Small lake rainbows

[King Fisher]

What are some of your "tricks", when it comes to catching rainbows in small lakes while fly-fishing, spin-casting or just still fishing??

[pirkaus]

Try trolling a small original gold rapala or small mooselook in copper.
If their hitting on top try to match the hatch or woolly bugger.
Hope you get a bunch good luck

[HOTDAM]

I've had luck the last couple years with Mepps Spinners...Orange/Red

[Frank-Ma]

Power eggs, #10 salmon hook , 24" vanish leader, swivel, main line with a sliding 1/2 oz egg sinker, open reel with your line under a rubber band on the front of you pole handle, this rig is the best I have ever used on ponds or lakes, I use bait feeder reels myself, but the rubber band will do, also of all the power bait the power eggs are the best...

[PGKris]

Leech patterns
Dragonfly nymph patterns
Chironomids

Mepps aglia long
Rooster Tails
Blue Foxes

[Fish Farmer]

I've had luck trolling something flashy like a small mooselook, Al's goldfish or kastmaster with a 2 to 3 foot leader tied to the end hook with a small black wetfly or nymph like a size #12 or #14 fly.

Basically it is a mini dodger setup, check your regs to see if you can run two lures per line.

[PolarEscape]

I like to use Mikes Shrimp flavor salmon eggs for the Bows, I usually use a slip bobber and set the bait 6-7' down. I do really well in the small lake I fish. I usually catch at least 20 fish in a single outing my most being 86 trout using this method, now I have caught more than that in the streams on a greatday, usually after they are freshly stocked but salmon eggs are great bait.

[WANNAKETCHUM]

What are some of your "tricks", when it comes to catching rainbows in small lakes while fly-fishing, spin-casting or just still fishing??

One "trick" is to use fresh nightcrawlers and to inject a small bubble of air into the tail section kind of like some of the Walleye Gurus do on some of their spinner rigs. The only difference is, I slide a 1/8 to 3/8 oz. egg (slip) sinker on my line first, depending on how far I want to cast and on how deep I'm fishing... tie on a #6 baitholder hook....maybe a #8 if the crawlers you have are on the small side.....then pinch a small splitshot about  8" to 24" or so up the line. Hook the crawler once through the head/collar and then inject a bubble of air into the tail section of the crawler so that it floats up off the bottom. You can check your rig by just dropping it in the water a little ways out in front of you so you can see if it "rides" up off the bottom where you want it to be. Watch your line closely and as soon as you see a take....pick the rod up and get ready... I usually open the bail and let them go a bit and then set the hook after they stop and start to move again because they can't always engulf the crawler and will grab the floating tail section and go a ways before stopping to gobble the crawler into their mouth prior to swallowing it. If you want you can also open your bail and tuck the line under a rubber band (that you have already slid up onto your reel handle). Works well for other species also...WK

[henryvillespecial]

early in the year when they are in the shallows over gravel I go with bright egg patterns on sinking line when i'm flyfishing. when i'm spincasting i use a gold mepps agila tipped with nightcrawlers. both seem to work allright.