This Could Be The Best Fishing Bait To Use In Idaho
I enjoy fishing. I don't love it. You won't see me calling in sick to work so that I can take a day to fish (at least that's what I'd tell my boss). I don't fly fish or go on river adventures to find hidden fishing holes. I do frequently go to Hayspur to sit in a chair and be lazy while I cast a line in waters stocked with decent sized Rainbow Trout. I didn't start fishing in Idaho until about three years ago when my kids expressed interest. So, we bought poles and a basic tackle box with some fake lures and power bait and we went fishing.
Luckily we went on a weekend when they had recently stocked the water at Gavers Lagoon, the water next to the Hayspur campground and fish hatchery, and we were able to catch enough trout to feed the family on the first night we were there. That was a few years ago and it has been that way every time we have gone back. Hayspur never let us down. That is until this past weekend. We fished for four hours on Saturday morning and only caught two fish using worms and power bait. That night we got in another hour of fishing with no catches. Sunday we did two hours fishing in the morning and came back empty handed.
The bugger was that a family showed up as we were about to leave and within a half hour had caught two fish. So, I decided to eavesdrop on their conversations to see what they were using. I could have asked but I didn't want to admit out loud that I was doing something wrong. Finally I heard them mention to one of the kids to stop eating the fish food! I was confused for a moment until I saw that they were using marshmallows as bait. To be honest I thought that was illegal because I'd heard that before. I was wrong.
Marshmallows are considered to be among the top bait options to catch trout. I had to look it up online after I judged that family for using illegal bait. Idaho Fish and Game has a few posts stating that marshmallows are fine for use. Basically, live bait is the only illegal bait in Idaho. Visit Idaho has a pretty good write-up on how to use marshmallows as bait. I'm definitely trying this next time I fish!