Rainbow Trout are a ton of fun to catch. Especially when you employ light line and it's early in the year. I'm not sure if it's because the water is colder is colder early in the year or because the winter fast just has them hungry, but catching rainbow trout early in the season, while using light line and ultra light gear, is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. Although there are many ways to catch Rainbow Trout, the most effective I've ever found is the one I will explain in this article.



The first thing that you need is the flowing water of a river or stream. Preferably one that's small enough to wade fish properly. This simply means that there are places within the river that a person can cross fairly easily if need be. Once you have your river or stream picked out, I'm going to assume you’re using ultra light gear spooled with 4 or 6 pound test, all you need are 4 simple things. Live worms, gang hooks, small barrel swivels (size 10 or 12), and split shot sinkers. That's all that's needed for this great rainbow trout technique.

Start by grabbing the end of your line and tying on one of the small barrel swivels. Now tie a pre-tied set of gang hooks to the other end of the barrel swivel. Add a few split shot to your line above the barrel swivel. Until you get practice with the technique, it can be difficult to tell how many split shot should be added, so just add a couple. You want your offering to bounce off the bottom as it flows naturally downstream. At this point, add a live worm to the set of gang hooks. If you're using night crawlers, simply pinch then in ½.

Now you're rigged up and ready to go. The concept is pretty simple, huh? I didn't say it was difficult, I just said it worked great. You want to cast into the current and let this rig drift naturally downstream as it flows with the current. Keep your line as tight as you can to detect bites. As I mentioned earlier, the goal is to have the offering bounce off of the bottom as it flows naturally with the current. Split shot are going to have to be added or removed, depending on current flow. Too many split shot and you'll get snagged, too few and you won't touch bottom. This is a balancing act that you'll become accustomed to as you become more proficient with the technique.

At first, it might seem difficult to tell the difference between a bite and the bottom, but it will quickly become easy. This technique obviously lends itself to getting snagged. Getting snagged is simply part of the game, and when you see how productive the technique is, getting snagged won't bother you. I simply break-off and tie on a new rig when I get snagged, no problem. As my mentor used to tell me, "if you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place".

As with most things in life, the more you practice this technique, the more proficient you will become. And the more proficient you become, the more fish you will catch. The bottom line is that this is a great Rainbow Trout catching technique, no matter how you slice it. As a matter of fact, it's the most effective technique I've ever found to catch rainbow trout (and other fish) in the flowing waters of a river or stream.