Trout fishing ranks fourth after the bass, panfish, and catfish in North America. When fishing, trout are always known to create a hell of a time for the fishers. Our proven tricks about how to catch trout really work. Trout are known to inhabit the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. The West Coast create a suitable habitat for trout.
Trout exist in three main species, the Rainbow, Brook, and Brown. The three species exhibit similar characteristics. The wildcard steelhead trout is another species though under the Rainbow trout. The wildcard steelhead spends most of its time in great lakes and oceans. Even though, it spawns in freshwater lakes or even smaller tributaries. Wildcard steelhead breeding tactics are similar to those of salmon fish. The fingerlings that come up are sizable, yet tough for smaller bows. Thus, making them legends among trout anglers.
Trout feed on small fish and other small invertebrates found in the water. However, a twelve-inch trout can only feed on smaller fish. Young trout get referred to as troutlets or even troutlings. Troutlets mature when they get to be two years old. Trout lifespan depends on the species. The rainbow trout has a lifespan of around seven years. Whereas, the lake trout can survive for decades. Trout color also varies depending on the species. They are mostly green in color and have pale yellow spots.
Where To Find Trout
Trout inhabit the cold waters. The ideal water temperatures should be between fifty to sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Mostly, they are found in the cold moving water of the rivers and streams. Lake trout can be caught, stocked, and used to regenerate troutlets in ponds and streams.
Being the most available and easy to get food, trout stands out as food for wildlife. Therefore, trout are also found in the woods. In the woods, trout serve as food for the bears, bobcats, and other fishing wildlife. The remoteness of a stream or a river guarantees the existence of many trout. Those who are interested in catching big fishes, they should start to deal with lake trouts as they are often enormous in size!
Knowing the type of bait to use in varied situations is the most important trick to possess. Some trout baits are used in flowing river water while others, get used in non-flowing water such as that found in the lakes.
Trout are also known to reside in the deepest ends of great lakes. They grow big hence able to put up fights in case of danger. These trout feed on smaller fish found in lakes’ depths. Tracking trout habitats is a simple and easy task. Even though, catching them is the greater task.
When fishing trout from a lake, one should consider investing in a depth finder. The depth finder will help you to locate the fish in their hidings easily. Even though, trout depth and feeding habits change with the weather.
In early spring, trout swim at an average depth of forty feet. In late spring and early summer, trout tend to swim at an optimal depth of sixty-five feet.
When it is freezing, and the lake’s water ice up, trout are only ten feet deep. But they hardly bite in extreme winter. Those who go for winter fishing should prepare themselves for something else like catfish or crappie.
Things To Acquaint Yourself With When Mastering On How To Catch Trout
If you already know how to catch trout, you are familiar with the following points:
- Know the current- having a basic understanding of the river or stream you are deciding to go fishing is vital. When you get to learn the shape of the river, it gets easy to locate trout. Deep pools that the water currents create can harbor many trout. Both big and smaller trout can coexist in these pools. Even though, the big trout may inhabit the pools in the early mornings or late evenings.
- Choose your baits wisely- when going out for trout fishing, it is best to know the type of bait to use. At different stages of life, trout have to feed on a different diet. Having the wrong baits will make one end up capturing the wrong trout. For example, one may carry small insects and worms. By doing so, one might end up capturing the smaller trout. To capture big trout, one should consider using smaller fish as the bait. The Panther Martin Spinning lures are mostly recommended for maximum productivity in trout fishing.
- You should use a light rod with a five-pound test line. The choice of the rod allows one to employ a variety of tactics to capture trout. The lighter test line serves to reduce friction with the water. By this, it is easy to cast the line to the deepest bottom of a lake or a river. Even though, some lake trout can weigh much more, thus requiring a much heavier rod.
Things to Use When Trout Fishing
Not only are trout a staple food for most anglers, but also, they serve the tastiest on the dinner table. When trout fishing, there are two primary rules to remember;
- Power bait works only in capturing stocked trout. Unless the trout happen to get concentrated in the river or the stream, the power bait is destined to fail you. One should first locate the rivers and streams with stocked trout before engaging in fishing.
- Trout of more than twelve inches cut out some invertebrates from their diet. Smaller insects and flies are preys on the smaller fish. However, when a trout matures, it feeds exceptionally on an advanced diet. It is therefore advisable to incorporate all types of baits to lure the fish into the traps. Incorporation of the baits will help the angler catch the kind of fish required.
Even though, power bait is not a good method to use for lakes and ocean trout. Powerbait is effective when fishing on ponds or other stocked farm hatcheries. The reason is, trout in ponds are fed with pellets. With time, they imitate the feeding mechanism used. The sight, scent, and texture of the pellets triggers their hunger, and thus, they move towards the pellets.
The feeding tactic is a conditioned reflex action that makes it easier to use power bait. The trout come together when feeding hence easy to capture them.
However, it is different in the lakes since trout are not fed. They have no idea what the pellets would be, and hence the scent could even send them away.
When interested in catching big trout, one should avoid using flies, or even smaller insects as bait. Big trout have an upgraded diet. These trouts exceptionally feed on smaller fish.
Things to know When Trout Fishing
- Live baits are most effective in rivers and streams. When you intend to go fishing trout on rivers or streams, you should consider using live baits to get the attention of trout. Rigged worms and hands down nightcrawlers can be used as live baits. They are allowed to flow with the rivers current hence attracting more fish on their way. Other live insects such and crawfish or minnows can also serve as live baits. Catching crawfish or trapping minnows made easy by the modern crawfish traps and effective minnow traps. A survey at the shore of the fishing ground will help one know the common food for the trout.
- Artificial flies are also an effective trout bait. The artificial flies are designed to mimic live flies. The use of artificial flies is an effective method and can also be used in any aquatic base harboring trout. One can use the traditional fly fish method or even project the artificial flies using a casting bubble with spin gear.
Common Lures Used for Trout Fishing
Fishers have come up with ways to get them to capture trout easily. All the methods about how to catch trout include lures that attract trout. They have designed even the artificial lures that mimic the insects feed on by trout. Some of the commonly used trout baits include;
Critters
When grasshoppers, beetles, and crickets fall into rivers, they are fed on by trout. Critters serve as easy snacks for trout. Though smaller in size, they serve as the staple food for smaller fish.
Anglers have created artificial critters that mimic live ones. The bait makes it easier to capture trout since you have presented them with something familiar. The critters are made to float on the current thus attracting their predators.
Tubes
Tubes mimic the zooplankton. Even though, they do not float on the water or move. They are effective when kept in the tackle box. Here, trout nibble on the tubes thinking of the planktons thus making them an easy target.
Swimbaits
Big trout love feeding on smaller baitfish. Mimics of smaller fish are used to disrupt the water current thus making trout come to the surface to feed. A paddle tail swimbait gets used to disrupt the current, hence capturing trout of your size.
Worm mimics
Live worms are a target for every trout. Thus, designing artificial worms with help with trout capture. Small-sized soft plastic worms are made to mimic live worms. They are made to float, and thus, they get bit by any trout that spots them.
The worms should feature a bright color for easier spotting by the trout in the water. The worm mimic is the most effective trout fishing technique, especially in rivers. Even though, they are still effective to use in large water bodies. The method is simple and hence less tedious. It is used for catching catfish and other fishes as well.
Cranks
When trout fishing, crankbaits are not the most essential to use. Even though, they can still get used as baits for big trout. Big trout can hit cranks that are half their size. Cranks have sharp teeth similar to those of trout. They have plenty of a surface to fix a snack for the trout. Trout have no problem eating a piece of fish that gets fixed on the crank. The piece might be big, but swallowing is not a problem.
Salmon Eggs
Trout is a notorious type of fish. They are good at scavenging and an impromptu ambush of spawning beds of other fish. After raiding the beds, they feed on the eggs of other fish.
The notoriety is so rampant that even when you cut the trout belly, you will still find the eggs. A tactful way has been designed to curb their notoriety and help capture trout. Bio pro eggs, which are a look-alike of the fish eggs get threaded on a size six hook. Trout will feed on the eggs greedily and hence easily captured.
Spoons
Most trout, most commonly the lake trout love biting a small silver spoon. One can purchase lures that imitate the spoon to capture the fish.
The spoons are flashy. They feature feathers at their tips. Sometimes, the flashy spoons contain waxed worms at their tips. These serve as bait for trout for almost a year. Even though, the bite rate gets reduced when it is colder. The flashiness of the spoons is enticing. It lures the fish into biting them.
Spinners
Spinners and rooster tail serves as the most effective lures used by most anglers nationwide. Spinners and rooster tails are easily manipulated to stay in and out on a swivel. They are highly liked by trout, and they can get a bite anywhere in a lake. Spinners and rooster tails have flapping blades. The blades are designed to flap to add a glint of light to the river current.
Power Bait
It is the use of pellets in the form of dough to lure trout into the bait. Many power baits exist but most importantly is that they can get trout in the trap. The tactic is only applicable where trout are stocked.
Having different colors of the power bait will help attract more fish. Even though, it is advisable to use the color that the trout in the pond or any other hatchery are used to seeing. The pellets are balled up onto a hook then set to the waters.
More trout will come to the surface as power bait is a condition state in their mind. Its scent and event its smell lure the trout into the hooks.
Trout Fishing At Night
Some anglers like to fish at night. Night fishing trips are getting popular, no doubt about it. Actually, they use underwater fishing lights of different colors to attract baitfishes or insects to their fishing spot.
After that, the bigger fishes come to the spot like crazy. That is the time when the anglers go into the attack to get them in the bucket.
Conclusion
Trout fishing is a thrilling adventure when equipped with the best techniques on how to catch trout. Trout serves to provide some nutritional supplements abundant in proteins. It is a staple food for most anglers and people of North America. The feeling and the joy of capturing a good fish is simply priceless.
