Trout season is open and one of the favorite bates to use when trout fishing is salmon eggs. Most salmon eggs from nature are yellow, hard to color and not legal to use in some places. So I make my own artificial salmon eggs all the colors of the rainbow.

To make my salmon eggs I start with water gel beads, I got these off of Amazon. And a fisherman’s secret weapon Star Anise Extract. (Licorice)

Step 1: Tools & Supplies

Water

Clear Water Gel Beads

Food Coloring

Star Anise Extract

Unscented Mineral Oil

Jars

Small Sieve

Funnel

Row Bag or Pantyhose if you can’t get row bag material.

Thread

Scissors

Tray to work on

Step 2: Making the Artificial Salmon Eggs

The water gel beads swell about 100 times in size so do not use very many.

Trout are attracted to bright colors and smells so in a jar with water in it add food coloring until the water is the color you want.

To the colored water add 3 to 4 drops of the star anise extract and mix.

Add the water gel beads and wait about an hour.

Step 3: Harvesting the Artificial Salmon Eggs

In another jar place the funnel and the sieve.

The artificial salmon eggs bounce like crazy so carefully pore the jar with the artificial salmon eggs into the sieve.

Do not throw the liquid away you can use it to make more artificial salmon eggs.

Step 4: Oiling the Artificial Salmon Eggs

Oiling the eggs allows more of the star anise to disperse in the water to attract the trout.

In a jar add a little unscented mineral oil and a few drops star anise extract and mix them.

Place the artificial salmon eggs in the jar with star anise extract and mineral oil.

Let the artificial salmon eggs soak in the oily mix for about an hour.

Step 5: Bagging the Artificial Salmon Eggs

The artificial salmon eggs roll and bounce like crazy I used a styrofoam tray and a couple jar lids to keep the artificial salmon eggs under control.

I placed a few of each color artificial salmon eggs in the lids.

Then I placed the row bag material over a pill bottle lid.

I selected the color of artificial salmon eggs I wanted to bag and placed them on the row bag material.

Fold the row bag material over and tie it off with the thread.

Cut the excess off with a pare of scissors.

Repeat the bagging until you have all the bate bags you want.

Step 6: Final Notes

Here are a few more fishermen’s secrets.

If you can’t get row bag material you can use pantyhose for row bag material.

There are two other attractant scents trout like, however they do not keep well.

If you have ever eaten salmon eggs they taste like the yoke from a chicken egg, so chicken egg yoke makes for a good attractant scent. You can use the same method as the star anise extract.

The third attractant scent rotten meat; rotten meat takes a little longer, you soak a piece of the meat in the water for a day and you soak a piece of the meat in the mineral oil for a day.