The most popular species of freshwater trout is, by far, the rainbow trout and when it comes to catching them, the methods and techniques can vary wildly. The two major techniques for catching these beautiful fish is by spin fishing or fly fishing and one of these techniques has been near and dear to my heart for almost three decades (and it’s probably not the one that you’d expect). Yep, I’m a spin fisherman, or more to the point an ultralight spin fisherman, and I tend to take my trout fishing pretty seriously. As a matter of fact I would say that the way in which I prefer to catch trout is every bit as technical as what fly fishermen do. In any case, I have been fishing for and catching rainbow trout for many years and below I will outline some simple ways to catch more trout the next time that you go fishing.
Before we begin, I think it’s important to point out that when you fish for trout is as important as any single factor when it comes to catching trout on a consistent basis. This means that you need to be paying attention to three factors before you head out on a trout fishing outing; the weather, the phase of the moon, and the moon rise/set. These three factors have as much to do with whether or not you catch trout as anything else you will find. Make sure that at least one of them are in your favor, and do your best to be on the water when more than one are in your favor and you will catch more trout no matter what bait or technique you choose to employ.
The first simple way to catch more trout the next time that you go fishing is by employing a technique that is known as drift fishing. Drift fishing a live worm through the current of a river or stream that contains trout is an excellent way to experience trout fishing success. Although the technique takes a little bit of time to get the hang of, rigging a fishing worm onto a set of gang hooks and then drifting said worm through the current of a river or stream is a simple way to catch more trout the next time that you go fishing.
Next we have small jigs. Although often overlooked as an effective bait for trout, small jigs that are from 1/32 to 1/8 (and sometimes even smaller!) of on ounce are a great bait for trout and are fairly simple to fish. If you are going to fish your trout jig without a small float, a fishing rod that is at least six feet long is in order and your jig head should be 1/8 of an ounce (or a little larger) so that you can cast the jig effectively. When smaller micro jigs are being used, a small Styrofoam float should be added to your line for weight and to detect strikes from hungry trout. Both plastic jig bodies with a twister or forked tail are effective as well as all manners of marabou jigs.
If you have never tried either of these ultralight spin fishing techniques, they should be added to your repertoire sooner rather than later. They are both simple, yet effective ways to catch trout anytime that you go fishing.