How To Catch Hatchery Trout

In the spring of the year many people's attention turn to the act of fishing and a popular type of fish to target are trout.  In many instances, such as in central Pennsylvania where I grew up, spring trout fishing meant that you were likely going to be targeting a specific type of trout called hatchery trout.  Hatchery trout are just like any other trout, except that rather than being born in the wild they were born and raised in a fish hatchery and then released into the wild to be caught by anglers. 

The bottom line is that hatchery trout usually aren't that difficulty to catch, especially when compared to a trout that was born and survived multiple seasons in a body of water,  but that doesn't mean that you will can catch them no matter what you throw into the water.  Below I will outline what I do to catch hatchery trout so that you can do the same thing.  Believe me this little "how to" lesson certainly couldn't be compared to consistently catching Steelhead or anything else that is known to be difficult, but it is nonetheless effective and will enable you to catch a limit of hatchery trout the next time you head out in search of these fish. 

Let's start with your rod, reel, and line.  For the particular hatchery trout technique that I will outline, "still fishing" is the name of the game, so a fishing rod that is six to seven feet long is in order.  Using a longer rod when fishing form the shore means that you will get a better and more effective hook set.  The rod should also be ultralight power (often indicated by an UL) and I prefer fast action (which means the tip of the rod is pretty "stiff").  A matching reel should then be added to the mix and your reel should be spooled with line that's no heavier than six pound test mono filament.
  
Next there are three pieces of terminal tackle that you are going to need;  a small barrel swivel, an egg sinker, and your choice of trout fishing hook.  You can use a treble hook, a single bait holder fishing hook, salmon egg style hook, or a set of gang hooks.  In the case of your fishing hook choice the only caveat is that your keep your choice small.  In the case of salmon egg, bait holder or gang hooks don't go any larger than size 8 and in the case of treble hooks don't go any larger than size 12.  When it comes to hatchery trout (or most any species of freshwater trout for that matter) remember, the smaller the better when it comes to your fishing hooks.

Now we have  the rigs itself.  Start by taking the end of your line and clipping off a 12-18 inch length of line for a leader and set it aside (the leader will be needed unless you are using gang hooks where this won't be necessary as they are made with the leader attached).  Now slip one egg sinker onto your line and tie a small barrel swivel to the end of your line.  This accomplished two things, it acts as a stopper for the sinker and it helps to prevent line twist by hooked trout.  Finally the leader (or set of gang hooks) is tied to the opposite end of the barrel swivel and your fishing hook of choice is tied to the end of the leader. 

That's your rig, now all you need to do is bait the hook and there is no more productive bait for hatchery trout in my experience than the trout bait known as Powerbait.  Enough Powerbait is molded onto the hook so that the hook is completely covered and you are ready to go.  If you prefer not to mold your bait onto your hook I have found that Powerbait Magnum Eggs are often just as effective (if not not more so) without all of the mess.   This rig is now cast into the water and allowed to sink to the bottom.  The slack line is then slowly reeled in until your line is completely taught.  Now the "still fishing" begins.  When the rod tip starts to bounce a hungry trout is biting your offering.