More than thirty years ago I was taught how to fish for rainbow trout in the rivers and streams of Central Pennsylvania by a man who was renowned throughout the area as being a person who could catch big trout out of heavily fished rivers where people didn't believe rainbows of that size existed. The walls of this mans house was littered with trophy rainbow trout, many of which looked a lot like small to medium sized steel head, that were caught from the very rivers that others fished and caught only average sized rainbow trout.
This man was all about spin fishing with ultra light gear, which is a practice that I continue to this very day. Below I will outline some of the tips and tricks that this man employed that enabled him to catch big rainbow trout on a consistent basis, so that you can add them to your trout fishing arsenal and begin increasing your catch rates as well. Just for a point of reference I have always considered any rainbow that exceeds the twenty inch mark to be "big".
The first first thing that this man insisted upon is the use of light fishing line. He preferred four pound test mono filament, but at times two pound test was certainly utilized as well. In recent years fluorocarbon fishing line has burst onto the fishing scene and I have found this type of fishing line to be quite effective when fishing for big trout also. Fishing line that is this light is almost completely invisible under the water, which is important as big trout are usually a "spooky" bunch.
The next thing that needs to be paid attention to are the details. Often times trout fishermen neglect details such as making sure that their fishing hooks are sharp, tying quality knots, and paying attention to where your shadow is being cast (just to name a few) when they are looking for big rainbow trout and not paying attention to these details costs them bites. If you aren't paying attention to the details any one of them will cause you to lose (or never hook) a big rainbow trout.
Always make sure that you use a quality rod and reel any time that you head out in search of large rainbow trout. Once these fish exceed the twenty inch mark they can test the limits of your gear (remember we are using ultralight action) so you want to make sure that your rod and reel are manufactured by a known company that has a good reputation. Trying to skimp on your rod and/or reel is never a good idea if big trout are your goal, because inferior rods and reels will invariably let you down when you least expect it.
Keep these simple tips in mind the next time that you head out in search of rainbows and you will be catching big rainbow trout in no time. Also never forget that nothing will help you catch big rainbow trout like experience, so spend as much time as you can on the water fishing for these beautiful fish.
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