Rainbow Trout – 3 Ways To Catch More Rainbows In Rivers and Streams

When it comes to catching rainbow trout there is simply no more enjoyable way, in my opinion, than when wading and fishing in a river or stream. If you are like me and think that rivers and streams are the most enjoyable places to catch rainbows, this post is for you. Below I will outline 3 ways to catch more rainbows when fishing in rivers and streams. You've probably heard of one or more of them, but the bottom line is that they are all effective and should all be a part of your trout fishing arsenal.

At JRW we believe that in most cases the "fundamentals" are the most important part of catching trout consistently and the 3 methods below are the basic "fundamentals" of fishing for and catching rainbow trout on a consistent basis while using ultra light spin fishing gear. These 3 ways of catching trout are out "go to" methods and it is a rare day that rainbows can't be caught with at least one of them.

1. Drifting Worms - Drifting worms, whether we are using live fishing worms, Powerbait trout worms, or Gulp Alive nightcrawlers or angleworms, is easily one of the most effective ways that we have ever come across for catching rainbows consistently. It is a rare day that a rainbow trout or two can't be caught when you are drift fishing with worms. If you aren't familiar with the method, become so as soon as you can.
2. Floating Mini Jigs - We were introduced to this very effective way of catching rainbows about 4 years ago and have found it to be a very effective rainbow trout tactic. A very small jig head (usually 1/64 or 1/32 ounce) with a small rubber body (either twister tail, fork, or straight tail) or a Marabou body is used. These "mini jigs" are fished under a small Styrofoam float, that is cast into the river or stream and allowed to flow naturally with the current. Hungry rainbows readily gobble up these little meals, and when they do so the small float will disappear under the water. Some effective rainbow trout colors would include; pink, white, and light brown.
3. Drifting Small Spinners - The key to drifting spinners for rainbow trout is that small spinners are utilized. If the spinners that are used are too large, it will cost you bites from hungry rainbows. We have always experienced the most success with spinners that are 1/16 of an ounce at the largest. While this might seem like the spinner is too small to catch big rainbows, nothing could be farther from the truth. In many cases the rainbow trout that reside in small to medium sized rivers and streams are used to eating small forage, and small spinners match small forage quite well, just like "mini jigs" do. Cast parallel to wear you are standing (across the current), close the bail of your reel, and allow the spinner to "drift" with the current. Add 'action' to the spinner by 'snapping' the tip of your rod from time to time and then slowly reel the spinner in when it is downstream of where you are standing.

If any of these ways of catching rainbow trout aren't a familiar to you, they need to be. And the more time that you can spend on the water becoming familiar with them, the better off you will be. Remember the more time you spend practicing any of these methods, the more proficient you will become at them, and thus the more rainbows you will catch, it's as simple as that.