In this article I'm going to discuss how to catch a trout. There are four major species of trout that I'm going to be referring to when I use the term 'trout'. Those species would include rainbow, brown, brook, and cutthroat trout. Basically, any trout that swims in the various rivers and streams of North America. Most of the species can be found in lakes as well, although all of these trout seem to prefer rivers, if given a choice. Just to be clear, when I use the term 'trout' in this article, I'm not referring to lake trout or sea trout, but the previously mentioned trout. Catching a trout is fairly easy. As with many species of fish, the small ones aren't that tough to catch. The challenge comes with catching large trout. For the purposes of this article, anything over twenty inches will be considered 'large'. The easiest way to just catch a trout is to employ a good old American worm. Really, what could be more American than fishing with a worm? In any case, the easiest way to catch a trout is to use a small hook, and bait that hook with a worm. To increase your catch rates, try using a set of gang hooks. Gang hooks present a worm in an amazingly natural way. If live bait just doesn't do it for you, the best way to catch a trout is with a small spinner or spoon. If you're simply trying to catch a trout, any trout, I wouldn't suggest anything larger that ΒΌ ounce. I personally like darker colors when it comes to spinners and gold when it comes to spoons, when fishing for trout. There are literally enough color choices to choke a horse, so experimentation with colors will be your best bet. The colors of your spinners and spoons really comes down to personal preference as much as anything else when it comes to trout. A good rule of thumb is to remember that it's always a good idea to emulate the fish's natural prey as closely as possible. Another good rule of thumb when attempting to catch a trout is to use light line. Trout, as a general rule, live in cold clear water. In clear water your fishing line can become visible to the trout underwater if it's too heavy. I personally use 4lb. test monofilament, and don't suggest using anything over 6lb. test for trout fishing. I see a lot of fishing line that gets left along the banks of various trout rivers and many times this excess line is much heavier than six pound test. This is a big mistake when trout fishing. That should provide any angler with enough information to go out and catch a trout. Before you think that large trout can't be caught with gear as 'small' as I've been mentioning, think again. I regularly catch large trout using exactly the size gear that I've been referring to in this article. I also never use gang hooks tied with any hooks other than size 10 (which if you don't know, is a small hook). Now it's time to take this information and get out there and catch a trout or two.
As trout fishing season approaches, or has already arrived in some parts of the country, rivers and streams can be very high and muddy this time of year. That means that many of us anglers are reserved to catching trout from the banks of a lake. In most cases this means a lake that has been stocked with trout. This most certainly isn't my personal favorite way to catch a trout, but it suffices when there has been no fishing activity for the entire winter. Stocked trout, such as the ones that we'll be fishing for love artificial bait. Baits such as Powerbait, corn, cheese, and marshmallows can all be employed. For this article, I'm going to assume that Powerbait (or some other floating form of dough bait) is going to be used. Why? Because this is the type of bait that I've had the most success with fishing for stocked trout. A basic bottom rig is what we want to use, so the first thing that needs to be done is to slip an egg sinker onto your line. Now tie a small barrel swivel onto your line that will act as a 'stopper' for your egg sinker. Now a leader that's 12 inches to 3 feet needs to be tied onto the other end of the barrel swivel. On the end of the leader, tie a small hook (size 8 or 10). Rather than the leader and hook, tie a set of pre-made gang hooks onto the other end of the swivel, if you have them available. Gang hooks are the most effective way to use this rig, but either way will suffice. At this point you add enough floating dough bait (Powerbait) to cover the hook, or hooks in the case of gang hooks, and you're good to go. At this point you cast your rig out and let it sink to the bottom. Gently reel in the slack line, until your line is taught. Obviously your rod needs to be sitting in a rod holder of some kind (many people use a forked stick). As you can probably imagine, with this rig your egg sinker will be on the bottom, and your bait will be floating between the sinker and the end of your rod. This rig is a very effective way too catch these lake bound stocked trout. The same rig can be used while fishing a live worm, and some marshmallows to float said worm off of the bottom. The live worm technique can be quite effective as well, although I would definitely suggest gang hooks be used with a live worm. Gang hooks are the best way to present a worm in a natural manner. The bottom line is that this technique is a great way to catch trout from the banks of a lake.
Trevor Kugler has sinced written about articles on various topics from Acid Reflux, Fishing and Fishing. Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout. Trevor Kugler's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.