I guess that’s because they are very abundant in most water bodies, and they are delicious. But generally, fishing is an excellent hobby to practice outdoors, and it provides more opportunities for bonding with friends and family members.
Whether you’re new to trout fishing or have been doing it for some time, I am going to share some great tips and how to fish for trout to make your next trip a more successful one.
Finding Trout
You often find trout in cold water. They often live in moving water since they run up and down creeks and rivers. Also, you can find them in lakes. The trout found in lakes are known as The Lake Trout, and they are often stocked in ponds and streams. Trout found in larger lakes and often grow to larger sizes. And they may even feed on smaller fish.
Furthermore, wildlife also relies on trout as a source of food. So, you can probably find trout in the woods, where you would also find bobcats, bears, and other wildlife that fish. You are more likely to get trout swimming through the waters of remote lakes or rivers. And this makes trout fishing more active game-fishing anglers can take part. It nearly crosses a line into tracking and hunting.
What Do You Need For Trout Fishing?
Trout are famous for fishing for a reason. They are good-looking, unpredictable in nature, die-hards, and possess a distinctive allure that distinguishes them from all the other freshwater types. Now that you want to start trout fishing, this is what you will need.
Fishing License: In most regions, you will need a license to fish trout or to practice any other type of fishing. The license should be appropriate for where you will. For instance, you can get a saltwater license or a freshwater license. Some areas may also require a trout permit.
Waders: Although they can adapt and survive well in lakes and large water reservoirs, you’ll mostly find trout in streams. Some trout also love very cold temperatures, and some anglers are tempted to avoid such streams. But with the right gear, you can fish trout in any water body. Such gear includes warm chest waders and a pair of hip boots. This way, you will be ready to beat them at their game.
Fishing vest: When wading, you have no room to carry a lot of things. Only what your back can hold. With a trout fishing vest, you can take all the tools you will need for your time on the stream. Luckily, there are different vests to suit any budget.
A reel: There’s no fishing without a rod/reel. For trout, both spinning and fly rods are more suitable to catch them. For spin fishing, choose something shorter and delicate, preferably 5-6 foot light or ultra-light model wound with 4-6lbs of monofilament. The most common rods for fly anglers are 7.5-9 foot types in the same 4-6lbs weight range. This can either be with floating or weight-forward lines.
Bait: For spin fishing, bait imitators such as spoons, minnow baits, insect, and crawfish mimics. Fly angling is best done with woolly buggers, grasshoppers, and light cahill. Make sure to keep it simple, just how trout like it.
Landing net: It would be best if you had a landing net since landing them on a light line. As die-hards, trout easily escape if no landing net insight. The landing net is also appropriate for handling their delicate skin in case they run. That way, they will be unharmed.
Forceps: Unhooking trout can be a challenge since they have teeth and thin bony mouths. With a pair of forceps, you can easily unhook the caught trout without damaging the angler or the fish.
Read also: The 5 Best Spinning Reels Under $50
Typical Lures You Can Use
There are lures made to resemble the creatures trout eat. Always ensure that you pack at least one of the following commonly used baits before you head for trout fishing.
- Critters: Crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and other large bugs always end up falling into the streams and rivers of trout every time. Since they already know that critters are easy snacks, it’s also easy for them to fall for the lures. You can use imitators or live grasshoppers.
- Tubes: Tubes emulate zooplankton and other easy targets all fish feeds on. The truth is that they resemble nothing that swims in water, but it’s always attractive bait. Therefore, have them in your tackle box.
- Swimbaits: Trout love to feed on smaller baitfish, notably big trout. A perfect way to trigger strikes when eating baitfish is a peddle-tail swimbait that can disrupt the column.
- Crankbait: Crankbaits may not appear on your top list in trout fishing, but big trout hit cranks as large as 1/3 or even half their size. With their sharp teeth, they can manage to go after the bait, and they can still eat the fish in portions if it is too large to swallow.
- Salmon eggs: Trout are well-known scavengers. They raid spawning beds and feed on the eggs of other fish. If you open up their bellies, you can see thousands of roes. Therefore, you can thread some onto a size six hook; hence they’ll treat it as bait.
When Is The Best Time To Catch Trout?
Trout are available all-year-round, similar to other freshwater fish. However, the perfect time to catch trout will depend on the season and water temperature. For instance;
For a larger trout, late spring is the best season of the year to catch trout.
- When it is warm, the brush and grass around the creeks get thicker hence more baits for trout catching. But, some myth states that trout can learn to avoid baits in that season.
- Trout feed actively in 34-67 degrees Fahrenheit of water temperatures.
- As the water temperature rises from 40-49 degrees Fahrenheit, trout appetite picks up as well. Therefore, keep track of the water temperature every hour.
- Trout do not have eyelids and cannot dilate their pupils, so they look for shade in extreme sun and bright lights. Hence, fish when there’s cloud cover with cool temperatures or shady areas to wade with boots quietly.
- In summer, the water temperature rises to over 60 degrees Fahrenheit, so move towards cool waters upstream to get higher chances of catching trout.
Wrapping Up
There you have it. Pack up different types of baits, and use the tips I just detailed on where and when to find trout. It’s fun, addictive, and you can spend several hours and still not get enough of it. But the time you spend will be totally worth it.