Ben

I would say that the live trout softbait is one of my top 5 favorite baits. It is not a bait that's easy to fish but it definitely gets big big bites. Most of the fish I've caught on the live trout were over 8lbs and Nico and I have both caught 13's on it.

The double jointed live trout has pretty similar action to the original, it just swims at a slightly slower speed. These baits do not float, they sink, so you have to fish them fast and hard. This isn't a bait you can cast from shore because it naturally wants to run down in the 10 to 15' range and it stays down deep at the end of the retrieve. This is a bait for boat fishing with a heavy duty swimbait setup. The live trout softbait is also a great troll bait.

There are three things to be aware of with this bait. First like you said is using a stinger. I use two 2/0 gammie's on the belly for the live trout. Second is hook positioning. This bait is very fickle as far as how you place the hooks. If it doesn't run straight with the stinger hooks, you have to keep moving them around until it does. Third is the bill of the bait. This is not a bait you want to be bouncing off the shore on accident on the cast. I've broken the bill out of three of them either casting or grinding them along the bottom through rocks. The good thing is that this bait works best in clear open water anyway, so just don't bash it into anything too hard and you'll be fine. I'd get one while you can.