The Planter Special

Planted rainbows come out of a hatchery raceway where food arrived as pellets from above, and they never quite lose it. They cruise just off the bottom looking for something small and scented. This rig hands them exactly that, and it works about anywhere the truck has been.

The whole thing hinges on the bait floating. A slip egg sinker rides down to a barrel swivel — the swivel stops the sinker and keeps the leader from twisting — then a fluorocarbon leader to a treble hook. Floating PowerBait molded around the hook lifts it off the bottom and into the trout's line of sight, and the longer the leader, the higher it rides. Fluoro matters here because planted trout sit in clear water and will look a bait over before they eat it.

The sliding sinker lets a fish move off without feeling weight. That's what makes the rig work, and it's why you can't walk away from the rod. Watch the tip, be on it the second it nods, then reel down and sweep sideways — don't snap it. Trebles tear out of a soft trout mouth.

Before you buy this one. Scent bait on a treble gets swallowed. A fish that's had it thirty seconds is often hooked in the throat or the gills, and there's no safe way to back a treble out of either. Buy this rig when you're fishing to keep your limit. If you plan to release, fish a lure — or a worm and a marshmallow on a single hook — instead.