Graham and the owner threads above. Graham’s take: trout “will literally put just about anything in their mouths, including Powerbait Trout Bait Doughs!”

The sources differ: a size 16 treble for a floating dough ball (Ramsey), size 10 to 12 single hooks (Graham), or a size 14 to 16 treble or #8 single bait holder (FishingPNW).

Berkley sells PowerBait, garlic, aniseed, salmon egg, worm, cheese, corn and nymph scents across these lines. Garlic comes up in several of the threads we read; none compared scents side by side.

The bottom line

Final Verdict

Start with the Berkley PowerBait Glitter Trout Bait (check price) for sun, or the plain Berkley PowerBait Trout Bait (check price) in orange for low light. For garlic: the glitter Berkley PowerBait Natural Glitter Trout Bait (check price) or the no-glitter Berkley PowerBait Natural Scent Trout Bait (check price). Right after a stocking: the Berkley PowerBait Power Nuggets (check price). In current: the Berkley PowerBait Trout Nibbles (check price). Pre-formed baits: the Berkley PowerBait Power Eggs Floating Magnum (check price), the Berkley PowerBait Floating Mice Tails (check price) or the jig-friendly Berkley PowerBait Power Floating Trout Worm (check price). At dusk: the Berkley PowerBait Glitter Chroma-Glow Dough (check price).

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.