Spinner Fishing Trout Tactics

When it comes to fishing for freshwater trout such as rainbow, cutthroat, and brown trout on of the more polar and types of baits to employ are inline spinners. Spinner fishing is is not only popular it is also very effective and in this article I am going to discuss some spinner fishing tactics that will help you catch more trout this fishing season.
The following spinner fishing trout tactics are all going to relate specifically to river fishing, although they can be easily modified and used when fishing in water that doesn't contain any current if you so choose. The first thing to keep in mind when fishing for trout in the current of a river or stream is that all freshwater trout are very efficient feeders. This means that they expend as little energy as possible to get a meal and will often not expend more energy trying to catch a meal than they will receive from the meal itself.
The reason that this point is important is because it means that trout generally don't want to move very far to get a meal (especially in the current of a river or stream), which means that when you are spinner fishing you want to get your spinner as close to the trout as possible. In order to get your spinner as close to the trout as possible, you want to work your lure through the feeding lanes where hungry trout will station themselves to wait for a meal. In case you were wondering what feeding lanes are, some of the more common would include the area next to an undercut bank, the area directly adjacent to any stationary debris or large boulders, and current "seams" where slower current meets faster moving current. All of these areas are "feeding lanes" and are areas that you want to work your inline spinner through.
Another spinner fishing tactic that many experienced trout fishermen swear by is working your spinner with the current. I realize that this might sound strange, but by working your spinner with the current of the river (rather than against the current) you can get your spinner to move at the same speed as the current, which makes hungry trout much more apt to bite your lure. To perform this tactic properly you will need a quality spinning reel with 7+1 to 9+1 ball bearings. The key is that you must have no "play" in the reel and the more ball bearing that the reel has, the less "play" there is which means the smoother the reel.
The final tactic is for fishing your spinners across the current (this is the more traditional way to fish a spinner). When fishing across the current you want to vary the speed of your retrieve, using a stop and start motion. This helps to simulate a wounded bait fish, which is something that a trout in search of food finds difficult to resist. You can even go as far as to "snap" your rod tip with every couple of turns of your reel.
The key to spinner fishing for trout is experimentation Don't be afraid to try different things, colors, and sizes until you find the key to the particular day that you are on the water. From day to day the best type, color, and size of spinner will likely vary and it is your job as the fisherman to determine the best "pattern" for the particular day that you are on the water.

Why What We Do Is Called "Fishing"

According to free dictionary.com the term fishing is defined as: The act, occupation, or sport of catching fish. The key words in this definition are "act" and "sport", because as the definition states, fishing is about the activity itself and not about actually catching fish. I think often times people tend to forget this simple fact.

Why do I bring this seemingly obvious topic to light? Because, I headed out for a little spring trout fishing yesterday and something that almost never happens, happened. I got skunked, and for anyone who doesn't know what 'skunked' means it means that I didn't get as much as a nibble. Now, in fairness I didn't take any live bait, which is my trout bait of choice and went purely artificial, but the point is that I got skunked.

While this is something that doesn't happen very often it made me realize that to me fishing for trout has become much more than actually catching trout. Just being out there, standing in a flowing river, listening to the sounds of nature, smelling the smells, and feeling the breeze on my face is what fishing is really about.

While all of this is true, I do have to admit that catching a few trout sure does seem to heighten the experience to some degree as well, and is something that I sure would have welcomed after a long, cold winter. At the end of the day, actually catching a few trout does add to the experience, so here's hoping that the next outing produces a bit more productive result.

How To Catch More Rainbow Trout

Many people like to catch rainbow trout and among people there is one question that stands out in the back of there minds more than any other and that question is, "How can I catch more rainbow trout?" Trout fishing couldn't be compared to quantum physics, but it is an activity that can get rather involved if you are going to catch trout consistently and effectively. I have been fishing for the beautiful fish that are often called "rainbows" for more than twenty years and in that time have learned many tips and tricks that enable me to catch rainbow trout on a consistent basis.

So, if you want to know how to catch more rainbow trout you have come to the right place. In this article I will list some tips and tips and tricks that will enable you to take your trout fishing o the next level so that you never have to wonder how to catch more rainbow trout again.

1. Wash Your Hands - Although this tip might seem a bit strange, the truth of the matter is that the scents that are on your hands will transfer to any trout bait that you touch and these scents will cost your bites from inquisitive rainbow trout. This fact is especially true will larger or more experienced "rainbows", but is nonetheless a true fact. If you want to catch more "rainbows" make sure that your hands and fingers are free of any unnatural and/or human scents before you touch whatever trout bait that you choose to employ.


2. Be On The Water At The Best Times - If you want to catch more rainbow trout you need to make sure that you are fishing at the most opportune times. The easiest way to accomplish this task is to pay attention to both the weather and moon and plan your fishing expeditions accordingly.


3. Target The Best Area's - Targeting the best area's is vitally important to increasing your catch rates. This means that you want to concentrate your fishing efforts in area's that "rainbows" are known to frequent. In rivers some of these areas would include, deep runs and pools or the deeper area's that occur on the inside edge of bends in the river. Do a little bit of research about the best areas of a lake and a river to target feeding rainbow trout and start to concentrate your fishing efforts on these area's.


4. Don't Be Hard Headed - In order to catch rainbow trout consistently you need to be adaptable. This means if a certain bait, lure, color, or technique isn't performing try something else. My normal "rule of thumb" is to give a certain bait, lure, color, or technique forty five minutes to an hour of fishing time and if no rainbows have been caught, I try something else. By doing this I can usually determine the best bait, lure, color, or technique for a particular day on the water and once I have caught a rainbow or two I tend to stick with that bait, lure, color, or technique for the rest of the day.

If any of these tips and tricks aren't a part of your rainbow trout fishing arsenal, they should be added sooner rather than later. Your final goal should be to have all of these factors working in your favor anytime that you head out fishing for rainbow trout.

Springtime Trout Fishing

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid fifties
and I was thinking to myself, "I think I'm going to go get some trout fishing in tomorrow". Since the weather has been fairly cool here in Northwest Montana so far this year, the snow in the mountains hasn't really started to melt yet, so the run off has been minimal. This usually makes for some very good springtime trout fishing, so I was looking forward to an enjoyable day on the water.

At about five o'clock this morning, I awoke for for my morning run and can you guess what I was greeted with? That's right, a snowy/rainy mix, which made the idea of going for a run a pipe dream, and as the morning has progressed, the weather hasn't improved too much at all. So, I guess there will be no springtime trout fishing today. I suppose I can't be too dejected though, after all this is Montana, right?

Spinner Fishing For Trout

Now that spring is upon us and the trout fishing season has begun it seems that everyone and their brother is headed out to spend a day or two fishing for trout. Although there are many different manners in which a person can catch one of these beautiful fish, one of the most popular an effective manners is called spinner fishing and in this article I will draw upon my twenty or so years of experience to outline a few tips that will help you to take your spinner fishing
to the next level so that you can catch more trout this season.

If you become adept at spinner fishing for trout you can catch fish virtually anytime that you go fishing so there is no doubt that the technique of using spinners to catch trout should be a part of any serious trout anglers arsenal. With that being said, let's get down to business, what do you say?

1. Be Aware of Your Line - Many spinner fishermen make the mistake of using fishing line that's much heavier than it needs to be when they are fishing for trout. When spinner fishing you always want to be using fishing line that's as light as possible. I personally prefer four pound test and some experienced fishermen even employ two pound test anytime that they are fishing with spinners for these beautiful fish. The reason for this is because the lighter your line the less visible it will be to the trout that you are attempting to catch, and the less visible your line is to the trout that you are attempting to catch, the more bites you will receive.


2. Attach Your Spinner Directly To Your Line - This tip is vitally important anytime that you are spinner fishing for trout. Novice anglers will use snap swivels in order to save time and make changing lures easier, but the problem is that the snap swivel affects the action of the spinner itself, thus making it less effective. A spinner that is tied directly to your fishing line will out fish a spinner that is attached with a snap swivel by a rate of 2-1. For this very reason you always want to take the few seconds that it takes to tie your spinner directly to your line anytime that you are fishing for trout.


3. Keep Them Small - Don't be afraid to use small spinners when you are spinner fishing for trout. Spinners that are as small as 1/32 of an ounce are very effective at catching trout of all sizes. In fact I regularly hook and land trout that range from 10 to as large as 22 inches using spinners that are 1/32 of an ounce. Don't be afraid to keep your spinners small when fishing for these colorful fish.

Add these remarkably simple tips to your arsenal the next time that you head out spinner fishing for trout and you won't come home disappointed, I promise you.