Winter Trout Fishing - 3 Items Every Winter Trout Fisherman Needs or Needs to Keep in Mind

When fishing for trout in the winter, there are a few items that every trout fisherman needs. Fishing for trout during the winter months is tough enough; there is no need to make it tougher by not having these items available to you on the water. In this article I will outline 3 items every winter trout fisherman needs to have available to them. These items will not only make the winter trout fishing experience more successful, but also more comfortable.

When winter hits trout don't stop feeding completely, but they certainly feed much less often. You see trout like all fish are cold blooded so when the water temperatures drop, their body temperature drops, and when a fish's body temperature drops they become much less active and thus feed less. For this reason, winter trout fishing can be a challenge to say the least.

1. Smaller Baits - No matter what type of trout fishing you enjoy most, traditional or fly fishing, you want to downsize your baits in the winter months. I've always found that darker colors are more effective when fishing for trout in winter as well. If you're a live bait fisherman, rather than using live worms, try maggots and meal worms as bait during the winter months. Slowing down your presentation is also in order when fishing for trout in the winter. Many times it's necessary to place your offering right in front of the trout's nose to trigger a bite.
2. Fishing Gloves - When fishing for trout in cool to cold weather a quality pair of fishing gloves is definitely in order. I personally carry two pairs of fishing gloves with me when fishing during the winter. A pair of fleece fingerless gloves and a pair of neoprene fishing gloves. I wear the fleece fingerless gloves at all times and the neoprene over the fleece gloves as needed. The bottom line is that when winter trout fishing quality fishing gloves are certainly a "must have" item. There is simply nothing worse that having frozen fingers and trying to fish.
3. To Be Fishing At The Proper Times - This is always important, but during winter trout fishing it seems to be even more important. You want to be on the water when the trout are the most active and this is accomplished by paying attention to the weather & moon. These two forces of Mother Nature have an amazing impact of the activity level of fish and using this information to your advantage is imperative during the winter months. The bottom line is that you want to be on the water when the weather & moon are in your favor, rather than working against you.

Keep these 3 things in mind on your next winter trout fishing excursion. Not only will you be more comfortable, you'll also be much more successful. Winter trout fishing may be tough, but it's certainly not impossible.