Trout Fishing Gear List

For those of us who enjoy fishing for trout, the month of February means one thing; that trout fishing is right around the corner and after a long winter of being resigned to a frozen lake or more tragically stuck indoors, the idea of getting out and attempting to catch some trout sounds pretty darn good. Yep, to those of us who fish for trout this time of the year brings with it the need to get all of our gear ready for the quickly approaching trout season.

Below I will draw upon my twenty plus years of experience to put together a trout fishing gear list that every serious trout fisherman should take a look at. If any of these items aren't a part of your trout fishing arsenal, they should probably be added sooner, rather than later.

1. Extra Fishing Hooks - Whether you use single fishing hooks, salmon egg hooks, gang hooks, or treble hooks, make sure that you have plenty of your favorite sizes with you when you head out fishing. Having an assortment of sizes is never a bad idea as well, in case you want to change tactics or techniques.


2. Extra Fishing Line - Many rookie trout fishermen make the mistake of only having the line on their reel, and this can be a big mistake. Always have an extra spool of your favorite fishing line in case an accident happens and you need to change your fishing line on your trip.


3. A Bait Bag - This unique piece of trout fishing gear is invaluable for any fisherman that fishes with live worms and also holds trout bait such as salmon eggs and powerbait quite nicely as well. Using a bait bag to carry your worms or other trout bait saves a ton of valuable fishing time that would otherwise be wasted while you fumble around with your bait.


4. Extra Spinners - Spinners are one of the most popular and effective trout baits that can be used and having extra spinners while you are fishing for trout is very important. This way you can experiment with colors and sizes to determine which spinner is the most effective on the day that you are fishing.


5. Swivels & Weights - Have plenty of swivels and weights with you anytime that you are trout fishing. I like to carry my extra's in empty film canisters or similar small plastic containers for easy access in my fishing vest.

If you make sure that the aforementioned items are a part of your trout fishing gear list as you get ready for your next trout fishing outing you will be ready for a great day on the water.

How To Catch A Trout From Shore

At this time of the year many anglers are reserved to catching trout from the banks of a lake. In most cases this means a lake that has been stocked with trout. While this most certainly isn't my personal favorite way to catch a trout, it suffices when there are no other trout fishing options

Stocked trout, such as the ones that we'll be fishing for love artificial bait. Baits such as Powerbait, corn, cheese, and marshmallows can all be employed. In this post I'm going to assume that Powerbait (or some other floating form of dough bait) is going to be used. Why? Because this is the type of bait that I've had the most success with fishing for stocked trout.

A basic bottom rig is what we want to use, so the first thing that needs to be done is to slip an egg sinker onto your line. Now tie a small barrel swivel onto your line that will act as a 'stopper' for your egg sinker. Now a leader that's 12 inches to 3 feet needs to be tied onto the other end of the barrel swivel. On the end of the leader, tie a small hook (size 8 or 10). Rather than the leader and hook, tie a set of pre-made gang hooks onto the other end of the swivel, if you have them available. Gang hooks are the most effective way to use this rig, but either way will suffice. At this point you add enough floating dough bait (Powerbait) to cover the hook, or hooks in the case of gang hooks, and you're good to go.

At this point you cast your rig out and let it sink to the bottom. Gently reel in the slack line, until your line is taught. Obviously your rod needs to be sitting in a rod holder of some kind (many people use a forked stick). As you can probably imagine, with this rig your egg sinker will be on the bottom, and your bait will be floating between the sinker and the end of your rod. This rig is a very effective way too catch these lake bound stocked trout.

The same rig can be used while fishing a live worm, and some marshmallows to float said worm off of the bottom. The live worm technique can be quite effective as well, although I would definitely suggest gang hooks be used with a live worm. A set of pre-tied gang hooks is best way to present a worm in a natural manner. The bottom line is that this technique is a great way to catch trout from the banks of a lake.