How To Fish For Rainbow Trout

In this post I'm going to reveal some tips and techniques that will teach you how to fish for rainbow trout. Rainbow trout are a very popular species of fish that area lot of fun to catch. This is especially when it comes to native rainbows. It has always seemed to me that native trout are much harder fighters, and any experienced trout fisherman will tell you that native rainbows are much more beautiful than their genetically altered, stocked cousins. When I use the word 'native' to describe trout, I'm referring to trout that have been born naturally or at least have grown up in the river, stream, or lake that you're fishing for them in.

Now that I've completed my rant on native rainbows versus stocked (or planted) rainbows, let's get down to the business of how to fish for them. The first thing to keep in mind is that light rods and reels should be employed for trout fishing. As a matter of fact, I personally use ultra light rods and reels, but nothing heavier than light action should be used for rainbow trout fishing.
You gear should be spooled with light line as well. I personally use no fishing line heavier than four-pound test for trot fishing, but line as heavy as six pound test is passable. However, no line heavier than six-pound test should be employed. This is for two reasons. First, rainbow trout are found in cold, clear water and second they have very keen eyesight. For these reasons, the trout can easily detect your fishing line if it's too heavy. And if the fish detect your line, they are much less apt to bite.

Since we're discussing how to fish for rainbow trout, it's important that we're on the water when the trout are the most active. It only makes sense that the more active the trout are, the more readily they'll bite, right? So how do we determine when the trout are going to be the most active? This is accomplished by paying attention to the weather and moon. The weather and moon have an incredible impact on the behavior of all fish (including rainbow trout) so learning how to use this information to your advantage, will result in more bites.

When it comes to fishing for rainbow trout, it's important to discuss bait. I realize some anglers don't use bait, but they are really cheating themselves. Live bait (especially live worms) is a great way to catch trout, and synthetic bait is quite effective for stocked (or planted) rainbows. Whether you're bouncing a live worm along the bottom of a river or still fishing with synthetic bait (both techniques are effective) the bottom line is that gang hooks should be employed. Every trout angler should carry trout fishing rigs in their fishing vest or tackle box when fishing for trout.

A gang hook rig is a great technique for fishing for rainbow trout, and it's set up like this: begin by taking the end of your line and tying on a small barrel swivel (size 10 or 12). If you're going to be still fishing, slip an egg sinker onto your line before tying on the barrel swivel. Now on the opposite end of the barrel swivel tie on a set of pre-tied gang hooks. For river and stream fishing, split shot sinkers are added for weight above the barrel swivel. Now simply add your live worm to the gang hooks and you're ready 6to catch some trout. If you're fishing with synthetic bait, simply add enough to cover each hook and you're god to go.

This is how to fish for rainbow trout. These tips and techniques will lead to a ton of success on your next trout fishing excursion.