The same company that makes Powerbait also sells the pellets that the Fish and Game folks use in the fish hatchery. Therefore the hatchery-bred fish take Powerbait more readily than anything else, because it tastes and smells familiar. But wild fish rarely if ever are caught with Powerbait - so it might or might not be right depending upon where you are fishing and what you are fishing for.
I like to hook the worms through the middle, then thread the worm to cover the hook and just leave the tip of the barb sticking out - the fish tastes food and not metal, so he bites and you can set the hook with a swift yank.
When you see somebody take a fish, ask him how deep he caught it and fish that depth with your leader length. You might also drop a thermometer down to that depth and record the reading and fish caught - next time, you search for that temperature and you will know the depth to catch that species.
Fishing is easy, anybody can fish. But if what you want to do is catching not fishing, then you have to go about it systematicly.
