As spring arrives also trout fishing will be on the top of many anglers list of things to do this spring. Fishing for trout is generally done on streams and rivers, but I have found that you can catch some real monster trout in the lakes that trout streams feed into. Many streams especially here in my home state of Pennsylvania have trout streams that dump into a lake and often these lakes are stocked with trout as well as the stream being stocked with trout.
Trout will migrate to the lake during the summer months due to the comfort of the deep water and surplus of food. This leads to monster trout residing in these lakes that feed heavily in deeper waters on minnows and bugs on top of the water. One key way of targeting these trout is to troll for them using spinners, spoons, and flies. All you need is a boat and an electric trolling motor to effectively troll for trout. Any rod and reel will do but I have found a few tricks that will make your day of trolling for trout more successful.
Trolling for Trout Tips & Tricks
- Long Lightweight Rods - Steelhead fishermen use a rod known as a noodle rod that are generally about 9 feet long and have a super fast whippy tip. They are A number 1 for trolling for trout due to the fast tip and longer length that allows your lure to be farther away from the boat.
- Reel - Any spinning reel will due, all of my spinning reels are Okumas. I like the way they feel and they have a good drag which comes in handy if you are battling a 20 plus inch rainbow.
- Line - I use 8 lb test fluorocarbon to a swivel or trolling sinker then use 4 or 6 lb test fluorocarbon to the spinner, spoon or fly when trolling for trout.
Lures - Spinners - I generally use Rooster Tails, Mepps, and Panther Martains when there is some chop on the water and my favorite colors are white, white and chartreuse, and black. I tend to favor gold blades but often I will have a gold blade on one rod and a silver blade on another reel.
- Spoons - If you want a big trout then a spoon will pick up some monsters, I generally use smaller spoons like Luhr Jensen's Super Duper and the Needlefish or a Thomas Buoyant Spoon. My favorite colors for spoons are spoons that look like Wonder Bread, rainbow trout and silver or gold.
- Flies - On calm days streamer flies are deadly fish will more readily hit a fly than any other bait due to their nature appearance. Flies such as bead head woolly buggers, grey ghosts, mickey fins, and small clousers are probably my biggest fish catchers when trolling for trout.
- Rigging - Always use a swivel or trolling sinker when trolling this will help keep your line untangled. A spinner will twist up your line some terrible, but a swivel will stop this. Trolling sinkers are used to get your bait deeper sometimes you will need to get your bait down to pretty deep depths and by using a trolling sinker you can target these deeper depths easily. Keep your spinner, spoon, or fly about 24 to 36 inches away from your swivel or trolling sinker this will help with action and not spook fish by the presence of a sinker.
- Trolling - I always longline when trolling for trout in small lakes there is no need for divers or down riggers in 90 % of the lakes I fish for trout in. I also tend to keep my bait a long ways away from the boat and if using multiple rods you will want to vary how far each bait is out to keep them from getting tangled. Also always troll in big S patterns to cover as much water as possible and when you locate fish mark that area and then target that area when trolling. Generally trout will hold in schools in lakes so where you find one there will generally be more.
- Structure - Fish relate to structure and that pertains to trout as well. Before heading out on the boat look at a topographical map of the lake to determine if there are any points, humps, or steep ledges that you can troll around. These areas will hold all sorts of fish. Locating structure in a lake will make or break you fishing day, find structure and you will catch trout.
Trolling for trout is a fun way to spend a day and is a better way to take a kid fishing. A day out on a boat for a kid is a fun filled day and it's only better when fishing. So the next time your heading out to do some trout fishing think about taking the boat instead of the waders you won't be disappointed you did.