One of the most popular species of fish to target during the spring, summer, and even fall of the year, especially in area’s that contain cold, clear rivers, streams, and lakes, are rainbow trout and while fly fishing is a very popular technique for targeting these beautiful fish many anglers also use the more traditional trout fishing technique known as spin fishing to catch what are often referred to as “rainbows”. Spin fishing for rainbow trout has been an obsession of mine for my entire adult life and in this article I will reveal some tips and tricks that can be employed while spin fishing for these beautiful fish so that you can experience more success the next time that you head out onto the water.
The first thing to consider when spin fishing for rainbow trout is the type of rod, reel, and fishing line that you use. First you have your rod, and while the length of the fishing rod should be adjusted depending on the conditions in which you encounter, the important thing to remember is that your rod needs to be ultralight action. The same rule applies to your fishing reel, which needs to be ultralight action as well. Finally, we have the line that your reel is spooled with. The key with your line is that it is as light as possible as well. This means that two, four, or six pound test line is in order, and the “lighter the better” is the rule of thumb that I live by.
The next thing to consider is the type of water that you are going to be attempting to catch for rainbow trout in. Is it going to be a river, lake or stream? The reason that you want to know the type of water you are going to be fishing is is because the techniques that are used can be quite different. Below I will discuss some effective techniques to use when spin fishing for trout in each type of water.
When attempting to catch rainbow trout in small to medium sized rivers an excellent technique to use is called drift fishing. Drift fishing simply means to fish by allowing your bait or lure to drift naturally with the current of the river that you are fishing in an attempt to catch fish (in this case rainbow trout). You can “drift fish” with live bait such as a live worm or with a small trout spinner or spoon, but the bottom line is that the technique is deadly when it come to fishing for rainbow trout.
In lakes or other “still water” situations fishing from the bank is usually your only option and this means casting small rainbow trout lures, fishing bait or micro jigs under a small float, or bottom fishing with Powerbait or a similar dough style trout bait. In most cases when attempting to catch rainbow trout in a lake or pond those trout will have been “stocked” by a fish or game department or local conservation agency. When you are fishing for rainbow trout that have been stocked bottom fishing with dough bait is the best technique to employ.
No matter what technique you choose to employ the bottom line is that the aforementioned tips and tricks will go a long way towards helping you experience success when fishing for the wonderful species of fish know as rainbows.
