I have always been reluctant to try spawn bags. I never liked the idea of unnatural netting over the natural eggs. My wife talked me into trying them on our latest fishing trip and I really liked how they fished. They held up great, nice profile and no mess. We didn't catch any but I didn't see any fish caught on the entire river.

My question is, in your expert opinions, how do spawn bags perfom compared to natural eggs?

I fooled with them many years ago. They worked, but no better than basic eggs. I think if you are trying to use a small bait (dime sized) and your eggs don't hold together well, they'd be worth the effort. I use a larger bait, usually no smaller than a nickle, and use a cure that results in pretty durable baits, and so don't have any need for them.

They certainly help conserve bait, if that is a concern.

Most mid-west and east coast steelheaders use them so they must catch fish.

They work fine, and the fish don't mind them at all. You can use several different colors of mesh, and sometimes the right color mesh makes all the difference in the world.

They are really nice if you do alot of casting. They may not be a mess on the river, but they are generally a mess when you make them up at home. We use them mostly because our fish take smaller baits, and it is hard to fish skein size chunks the size of a dime in boiling eddy water, or any heavy current, which are typical of our water conditions in the spring. Hope this helps.