Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 11, 1990 TAG: 9003122767
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So he said, "No thanks," when a jobber suggested he sell Berkley Trout Power Bait in his All Huntin-N-Fishin Store in Salem.
"Sucker bait was what I thought it was," said All.
Then several of his customers who had tried the dough-type bait insisted that he stock it.
"A week after the trout season came in last year, some of my customers said, `Lacy, you've got to get it.' They kept talking about it, telling me what had happened when they used it."
So after about a four-month holdout, All decided to splurge, to go out on a limb, to take a chance.
"I reluctantly ordered a dozen jars," he said.
They were snatched up the day they arrived.
"We re-ordered and re-ordered," he said, "and we sold over 600 jars in five weeks."
All now isn't just a seller of Power Bait. He's a user.
"My wife and I caught over 400 trout on it at Douthat Lake last year. I used 11 jars of it myself," he said. "It is the best trout bait I have ever seen. I have never - ever - used anything like it, and I have been fishing for 40 years for trout."
As a new trout season approaches, Power Bait is being gobbled up by trout fishermen in local tackle shops at a rate once reserved for salmon eggs.
"Fifty percent of my salmon egg sales have gone to Power Bait," said All. "I am afraid I am going to be overstocked on salmon eggs."
Power Bait has made much the same impact across troutland as it has journeyed from the West Coast eastward, said Mike Fine, a spokesman for Berkley and Co., headquartered in Spirit Lake, Iowa.
"We have increased production I don't know how many times and it has maxed out and we can not keep up," he said during a telephone interview.
Power Bait comes in a small jar, about the size of a salmon egg jar. It is a paste or dough bait that is formed into a ball around a hook.
"It looks like Play-Doh," said All. "If you just stick a hook through it, it won't stay. People say, `That stuff won't stay on a hook.' It won't. You have to mold it on your hook."
All recommends using a No. 10 bait-hold hook. He makes a ball of Power Bait about one and one-half the size of a salmon egg. Some 12- to 18-inches above it, he places a 3/0 split shot. The bait will float up from the split shot.
Power Bait has been selling locally for about $2.50 to $5 a jar. That may sound expensive, but All says he can make 30 or 40 baits per jar. What's more, they won't fling off like salmon eggs often do. Nor do the trout knock them off. They are too busy gobbling them up, he said.
"When they hit it, they pound it, they swallow it immediately. Of all the trout we caught last year, I didn't have a dozen that didn't swallow it."
That's because it is made of a formula that triggers a feeding response from fish, Fine said.
"The fish taste or smell this and it is definitely perceived as food and they will hold it longer than any bait," he said.
"We tested it in California about 2 1/2 years ago and had a catch rate of about six-to-one over about anything else we tried."
The formula took five years to develop during extensive testing in tanks of fish, Fine said. The trout bait is one of several Power Bait options now on the market. There also is panfish-crappie and catfish Power Bait.
New this season are Power Worms and Power Grubs designed for bass fishing.
"What we have been able to do is incorporate these ingredients into the plastic," Fine said of the bass grubs and worms. "It is not a coating, it is actually part of the bait."
A question being asked: Does the new concept of scientifically giving fish a mental image of food mean anglers are getting an unfair advantage?
Fish officials tend to say no, said Fine. He paraphrased one California official who said: First, the idea of angling is to catch fish. Good results attract new recruits to the sport and hold the old timers. Secondly, a federal excise tax on Power Bait, as well as other tackle, provides funds to operate fish programs.
"We are putting a product out there that is working, that is catching fish, and that is what it is all about," Fine said. "It is really neat to see the winner be the fisherman. That makes our job fun."
A tip from All: You have to have dry hands to mold Power Bait onto the hook. So carry a towel or rag with you. Better yet, All likes to mold his baits ahead of time, then reseal them in the jar.
Color choices are orange, yellow, pink and white. Try switching colors as water conditions change, All recommends. In his experience orange is best; yellow is next.
Memo: Outdoors-Trout