Rainbows

[Mikepike]

This SPRING i am going rainbow trout fishing. (not steelies) I am wondering about techniques? float and worm rig? trolling spinners? casting? any information appreciated. I have also heard these fight well? thanks 

[Kodiak Commando]

Where are you going to be fishing at.

[Mikepike]

In a lake just outside of Timmins Ontario named Lizard lake.

[TroutFishingBear]

it all depends if they are stocker or wild then. A lake is a whole different ballgame from a river, in a river a plain nightcrawler drifted across the bottom can't be beat, but in a lake it is impossible to do that and not as effective. In a lake, I prefer using big curly tails, 3-7" with varying jighead sizes and colors. I also like rattletraps, which when ripped near the surface when there is a school of forage fish (in our case bluegills) the rainbows will almost rip the rod out of your hand. That is if these fish are wild, or very big, untame stockers. If they are tame stockers, use powerbait.
If the trout are small, but wild, use smaller spoons like daredevil or troll nymphs or dries based on time of year.

[Kodiak Commando]

If it were me i would fly fish it but i don't know if you fly fish. For spin fisherman i agree with TFB exept for powerbait. I have caught lots of wild fish on powerbait and keep hearing they don't work for wild fish. The only thing i can think of is the fish i fish for are not as heavily fished as the laked TFB fishes.

[TroutFishingBear]

If it were me i would fly fish it but i don't know if you fly fish. For spin fisherman i agree with TFB exept for powerbait. I have caught lots of wild fish on powerbait and keep hearing they don't work for wild fish. The only thing i can think of is the fish i fish for are not as heavily fished as the laked TFB fishes.

you can catch wild rainbows on powerbait, its how I got started when I was 5. I have just found worms to be a much better producer than powerbait, but to each his own. I say try em both and compare.

[Kodiak Commando]

Yeah i used to use worms in utah but we don't have any worms up here that are big enough. If i am bait fishing i use eggs or powerbait. I espcially love power bait when i am fishing weedy bottoms cuz it will float off the bottom. I prefer to use eggs in the summer with a slip bobber.

Hey TFB, when you fish with bait in still water do you have better luck with a bobber of just dead sticking it on the bottom?

[bigredfishing]

in the northeast, for lake bows, we troll lake clear wobblers, which are basically a small flasher with short (1 - 3 feet) leader behind it leading to a hook, to which you add a piece of worm. Move just fast enough to make the thing roll and flash, and troll near steep drop offs or over feeding shelves.  Christmas trees found here also work very well trolled. If from shore, it seems rooster tails&small little cleos work well along with wooly worms on a flyrod.

[vancouvercanuck]

Out west on the Rainbow lakes, nothing beats deadsticking a chronomid of bottom. Once you find the right color/size combo this is deadly on the rainbows. This only works when the Rainbows are down deep.

Trolling a leech or leech pattern fly right off the sholes into the deeper water can be deadly as well.

[Mikepike]

Sorry i was a little stingy on the details before, i havent even seen this lake. So i asked to guys that fish there. They are stockers, 20 pounders have been caught there. they are energetic too.

[TroutFishingBear]

Hey TFB, when you fish with bait in still water do you have better luck with a bobber of just dead sticking it on the bottom?

I don't fish much bait in still water because it isn't very effective and the mortality rate is fairly high. But if I am fishing for brookies, I will. I just deadstick a nightcrawler on the bottom. Now, if you want to use the wind to drift your bait much like I do with the river current (this is if it is very windy), then rig a slipbobber so your worm goes to the bottom, but you have a bobber. The wind will push the bobber and bounce the worm along the bottom. When you have a strike, the bobber goes under. Just another thought.

[Mackdaddy21]

A good technique is also bouncing nightcrawlers on the bottom while floating in a boat. The wind will drift the boat so you will be bouncing the worm almost like in a river. Otherwise, medium sized spinners like panther martin's, spoons like daredevles, and of course curly tail grubs work very well. As for areas in lakes, I like shorelines that drop off fairly fast, and the outside or weededges.

Tyler

[archbishop]

ill have to agree with most on here in early spring i found bouncing a worm off the bottom an irresitable treat for the trout  but when that gets boring i use a black rooster tail with a silver or gold blade seems to work good for me

[Mackdaddy21]

I think overall catching fish on artificial lures is funner than on bait, but not all the time. I love to be bouncing a worm and then feel the sharp taps of a biting trout, then setting the hook and seeing the rod bend into a horse shoe. It does take skill to finesse a bait rig across a snaggy bottom in current, and then knowing the right moment to set the hook when the strike occurs. Now THAT is fun.
But I think curly tail grubs and other types of jigs or probably the most overlooked and one of the deadliest, if not the deadliest trout lure around. I seem to always have good luck in lakes with #6 panther martins fished with a pair of split shot about three feet above the lure to aid in casting distance and to keep the lure running deep. Other than that, the good old daredevle is one of the best lures you can throw for trout.

Tyler

[Kodiak Commando]

I usually like fly fishing compared to fishing bait for bows but sometimes i just like to sit back and relax with some bait out and sometimes when the fish are lethargic bait is the only thing that will work.