This is Why I LOVE Trout Fishing in the Fall

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon in mid October with temperatures in the fifties and I was going to have to hike an hour or so down river of where I parked the car to find the stretch of river that I was looking for.   I had fished this stretch of river many times before, but this was the first time I have been able to access it since the run off (yep, we had A LOT of snow in the mountains last winter).

 I began my day of fishing as I normally do, by crouching down and rubbing a handful of river gravel in my hands to "wash off" any human or otherwise unnatural scent that might be present.   I stood up and baited my gang hooks with half of a very lively night crawler, checked my split shots (3 seemed like a good number for the water depth and current flow) and casted my line directly parallel to myself and closed the bail of my reel. 

This was going to be a nice drift, I could just feel it.  As my worm drifted with the current, 'ticking' the bottom every few feet, I realized that my premonition was correct.  It was a good drift.  Half of the battle when trout fishing in a river is the quality of the "drift" you are getting, so I knew I was in good shape.  The drift ended without any bites and the process was repeated.  On the third "drift" I felt the familiar pull of a nice trout and set the hook.  Fish on! 

After a 15 minute fight I was admiring a beautiful eighteen inch rainbow trout.   The colors were as beautiful as any I have ever seen and as the healthy fish was released from my hands, I said a silent prayer to the trout Gods and continued my afternoon of fishing.  By dinner time I had caught and released 6 rainbow trout and 1 cutthroat trout ranging in size from sixteen to twenty inches.  There is no doubt that the fall of the year offers some of the best trout fishing that can be found all year long and this day on the river was most certainly proof of that fact. 

Catching Trout In The Fall

Fall is the time of the year that many people turn their attention to chasing animals around in the woods and this is one of the main reasons that I love catching trout in the fall. In the fall of the year, rivers and streams tend to become much less crowded as people turn their attention to other things, which means there is more room for people like me who just like to catch trout. In the fall, not only are the rivers and streams much less crowded, it's also a great time of the year for catching trout. My theory is simple: it seems to me that here in the west, trout tend to "stock up" on food before the cold weather and shorter days make them much less active. I have caught more trophy size trout in the west, during the fall of the year, than at any other time.

I have known for a very long time that live crayfish are an excellent trophy trout bait, but in the fall of the year live night crawlers seem to be extremely effective as well. As the leaves begin to change, and the weather temperatures start to drop, there are few things I enjoy more than grabbing my ultra light rod and reel, filling my bait bag with live worms, and heading out for 3-4 hours on my favorite river. My best trout fishing days always occur in the fall, and I look forward to fall trout fishing like a drunk looks forward to that first beer after work.

The most effective method that I've found for catching trout in the fall is to use a set of pre-tied gang hooks baited with a live night crawler. If a rig such as this is allowed to flow naturally with the current of a river or stream, the results are amazing. As I said, this method has allowed me to catch many, many trout over twenty inches in the fall of the year, when most peoples attention is turned to other things.

This is exactly how to set up such a rig: begin by taking the end of your line and tying on a small barrel swivel (size 10 or 12). Now tie on a set of pre-tied gang hooks (size 8 or 10). At this point, split shot sinkers should be added above the barrel swivel for weight. The size and number of split shot will vary depending on current flow and the depth of the water. The goal is to have your offering bounce along the bottom as it drifts naturally with the current. With a little practice, you'll understand exactly what I'm referring to. Finally, simply bait your gang hooks with a night crawler and your good to go. If the worms that you're using are really large either pinch them in half or use a larger set of gang hooks.

The bottom line is that I've been using the rig that I just described to catch trout in the fall for more than 15 years and I know it works. If you us it, it will work for you as well. There is no better time of the year to catch trout than the fall, so get out there and have some fun. Not only is the fall the most beautiful season, in my opinion, it's also the best season for catching trout.