I don't even know if this is legal, but when I was teen, id bass fish with minnows. I'd throw 4-5 into the lilly pads and let the bass rip them up, then id bait one up and toss it in. very effective.
 
and before anyone rips on me, I haven't done that in 25 years.

Andy Lee Oil Creek was Running at over 800 over the weekend I don't think corn was your biggest problem also the wind gust were 25 to 30 mph and 500 fisherman for each fish in the creek anyone who crawl of an under his or her rock was on the stream that week end. The Oil Creek region does close to 1.5 million $$$$$$ just in that week end alone. At least that is what they claim I  know for a fact that the local chamber of commerce would never lie about that. I know I believe in the Easter Bunny and I hope you do too.!!!!!!!!!!!!

QuestionDuring the last few years, I have seen more and more people using corn for bait. But it seems as if they are now being so bold as to sow the stream with handfuls at a time before casting their lines. I have always had the understanding corn cannot be digested by the trout and they would die from ingesting it. If this is the case, is it illegal to sow corn?AnswerCommission fisheries biologist Tom Bender at our Benner Spring Fish Research Station conducted a study in 1992 that examined the impact of corn on trout. For the study, two groups of hatchery rainbow trout were held in separate tanks and tested for 54 days. In one tank, 20 rainbow trout (average size 8.3 inches) were fed a diet of whole kernel corn. In the second tank, 20 rainbow trout of the same size were fed a standard trout pellet diet.During the 54 day study period, no mortalities occurred from trout of either study group. However, study results did show that the trout fed with a corn diet did not digest the corn particularly well. The growth observed by the corn-fed trout during the study period was only about half of that observed from the trout that were fed the standard trout pellet diet.
The conclusion from this study was that there appears to be little reason for concern about the short term health hazards for rainbow trout when whole kernel corn is used for bait. Although there are better diets for trout than whole kernel corn, this study confirms that mortality does not occur when trout ingest whole kernel corn.
You also asked about the practice of anglers using handfuls of corn to attract fish - a practice sometimes called "chumming." For waters managed under statewide regulations, chumming with corn or other bait to attract fish would be considered a legal practice, providing that anglers don't get carried away and liberally coat the bottom of the stream with corn. If this were the case, then it could be considered littering. The Commission does not recommend chumming.

Mabee Eggsnag was in the area...

say his name 2 more times a sh*t will get real interesting

Eggy:
 I Have not heard his name on here in a while !

not to sound like a pain in the a-- ,but untie the rope around your ankle from the nearest tree and move up or down stream , he can't have that much corn and fish something that tastes better, of all the fish they stock, how many are right where he threw the corn, a lot are a 1/4 mile from where they tossed them in weeks ago

bingsbaits
QuestionDuring the last few years, I have seen more and more people using corn for bait. But it seems as if they are now being so bold as to sow the stream with handfuls at a time before casting their lines. I have always had the understanding corn cannot be digested by the trout and they would die from ingesting it. If this is the case, is it illegal to sow corn?AnswerCommission fisheries biologist Tom Bender at our Benner Spring Fish Research Station conducted a study in 1992 that examined the impact of corn on trout. For the study, two groups of hatchery rainbow trout were held in separate tanks and tested for 54 days. In one tank, 20 rainbow trout (average size 8.3 inches) were fed a diet of whole kernel corn. In the second tank, 20 rainbow trout of the same size were fed a standard trout pellet diet.
During the 54 day study period, no mortalities occurred from trout of either study group. However, study results did show that the trout fed with a corn diet did not digest the corn particularly well. The growth observed by the corn-fed trout during the study period was only about half of that observed from the trout that were fed the standard trout pellet diet.
The conclusion from this study was that there appears to be little reason for concern about the short term health hazards for rainbow trout when whole kernel corn is used for bait. Although there are better diets for trout than whole kernel corn, this study confirms that mortality does not occur when trout ingest whole kernel corn.
You also asked about the practice of anglers using handfuls of corn to attract fish - a practice sometimes called "chumming." For waters managed under statewide regulations, chumming with corn or other bait to attract fish would be considered a legal practice, providing that anglers don't get carried away and liberally coat the bottom of the stream with corn. If this were the case, then it could be considered littering. The Commission does not recommend chumming.

Thanks for posting this.  I remembered reading about this study somewhere along the way, but from seeing both the original post and some of the replies in this thread, I'd decided it wasn't really worth my time or effort to take it seriously and go googling for the reference.
 
Basically, corn for trout is like junk food.  Not a problem in the short term, but not exactly nutritious, and definitely not great for them to be eating as the main part of their diet.  Luckily, a handful isn't going to make a huge difference, and personally, I'm rooting for the old fart.  Fish that are too stuffed to eat on opening morning means more left over for the rest of the season!

bubbaman
not to sound like a pain in the a-- ,but untie the rope around your ankle from the nearest tree and move up or down stream , he can't have that much corn and fish something that tastes better, of all the fish they stock, how many are right where he threw the corn, a lot are a 1/4 mile from where they tossed them in weeks ago

It wasn't one area.  It was 4 holes along a 1/2 mile stretch of stream that happens to be my favorite area to fish.  Even after the big rain you could see pieces of corn lining the bottom of the stream beds.  One fish with nearly 20 pieces of corn in it's gut isn't from a guy throwing a handful in one day, it's from massive chumming for weeks leading up to the opener.  It's no coincidence that nobody in this stretch caught fish all weekend, but when the same guys went a mile north or south on the same stream they caught fish.  
 
600 stocked fish in that stretch and maybe 20 were caught all weekend.   Nobody knows how many of those fish were killed by not being able to digest the corn, but "fishermen" here want to root for the chummers. 

Nobody knows how many of those fish were killed by not being able to digest the corn

 
Studies suggest roughly zero.