Rainbow Trout Fishing is a Sport for Everyone

If you are interested in fishing for rainbow trout, I have compiled some info and great practical tips for any angler, but the article is geared more for the beginner!

So, here we go: There's a lot of information involved like the appropriate gear, and different bait and lures you can use before you take-off for your local stream or lake.

This article will cover some of their habits, where they live, the best season to catch them and choosing what type of bait is best for specific waters and conditions! Trout fishing is a sport for everyone. You don't need a boat and motor, a depth finder, a pH meter, a guide, or any expensive tackle. All you need is a spinning or spin-casting outfit in working order, a box of hooks, some night crawlers.

Rainbow trout are NOT considered finicky eaters and will strike a wide variety of lures, baits, and flies. Weighted spinners and wobbling spoons are preferred by many anglers.

Anglers that target these incredible gamesters with a fly rod often use streamers, muddlers, egg patterns and other imitations for catching these fish.

Rainbow trout, including juvenile steelhead in fresh water, routinely feed on larval, pupal and adult forms of aquatic insects (typically caddisflies, stoneflies, mayflies and aquatic diptera). They also eat fish eggs and adult forms of terrestrial insects (typically ants, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets) that fall into the water.

Other prey include small fish up to one third of their length, crayfish, shrimp, and other crustaceans. As rainbow trout grow, the proportion of fish consumed increases in most populations. Some lake dwelling forms may become planktonic feeders.

Habitat: 

Rainbow trout prefer clear, well-oxygenated, cold-water streams with gravel or rocky bottoms, deep pools, and natural cover. Unlike native brook trout, however, they also thrive in large lakes as long as there is cool, deep water. Their ideal temperature range is between 10° and 16° C (50° and 60° F) although they can survive warmer temperatures than some other species of trout. They are more sensitive to acidic water than brook or brown trout and prefer water with a pH of 6 to 8. Stocked rainbow trout can adapt to virtually any waters as long as they have proper habitat, year-round ideal temperatures, and adequate food sources.

In rivers and streams populated with other salmonid species, rainbow trout eat varied fish eggs, including those of salmon, brown and cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish and the eggs of other rainbow trout. Rainbows also consume decomposing flesh from carcasses of other fish. Adult steelhead in the ocean feed primarily on other fish, squid and amphipods.

Rainbow trout (a west coast native) don't commonly reproduce very well in Northeast rivers and lakes and should be maintained by stocking. They occupy the fast, big water utilizing different habitat when compared to the brown trout. Well known for their acrobatics (tail-walking), rainbows can offer any angler a simple thrill.

There are a number of methods used to catch trout, however newbie beginners should start with light spinning tackle. However many anglers seek more of a challenge by using a fly rod or fishing wild trout in crystal clear streams, but for now we're going to stick with the basics.

Inexpensive Spinning Gear is All You'll Need 

A lightweight spinning or spincasting reel outfitted with 4 to 6 pound test line.Use monofilament line no heavier than 6 pound test in cloudy or muddy water and no heavier than 4 pound test in clear water. A suitable trout fishing outfit would include: an ultra light, fast action spinning rod between 5 and 6 feet long, #10 to #14 regular shank bronze hooks and just a few small split shots for occasions when it's needed to get your bait in the target zone in swift moving water.

Natural Baits: 

It is hard to beat the good-old nightcrawler for baitfishing trout. It really has the perfect weight for a long cast and they're readily available. Hellgramites and water worms (insect larva) may also be good. They're harder to obtain in mid summer and are challenging to cast long distances, but are perfect for drift fishing. Small minnows (pinheads) work efficiently in early season as soon as the fish are sluggish, but you'll have to keep them alive in a minnow bucket.

Fishing the Nightcrawler 

Hook 50 % a crawler only once at either end and let the rest hang. Approach the pool quietly from downstream keeping well hidden a little distance from fish. Cast upstream over the pool allowing your crawler to drift back towards you. Your line will float, so keep an eye on it and you can determine if you get a bite. If you play it cool and don't disturb the water, you would possibly catch more than one fish from same pool. Be patient and fish carefully. Discover how to cast with accuracy. If you have disturbed the pool, move to another. 

Hellgrammites and water worms are highly effective when free-drifting naturally baits into a pool. You can attempt a delicate upstream cast and drifting the bait directly to the pool from upstream. This system is also useful when fishing a stream or pool that's protected using a fallen tree.

To sum up bait fishing: fish natural (natural drift, no bobber, no sinker, light line) fish afternoon hours in springtime, early morning in summer. One of my favorite strategies is to bait fish a stream on the way in , after which cast spinners to the same pools on the way back.

Lures

Spinners, jigs along with other minnow imitators also are very good for trout. Any color or style is apt to work, but match these colors and species for starters. Gold-Browns, Silver-Rainbows, Copper-Brookies. There are hundreds of rainbow trout lures that have proved to be successful, here are a few of the most popular. Some of the top lures for catching trout are:

Blue Fox Vibrax - This spinner runs from the surface to two feet, so it's a good choice for shallow scenarios. The die cast and chrome plated body has a laser holographic painted finish and emits sonic vibration when the interior section strikes the outer bell. The treble hook is dressed with calf tail and tinsel for visual appeal and enhanced profile.
Mepps Comet Mino - The popular Mepps Spinner. The soft plastic minnow's erratic swimming motion and hand-painted finish imitate an injured baitfish, while the flash and vibration of a Mepps spinner call attention to the presentation.
Luhr-Jensen Hus Lure - With a narrow profile and compact design, the Hus Lure casts like a bullet and cuts through surface current to reach big-fish depths. An erratic minnow-like action produces strikes with minimal angler-imparted action. Swift currents will "work" the Hus Lure for you, but in lighter flows, slight rod twitches snap the bait forward so it can flutter back into the current. 
Rebel Wee-Craw - Designed to imitate a crawfish scooting across the bottom, this 2-inch-long crankbait reaches 5-7 feet. Formed with a tucked-under tail by the bill and bulging claws facing the aft treble, the Wee Craw (and its Teeny version) give the appearance of a fleeing crustacean.
Rapala Count Down - A consistent sink rate of one foot per second allows for precise targeting of specific depths whether the fish are suspended, at the weed tops or holding on bottom structure. Trolled or cast, this weighted balsa lure swims with a slow-rolling Rapala action. Sized well for stream trout, the inch-long, 1/16-ounce CD01 runs 1-3 feet and sports a single No. 12 treble.
Panther Martin - Panther Martin inline spinners! Many fishermen call these spinners.... "The best of the best". Simply because they just catch fish! Doesn't mater where, when or what kind of fish your after! They work! Period! Great action, up or down stream, across current, with current! Doesn't mater! If it swims, Panther Martin lure will catch it! Many trout fishermen get all colors, and sizes, and claim it's all you need! They plain and simply catch fish! All types of situations, waters, time of year!

Synthetic Bait: Powerbait To Catch Trout 

Powerbait (or any other synthetic bait that comes on a jar) should float. Most of it does, but make sure that the variety that you're using is a floating trout bait. The floating aspect is critical, because we want our offering to be floating off of the bottom, above any underwater debris.

The next thing to consider is powerbait is best employed in lake fishing situations. Not only lake fishing situations, but also still fishing situations. Which means casting your offering out, and waiting for a trout to bite.

Another tip is begin by taking the end of your line and slipping on an egg sinker (1/4 to 1/2 an ounce). Now tie on a small barrel swivel (size 10 or 12) to act as a "stopper". On the opposite end of the barrel swivel, tie on a double or single hook (preferably size 8 or 10). This is your Powerbait rig. Now simply put
enough synthetic bait on each hook to completely cover the hook. You should now have 2 balls of Powerbait, with the double hook set-up, hanging from the end of your rod.

Now simply cast it out and let it sink. Slowly reel in the slack, until the line is completely taught, and set you rod against a stationary object. Now you wait for a trout to bite (the rod tip will begin bouncing when a trout bites). My general rule is to wait fifteen minutes to half an hour and if nothing happens, reel in, check your bait, and cast to a different spot.

Here is a great video explaining basic equipment and lure techique: 





Good Fishing!