What Do Rainbow Trout Bite On?

For anyone who is new to the world of fishing for rainbow trout, one question is asked above all others and that question is, "What do rainbow trout bite on?" In this article I will use my more than two decades of experience fishing for these beautiful fish to provide you with an answer to this often asked question. While there is no single answer to the question posed in the title of this article there are some types of food that rainbow trout prefer and by using these types of baits you will have a much better chance of experiencing success on the water when fishing for the species of fish that are often simply referred to as rainbows.

We will begin our journey with the obvious thing that trout bite on and that is insects. If you know even a tiny bit about trout fishing you know how much that trout love to eat insects, and the most effective way to mimic a live insect is by utilizing artificial flies as bait. Trout bite on artificial flies in one incarnation or another virtually all the time, but figuring out which fly will work in which situation is up to you the angler, but the point is that rainbow trout definitely bite on artificial flies.
For spin fishermen there is a trout bait known as a spinner, which is another bait that rainbow trout will often bite on. Most trout spinners are made with a colored or metal body with a treble hook attached to the very end of the bait itself. On some spinners a "hackle" is added, which conceals the treble hook a bit and mimics the look of an artificial fly. Spinners can be a very effective bait choice for spin fishermen that are attempting to catch rainbow trout.

The next type of forage that these beautiful fish definitely bite on are live fishing worms. Live fishing worms, whether you are talking about night crawlers, miniature night crawlers, or the smaller red worm, have been known throughout the ages to be an effective bait for fish, and this fact certainty holds true in the case of fishing for rainbow trout. The key to using live fishing worms as bait when attempting to catch rainbow trout is to hook the worm in the most natural and realistic manner possible. This fact is especially true when you are fishing in the flowing waters of a river or stream as you often are when you are fishing for rainbows. There is no doubt that live fishing worms are something that rainbows will bite on.


The bottom line is that rainbow trout will bite on any and all of the aforementioned types of bait, so if you have on or all of them available to you the next time that you head out in search of these beautiful, hard fighting fish, you will be in good shape and will more than likely experience success on the water.