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Green bait isn�t just for St. Pat�s Mail Tribune / Mark Freeman John Plane of Medford shows off one of the green earthworms he�s been feeding in a countertop worm farm in his garage. Sport fisherman uses special dye to transform his earthworms By Mark Freeman John Plane is going to new depths in the anglers� unending quest to outwit a finny, slimy critter whose brain is the size of a shriveled, green pea. The key for Plane this time isn�t the pea, but the green. The Medford sport-fisherman is looking to get a new angle on solving the old man-verses-trout conundrum by feeding his earthworms a special food dye that turns their bodies a bright, fluorescent green. "This is all part of the mystique of fishing," says Plane, 46, as he digs through his little countertop earthworm farm in his garage to glean a few of the greenest dirt-eaters in the batch. "I want to catch fish," Plane says, "and this is the newest something to outsmart the wily trout, which usually outsmarts me." The idea is to make Plane�s worms that much more attractive to the trout at places such as Lost Creek Lake, where worm-drowning for trout is picking up as spring starts to poke its smiling face into the Rogue Valley. The notion stems from a simple axiom known by trout-o-philes across the country that rainbow trout seem to prefer biting lures and bait that are, of course, green. A company called Lindy�s Little Joe has come up just the trick in a worm food that costs roughly 50 cents a dozen. The food contains a non-toxic coloring agent that alters the pigments of worms� segments after they eat it. The worms retain their fluorescent green look for about a week. John Billows, owner of Pat�s Hand-Tied Flies in Trail, says the green worms were all the rage last fall among trout anglers in Nevada, but he passed on buying one of the $18 greening kits at a recent trade show on the Oregon Coast. "We thought it would be a neat idea for St. Patrick�s Day," Billows says. "But beyond that, I don�t know if they�d really sell." But if Plane�s little crawlers give him even a tiny advantage, then Billows expects scores of automobiles headed to local tackle stores. "It seems like every year there�s something that everybody thinks they have to have," Billows says. "But I don�t know if the green worms will work any better than regular ones." But some, like Plane, have an anything-for-a-trout attitude. For others who might feel their legs getting pulled here, just remember that April Fool�s Day isn�t until Sunday. "I�m serious," Plane says. "Green lures, green bait. What more could a fish ask for?" Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.