New Product Attracts Attention and Trout, but Is It Sporting? : THE GREAT DE-BAIT

Trout fishermen generally find their prey to be finicky and elusive, and therefore pay special attention to what may produce the best results.

Fly fishermen might find an Olive Matuka to work better than a Mayfly Nymph on a particular day. Conventional fishermen, on the other hand, might use cheese one day and salmon eggs the next. Should either of these fail, a marshmallow may do the trick.

Then there are such factors as weather, the time of day, the temperature and level of the water. All come into play to further challenge one’s abilities.

Should such baits prove futile, as they often do, or should knowledge of conditions do little to fill your stringer, never fear. These variables, in the minds of some anyway, have become obsolete.

Years of testing by chemists and biologists “to figure out just what it is that trout like” has resulted in Power Bait, and it’s taking California and its trout population by storm.

“We never dreamed it would take off like this,” said Mike Fine, publicist for Berkley, a company in Spirit Lake, Iowa, that manufactures fishing tackle and supplies. “It has been phenomenal, the hottest product in (California). And the bottom line is, it really works.”

From the Eastern Sierra to the city-operated park lakes in and around Los Angeles, those using this sticky substance--either pink or yellow, and soon to be available in marshmallow white and fluorescent orange--have found trout to be quite willing to cooperate.

“It’s almost automatic,” said Larry Hartnett, a longtime fisherman from Covina. “If you have it, you’re going to catch trout. It doesn’t matter if you’re a weekend fishermen or an experienced fisherman. If you want to catch fish, that’s what you use.”

The concession manager at Pyramid Lake in Los Angeles County agreed, saying, “The trout just give themselves up.”

At Arizona’s Willow Beach, formerly one of the country’s great trout fisheries and still a favorite fishing hole, the bait is as sought after as the fish themselves.

“We go through cases of it,” said Lisa Stufkosky from the resort 14 miles below Hoover Dam. “People are buying it instead of Zeke’s (another popular trout bait), and the trout sure seem to like it.”

The weekly news release from Irvine Lake reads like an advertisement from Berkley:

“Mike Abila of Ontario used Power Bait to entice this week’s biggest trout to hit. Abila’s 12-pound trout topped all other fish. . . . Jim Carley of Paramount fished Power Bait to haul out a 7-pound (rainbow trout), and catching 6 1/2-pound trout were: Danny Karestic of Stanton and Chad Stoddard of Brea. Both anglers caught these trout on Power Bait.”

Greg Elliott, vice president in charge of operations at Irvine and Santa Ana River Lakes, said: “It’s one of the most successful new baits I’ve come across in all my years involved in fishing. Last year we sold 800 cases of Velveeta cheese, this year half that.”

From one of Elliott’s employees at Irvine Lake: “We ordered 900 cases when it came out and we’re close to running out, and 90% of the pictures of big trout we have on our wall have been caught with Power Bait.”

Power Bait became available last June, about halfway through the Eastern Sierra trout season. Its success there was immediate.

“In the back country, 4 or 5 fishermen would go catch 30 or 40 golden trout, which is extremely tough to do,” said Jim Gieser of Ken’s Sporting Goods at Bridgeport, Calif. “It was out-fishing all other baits 4 or 5 to 1. We had to go directly to Berkley to keep up (with demand). People were buying 6-7 jars at a time.”

Berkley officials knew from field tests that they had developed a product to compete with other trout bait manufacturers, but were as surprised as anyone at how fast it caught on.

“We knew we could compete with Zeke’s but salmon eggs are about as natural a bait as you can get so we didn’t know how we would do against them,” said Dan Foote, director of chemical research for the product.

“After the pre-tests (in the company laboratory), we went to the June Lake area for a week of fishing for trout. We out-fished salmon eggs 5 or 6 to 1. Same with Zeke’s. We used a drop line with two hooks, with one of each type of bait on each. We caught 150 fish and the numbers were consistent.”

Said Berkley vice president Mike Breeny: “Our orders are exceeding plant capabilities. We’re in a constant battle to keep up.”

Berkley’s suggested retail price for a 1 3/4-ounce jar of Power Bait is $3.25. But California fishermen--California is Berkley’s primary market because, as officials said, “most other places are frozen over now”--will be hard-pressed to find it for less than $4. Some can expect to pay up to $7 to enterprising fishermen-salesmen at local lakes, where some concessionaires’ shelves are suspiciously empty.

Some fishermen have voiced complaints that bait shop owners at certain reservoirs are either holding onto their supplies to avoid running out, or selling out to those who then re-sell it.

Elliott’s theory: “The Department of Fish and Game stocks lakes with a certain (number of trout). That stock is supposed to last (until the next plant) but Power Bait worked so well and a few people caught all the fish. Power Bait upset the stocking schedule and the concessionaires don’t like it because people who use it clean all the fish out.”

Some callers to The Times in recent weeks have said that concessionaires told them to “get it while you can because it’s not going to be around for long.”

Other complaints say the bait supposedly contains illegal ingredients or it is similar to the commercial pellets used by trout hatchery personnel to feed fingerling trout. In that case, it could fall victim to DFG restrictions.

Foote, who guessed that Berkley has spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in research on the product, maintains that Power Bait “does have a chemical base, but it is made of a combination of natural and chemical ingredients (and contains no illegal or harmful ingredients).”

In any case, the DFG said it has no plans to restrict any bait simply because it works. “Our whole idea is for people to catch fish,” said Curt Taucher of the DFG’s information office. “For us, it’s great.”

And for fishermen who like a sure thing, it’s great, too.

However, fishermen who like the challenge fishing presents suggest that the fish are getting less than an even break. Fly fishermen, who consider themselves the true outdoors enthusiasts when it comes to fishing, are appalled.

“Anyone who has to use a bait like that shouldn’t consider themselves a fisherman,” said one Los Angeles-area fly fisher. “There ought to be a law against it.”

Said Hartnett: “It almost takes the sport out of fishing, not that catching stocked trout is all that sporting.”

Gieser maintains that it’s an individual’s decision, saying: “If people want to lessen their chances, they can fish flies or other bait and catch one or two fish. Then if that doesn’t work, they can resort to Power Bait to take some home.”

When told of Hartnett’s comment, Foote laughed, and said: “Well, then tell him to try fishing with one of his hands tied behind his back.”