If you've followed our careers at all the past several years, you know we believe that using plastics as replacements to live bait will help you catch more fish when the conditions are "right". Plastics, particularly those that are scent impregnated like the Berkley Power Bait line, hold several advantages over live bait. First of all, they're always available. With a few packs of plastic baits in your tackle box, there's no need to panic if the bait shop is out of crawlers, or your fishin' buddy forgot to pick up a bucket of minnows. If you're on a trip to a remote fishing camp, live bait may be impossible to get, and plastics are the only option. Let's look at a few situations where Power Baits excel:

River walleyes on the "feed", have to make split second decisions, because normally they can't see a bait well in dingy river water. They've got to strike right now or have their potential meal wash away downstream. In this case, a jig tipped with a Power Jigworm works very well as an alternative to live bait. The built-in scent and the lure action is just right for provoking a strike from these opportunistic eaters.

When fish are shallow soft plastics can rule. Shallow walleyes are there to eat, often competing against other walleyes in the same school. Toss an 1/8 ounce jig tipped with a shad tail plastic baitfish that gives off some vibration and you'll very likely get bit.

In under-pressured bodies of water plastics work extremely well. Again, the fish are often more aggressive, eating fast to out-compete other fish. We fished one time in Alberta's Lesser Slave Lake for a whole week by combining a 3/8 ounce Whistler Jig and a Power Jigworm to catch walleye after walleye. This can also be true on southern impoundments where walleyes are rarely targeted.

On waters where pesky pan fish can be a problem, plastic baits cut down on bothersome  "bite offs". On Lake Sakakawea, a massive impoundment of the Missouri River, Power Nightcrawlers have been known to out-fish the real thing, mainly because the plastics stay in the water for much longer periods of time. Perch bite the real worms off too quickly
for a walleye to ever see the presentation, whether it's a crawler/spinner rig or a part of a crawler on a jig head.

The Power Jigworm, a lure that closely resembles the tail of a night crawler in terms of its softness and action, is one of our favorites. It was also designed with a flat tail to catch the water as it falls increasing it's vertical flipping action. Pumpkinseed is a great all-around color and fished on a jig head is a deadly lure for walleyes. 

We also like the Power Nightcrawler, one of the first Berkley Power Baits aimed at the walleye market. Like the Power Jigworm, Power Nightcrawlers come in the "Tournament Strength" series that features twice the scent as normal Power Bait. It's important to note, Power crawlers are limp like a real crawler. Do not assume a "bass" worm will work as well. Bass plastics are much stiffer and do not have the action needed to entice walleyes.

When rigging a spinner, use the same two-hook harnesses as with a real crawler. Since a Power Nightcrawler will not stretch out, the back hook can typically be placed closer to the end of the tail - resulting in fewer short bites and more walleyes in the boat. 

Don't be afraid to try soft plastics in lieu of live bait. To develope your confidence, try this... When you find some active fish, throw on a Berkley Power Bait and convince yourself that they catch fish just as fast as live bait. Next, when you're fishing with a buddy, let him use live bait while you throw plastics. If he out-fishes you, switch to live bait yourself. If you out-fish him - which will happen regularly - be generous and share the Power Bait. He might enjoy keeping his fingernails clean for awhile.