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Fishing with Beads for Trout, Steelhead and Salmon

By: FishUSA Staff

June 13, 2025

One of my early mentors in fishing once told me that nothing beats the look and nutritional value of a real fish egg. Trout, salmon, and steelhead are hard-wired to eat eggs, especially during the spawn. While fresh eggs are effective, they can be messy, hard to store, and come with ethical concerns. Enter the bead—a clean, reusable, and deadly-effective artificial egg alternative.

One of my early mentors in fishing once told me that nothing beats the look and nutritional value of a real fish egg. Trout, salmon, and steelhead are hard-wired to eat eggs, especially during the spawn. While fresh eggs are effective, they can be messy, hard to store, and come with ethical concerns. Enter the bead—a clean, reusable, and deadly-effective artificial egg alternative.

Table of Contents

  • What Are Beads?
  • Why Use Beads Instead of Natural Eggs?
  • Popular Types and Brands
  • How to Rig Beads
  • How Beads Hook Fish
  • Choosing Bead Size and Color
  • Fishing Techniques with Beads
  • Legal Considerations
  • Final Thoughts

What Are Beads?

Beads are artificial egg imitations made from plastic or soft materials. These small, round lures come in a variety of colors and sizes to mimic fish eggs in both appearance and behavior. They’ve become a go-to bait for trout, salmon, and steelhead anglers across North America. 

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Why Use Beads Instead of Natural Eggs?

  • Durability: Beads can be fished through snags, rocky bottoms, and toothy mouths without falling apart.
  • Reusable: A single bead can last through multiple fish hookups, unlike natural eggs which are often one-time use.
  • Clean and Easy: Beads don’t leak, spoil, or stink up your tackle bag like real eggs.
  • Ethical: No need to harvest eggs from female fish. 

Popular Types and Brands

Hard plastic beads from brands like Troutbeads and Mr. Derk’s dominate the market. For fast currents, weighted options like Creek Candy Bead Company Sinkz Beads are ideal. Soft beads from Lick Em Lures offer a more natural feel and can be rigged differently.

How to Rig Beads

Hard beads are typically rigged by sliding the bead onto your leader before tying on the hook. The bead is then "pegged" about 1–2 inches above the hook using a toothpick or a product like Troutbeads Peggz. This distance mimics how eggs drift freely in the water.

Soft beads can be pierced directly with the hook and fished more like traditional baits. Either method is effective, and anglers should experiment to find what works best in their waters.

How Beads Hook Fish

When a fish takes the bead, it often gets pulled from the fish’s mouth during the hookset. The hook then slides forward and sticks cleanly in the corner of the mouth. This method improves hookup ratios and often reduces deep hooking, making it more catch-and-release friendly. 

Choosing Bead Size and Color

Beads come in a wide range of colors and sizes. Here’s a simple guide to help you select the right ones:

  • Color: Stick to natural shades like peach, pink, orange, and yellow. Go brighter in murky water.
  • Size: Use 6–10mm beads for steelhead and brown trout. Use 8–12mm beads for Chinook or coho salmon.

When in doubt, match the hatch. Try to mimic the eggs of whatever fish are currently spawning in your area. Even outside the spawn, fish often recognize the silhouette and flash of an egg drifting in the current and will bite out of instinct.

Fishing Techniques with Beads

Fish beads under a float, bounce them along the bottom with split shot, or use them as a trailer on a drop-shot rig. Adjust your depth and presentation based on current speed, water clarity, and fish location. Beads excel in moving water where eggs naturally drift downstream.

Legal Considerations

Be sure to check local fishing regulations regarding the legal distance allowed between a bead and a hook. Some states restrict how far above the hook a bead can be pegged, especially in regulated trout or steelhead streams.

Final Thoughts

Fishing with beads for trout, salmon, and steelhead offers an effective, clean, and ethical alternative to using natural eggs. They’re versatile, cost-efficient, and easy to carry. Whether you're fishing clear creeks or big tributaries, having a solid selection of beads in your tackle box gives you an edge when targeting egg-hungry fish.

Next time you head out, consider leaving the egg sacs at home and give beads a shot—you may never look back.

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