Tactics For Catching Fall Trout

As I have said many times, the fall is without question the best time of year to fish for trout (especially when you are talking about rainbow and cutthroat trout). During the fall, the rivers and lakes are much less crowded, the water temperatures cool off to the trouts ideal temperature range, and instincts kick in which cause the trout to begin to feed heavily before the onslaught of much colder temperatures. No matter where you fish for trout a combination of these factors, plus others more than likely come into play, causing the Autumn season to be one of the best times of the year for trout fishing.

When it comes to catching fall trout, often there are trout baits and tactics that are more effective than they are during other seasons and in this post I will focus on a few of these tactics. Sometimes, adjusting our approach to ultralight trout fishing just a little bit can make all the difference, and when it comes to fall trout this fact is especially true. If either of the following tactics aren’t a part of your trout fishing arsenal, they should be added sooner rather than later.

1. Drifting/Ripping Streamers - Although many ultra light spin fishing trout fishermen think that fishing with artificial flies in out of the question, nothing could be farther from the truth, especially when you are talking about streamers. There are many different varieties of streamers that are effective for fall trout, and two of the ones that I utilize the most are the Muddler Minnow and the Universal Fly. In the picture that is attached to this post you can see the setup, and the streamer is drifting and twitched with the current or cast out and retrieved fairly fast (sometimes called "ripped"). Hungry fall trout find large streamers difficult to resist, whether you are a fly fisherman or an ultra light spin fisherman.
2. Drifting/Ripping Large Dark Colored Spinners - Using spinners to catch trout is no huge secret, but changing your tactic to include larger spinners with dark color patterns often is. As I eluded to earlier, fall trout are often more aggressive and thus much more apt to attack larger meals, which is why spinner sizes should be up-sized to 1/4, 3/8, or even 1/2 of an ounce. And stick with black, brown, dark green, or a combinations of these darker colors when choosing a color pattern. Also, I have always found gold or black blades to be more effective for trout during the fall months.

The bottom line is that the months of September, October, and November are probably the best months of the year to fish for trout, so make sure that you get out there as often as you can. If you do, I virtually guarantee the the the trout God's will make it worth your while.