Trout Fishing Tips

The following are a few trout fishing tips and tricks I've discovered for myself as well as have come across over the years. I hope they serve you as well as they have me.

1. Know the Current: Understanding how moving water shapes a river or stream will help you find trout rather easily. Deep pools created by the current can hold big trout, or any big fish for that matter, as well as smaller trout. Large trout will most likely be letting their presence known in these pools during dawn and dusk. Catching one here during full daylight is highly unlikely. They didn't get that big by being stupid: They know predators are on the lookout for them, and they know they can be spotted if out in full sunlight. Once the sun goes down or on a cloudy day, they'll tend to venture out of their hiding spots and cruise around the pool.

2. Artificial bait such as Power Bait only works on stocked trout: If you're fishing for trout with power bait you better make sure the trout in that body of water were stocked (farm raised) and not native. Native trout will not bite on power bait. The only reason stocked trout will is because they are fed pellets in the hatchery and will eat anything that resembles or smells like the pellets.

3: Nightcrawlers, the best live bait: Hands down night crawlers are an effective live bait for catching trout, along with minnows and perhaps crawfish if they are present in your area.

4. Match the hatch: It's always a good idea to take a look at what lives on the shore of you're fishing area to see what might on their lunch or dinner menu. Mayflies, when native to the area, can be deadly during the fall season, therefore you can't go wrong with fly fishing!

5: Don't underestimate the power of the spoon: Trout (especially lake trout) love to bite on a small silver or gold spoon, as well as spinner baits, like the Hildebrandt. There are several different rigs that might work best for you, try them out to see what works best. I like to use an 8" leader attached to the hook-end of a gold Hildebrandt, and attach the hook to the end of this leader with a piece of nightcrawler to it. Deadly! Just make sure you use smaller pound test than your main line. That way, if you snag on something, you lose your hook, but not your more expensive spinner.