the trout thread

[JC121]

thought id start a thread dedicated to trout, post your pics/techniques/stories,etc. i would aslo like to point out that my #1 trout lure has to be the rapala husky jerk in glass minnow. trout absolutly crush these things if you work them properly. i find that big trout will chase these cast after cast until you hook them, smaller trout also go after them, but they sem to give up after a few runs. all of my biggest trout have come on this lure. last week i was fishing a delayed harvest creek and i lost a MONSTER rainbow trout, i hooked him, then he broke the line and the rapala ws in his mouth. you could see him thrashing trying to work the lure loose. i was ticked!!! that was my go-to lure. i came back 2 days later and found my lure downstream caught against a rock!!!!

[the old fishing pond]

Love stories like that!  So you and the trout were happy after that!

[David P]

My favorite trout lures for small creeks and what not are Rainbow Runners and Kastmasters.

Great stories with those puppies. I caught one trout that had one of my lures from the previous day AND another hook with 2 split shots on the line both in it's mouth.

[Rattletrap]

Berkley Gulp Miniworms(Natural) are the best trout bait around. But you have to hook them only once in the center(for that natural look) on a #8 hook, 2 split shot on 4lb test line. The split shot will vary as to how quick the current is. Ya want to slow it down enough so it stays in the strike zone longer. Tightlines!!!

[jeff82882]

Do you guys have any tips for fishing for rainbows on an inland lake?  We bought some "trout rigs" that are kind of like spreaders and tried some powerbait but had no luck.  The lake gets as deep as 60 feet and the dropoffs are very steep.  How deep should we be looking?  We tried in the 12-20 foot areas but no bites.  Should we be fishing off the bottom or suspending at a certain depth?  Any help would be appreciated.

[30_pound_bass]

I used to fish in a deep reservoir as a kid with my dad.  We caught lots of rainbows...IMO a downrigger is priceless for deep lakes in the summer.  This time of year, the rainbows may be 30-50' down.  They seek cool water and sometimes this means uncommonly deep areas for rainbows.  

As lures/baits go, Powerbait is more for stocked trout in my opinion.  Rapala crankbaits work pretty good.  I caught an extremely delicious rainbow on a Rebel Crawdad crankbait one year, would not hesitate to try that again!  For downrigger trolling, the go-to setup is "cowbells", a rig with 4 or 5 spinner blades to attract trout, with a big ol' live worm on 2 or 3 hooks behind it.  I caught lots of rainbows that way and banged a 15.5-lb. carp when I was 9 years old on that rig.  Still the biggest freshwater fish I ever caught...14 years later.      

For shore fishing, small spoons and spinners on ultralight tackle can produce magical results.  IME this is good on small mountain lakes where the trout are accessible from shore.