Saturday, April 25, 2009

Rainbow Trout Fishing Tips & Tricks

Rainbow trout are very easily spooked and cunning fish, that often dwell in clear streams and rivers of Canada and North America. In order to catch rainbow trout, there are many tips and tricks of the trade that are useful to apply. I will go over what I have learned in my lessons and follies over the years following trout streams through the middle of nowhere and back in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

First of all, you must remember to be as quiet as possible at all times. Step very lightly, as the vibrations of your steps can be felt in nearby bodies of water unless the water is flowing vigorously. Do not speak loudly with friends, keep it down to a whisper. Try to move without any sharp or jerky movements, as this may spook the fish away.

You also should be wearing clothing that blends in well with the environment. This means that you need to wear earth tone colors, such as browns, dark greens or even darker greys are fine. A large yellow thing moving around in the woods is clearly not natural and the rainbow trout know this - so no matter how much you love your nanna's sweater, leave the ugly thing at home.
Another tip is to use the lightest tackle that you possibly can. This means at most using 6 pound test line, although I usually opt for 4 pound test you have the chance of losing some of the bigger ones. Use very small hooks, just big enough to pierce whatever bait you are using. If you are using lures, the smaller the better.

Active lures are not good. Rainbow trout will rarely bite on crankbaits. Jigs can be useful from time to time, though hard to fish with in swift moving waters. The best jigs for rainbow trout tend to be the small tube baits.

Small inline spinning lures can also catch rainbow trout, this can be an especially useful trick when the trout are being lazy and clearly aren't feeding. If you cast out and then reel the lure upstream past the trout, but a few feet away, sometimes the fish will bite out of agitation. You need to bring it far away enough so that the trout can notice it approach, but doesn't get spooked. Sometimes this will scare the rainbow trout away, so be careful.

Salmon eggs and small red worms are by far the best baits for rainbow trout. Put them on as small a hook as you possibly can, toss it upstream and let it float down with the current. The work does itself. When you see your line twitch unexpectedly, you set the hook and reel in your prize. Did I mention that rainbow trout make for really good eating? The flesh is very tender and I'm told that it could also be good for you.

The last piece of advice I have for you when rainbow trout fishing is a two parter, but a standby. Those two things that you must always keep in mind when fishing are patience and perseverance. With those two things we realize that not all days will be good fishing days, some days the trout just won't bite and will hole up in a pocket under an overhand and dangit you know that they're there you can see them! But that day just won't be a good day. For every day like that though, know that your patience will pay off, and your rainbow trout bounty will come to you soon.


trevor said...

Well I'll be I always ware my big yellow rain coat guess that's why but I fish the port credit river and it's big time over fished any advice on my senario?

Adam said...

I'd suggest you find out what sort of live i.e. non-artificial bait most other people use, and use whatever they don't. If the majority of people use nightcrawlers, use salmon eggs etc. In overfished areas live seems to be the best way to go I've found.

viking said...

meal worms are great for trout

Mia said...

I don't know why people try to romanticize trout fishing so much. They're fish - their brains are not much larger than a shelled peanut. Much like other fish, they swim around and eat stuff. If you're not catching any, try a different bait or location. Keep in mind rainbows spawn in the summer and more easily caught in small to medium sized mountain lakes rather than rivers. Also, there's no need to be an elitist Mr.River-runs-through-it fly fisherman either. Shrimp or meal worms on a MEDIUM sized hook work great, like a number 7 or 8 sized bait hook. They tend to swallow small hooks and if you don't hook them directly in the jaw it's unlikely you'll be able to release them if they're too small. As for noise, they've never seem too bothered by my radio playing or conversations I've had with my fishing buddy, and we usually catch our fill during the summer months.

Justin said...

I do a weekend canoe trip with my brothers every year on the Clarion river starting in Ridgway PA. This area is just a few miles downstream from a "trophy Trout" stocked portion of water and I can attest that 1/8 oz. roostertails and a similar weight jig head fitted with a 3 inch pumpkinseed grub absolutely kills in that area. There are also deep pools where the smallies will hit on both. We catch small to 20+ inch brown, Brooke and rainbows plus up to 2 LB smalls on the grubs alone. Just my $.02 if you're fishing in that area.

danny said...

i use worms at ballyhass lakes in ireland

Steven, 21, CA said...

I fish on yellow and caribou creek(small streams) which lead into the north fork of the feather river which leads to lake oroville in ca and the rainbow bite all summer long on worms and sz 10 hooks. i also dont find that making noise will hinder the fishing, my dogs rough house in the shallow and i still get action. i find if i use less then 25lb test my line will snap.

Anthony Sanchez said...

Coming from new mexico fishing with bright colored baits is bound to have a good trout fishing day fishing around small lakes ive used powerbait using bright colors such as. Green, pink, red, even rainbow some are even mixed with glitter to make more visible at angles towards the light and ive never left empty handed.