Spinner Fishing Trout Tactics

When it comes to fishing for freshwater trout such as rainbow, cutthroat, and brown trout on of the more polar and types of baits to employ are inline spinners. Spinner fishing is is not only popular it is also very effective and in this article I am going to discuss some spinner fishing tactics that will help you catch more trout this fishing season.
The following spinner fishing trout tactics are all going to relate specifically to river fishing, although they can be easily modified and used when fishing in water that doesn't contain any current if you so choose. The first thing to keep in mind when fishing for trout in the current of a river or stream is that all freshwater trout are very efficient feeders. This means that they expend as little energy as possible to get a meal and will often not expend more energy trying to catch a meal than they will receive from the meal itself.
The reason that this point is important is because it means that trout generally don't want to move very far to get a meal (especially in the current of a river or stream), which means that when you are spinner fishing you want to get your spinner as close to the trout as possible. In order to get your spinner as close to the trout as possible, you want to work your lure through the feeding lanes where hungry trout will station themselves to wait for a meal. In case you were wondering what feeding lanes are, some of the more common would include the area next to an undercut bank, the area directly adjacent to any stationary debris or large boulders, and current "seams" where slower current meets faster moving current. All of these areas are "feeding lanes" and are areas that you want to work your inline spinner through.
Another spinner fishing tactic that many experienced trout fishermen swear by is working your spinner with the current. I realize that this might sound strange, but by working your spinner with the current of the river (rather than against the current) you can get your spinner to move at the same speed as the current, which makes hungry trout much more apt to bite your lure. To perform this tactic properly you will need a quality spinning reel with 7+1 to 9+1 ball bearings. The key is that you must have no "play" in the reel and the more ball bearing that the reel has, the less "play" there is which means the smoother the reel.
The final tactic is for fishing your spinners across the current (this is the more traditional way to fish a spinner). When fishing across the current you want to vary the speed of your retrieve, using a stop and start motion. This helps to simulate a wounded bait fish, which is something that a trout in search of food finds difficult to resist. You can even go as far as to "snap" your rod tip with every couple of turns of your reel.
The key to spinner fishing for trout is experimentation Don't be afraid to try different things, colors, and sizes until you find the key to the particular day that you are on the water. From day to day the best type, color, and size of spinner will likely vary and it is your job as the fisherman to determine the best "pattern" for the particular day that you are on the water.