A method of trout fishing that often gets overlooked is known as “trolling” (which means pulling a fishing lure behind a boat) and whether you are fishing deep ravines, along weed beds, rocky shoals, or the mouths of rivers or streams entering the lake, one of the most important aspects to catching trout while trolling is finding active fish. You see, trout that are active are much more likely to be feeding which in turn means that they will be much more likely to bite whatever trout lure you are dragging behind your boat. So how in the world do we determine when the trout are going to be active?
The simple answer is by paying attention to the weather and moon and planning your fishing trips in accordance with these two natural forces. However this isn’t an article about how the weather and moon impact fishing, it’s about trolling for trout, so the easiest way to use the moon to your advantage as an angler is to do your best to be on the water fishing for trout when the moon is rising or setting. When the moon is either rising or setting the trout tend to be much more active and thus willing to bite your offering.
Locating trout is a key to whenever you are trolling and the best way to locate trout while trolling is to use a depth (or fish) finder. With a depth finder you can pinpoint the depth of the fish as well as “schools” of trout. This will show you where in the lake and at which depth to concentrate your trolling efforts. Another great tip is to troll your trout lure behind a set of reflector blades, which cause a ton of flash underwater to attract hungry trout to the area. When hungry trout swim over to investigate the flash they see your trout lure swimming 2-4 feet behind the reflector blade and often attack the trout lure.
One of the biggest mistakes that fishermen make when trolling for trout is not using a fishing rod with enough length. A longer rod makes the act of trolling much more precise and also makes fighting hooked trout much easier. I like to use an ultralight fishing rod that is at least six and a half feet long (and up to eight feet long) anytime that I am trolling for any species of freshwater trout.
What types of trout lures are most effective when trolling for trout? If you are trolling for large rainbow trout a classic Red Devil spoon that is from 1/2 to 3 ounces (depending on the size of the rainbows in the lake) is probably in order. If you are fishing for large brook trout a great technique to slowly troll a three way swivel rig.
The bottom line is that trolling for trout, whether you are trolling from a paddled canoe or kayak or a motor propelled boat is an incredibly effective way in which to catch some trout. If you have never tried this method for catching trout make sure that you do so sooner rather than later.
