Fishing Questions - Plastic baits

Z

zhangmaster12

Joined
Sep 14, 2007
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Im planning on going fishing for trout sometime in the future, and I've always used worms. But I keep hearing about lures and plasticky baits and ect, so my question is, do they work?

I really dont know anything about fishing, so please be nice:eek:.

I usually just use nightcrawlers and catch Pickerels and Bass (they seem to bite the most). Then I eat the fish.

I really want to catch trout. They taste great, but I can never catch them. I usually go to somewhere in the Catskills to a trout stream and try to fish for a long time, and almost always go home trout-less. Whats the secret??
 
There's a thread in the Hunting & Fishing subforum here on trout fishing that might address that for you.
 
Worms work for trout, especially in the deeper pools in streams. I find using spinners with a light or ultra light fishing rig to be more fun on streams. Fish upstream, wear boots, and walk the stream if possible.

The plastic baits, like Rapalas, work in deep riffles or the slower moving pools in streams.

In lakes, fish deep and you should probably do okay. Trout will tend to stay deeper in the colder water. Depth depends on water temp primarily or if they are feeding on the surface. Worms work well at depth on lakes as do some of the plastic plug baits.

Try salmon eggs.

Pay attention to the state regulations. There will sometimes be tackle requirements or restrictions on some streams or portions of streams. Also there may minimum size restrictions as well in "trophy" waters.
 
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22-rimfire said:
Worms work for trout, especially in the deeper pools in streams. I find using spinners with a light or ultra light fishing rig to be more fun on streams. Fish upstream, wear boots, and walk the stream if possible.

The plastic baits, like Rapalas, work in deep riffles or the slower moving pools in streams.

In lakes, fish deep and you should probably do okay. Trout will tend to stay deeper in the colder water. Depth depends on water temp primarily or if they are feeding on the surface. Worms work well at depth on lakes as do some of the plastic plug baits.

Try salmon eggs.
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This man knows his stuff! Excellent advice.
 
Try the Rapala CD-01. It's a trout magnet in small streams with smaller fish. I like the plain old silver minnow.
 
R.C.Reichert said:
Try fly-fishing!:D
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That's my passion! Also, depending on the depth of stream, trout are very skittish and you almost need to sneak up to the holes. You can fly fish with a regular spin-casting rig; just use a clear bubble spin float that can be filled with a little water for weight, but still floats to keep your leader and fly on the surface or just below if using a weighted nymph.

I don't know how important it is, but I grew up with some die-hard trout fly fishing individuals who would apply a lot of stream-homework into what insects at what larva/adault stage are present in a stream. Even using a mesh window screen and stir up the water to get the exact life-cycle stage and variety. I haven't been that serious, but there is a big difference in the seasonal shift between water-borne larva and adult stages; I've really found most flies will work in remote areas...it's more about not scaring the trout and a good cast for presentation.

I love top water fishing, but the only way I’m consistently successful with the bass in my lake is using a plastic worm. I have a lot more fun catching the brim on a fly! Fishing a new area is as much a science as it is an art. Knowing how to read the life-cycles of the insects/bait, understanding and reading the depth, cover and stream dynamics along with all the seasonal impacts of temperature, etc…all are important to be consistently successful. It takes time and patience to figure all that out with different lures, presentations, top-water or different depths.

I would really think a worm would turn up something. You may need to spot a few good holes or spots where trout “should” be lurking and sneak up to the hole before you start angling. Keep it up and let us know how it works out.

ROCK6
 
You can catch trout with worms if fished properly. Use a small(#8 or smaller) hook and light line(4lb. works best) and be careful of the presentation. Try casting from downstream and moving quietly. I catch more than my share of trout and fish mostly "lures and plasticky baits". My favorite for stream fishing is a Joe's Fly spinner
http://joesflies.com/ you can add a small sinker if needed to get it deeper. My favorite way to fish it is to cast across stream and work it slowly as it washes downstream. A compromise may be to try Power Bait http://www.4fishin.com/berkley_trout_bait.htm It works well on Rainbows, moderately well on Brookies, but I have had little luck with Browns. There are countless small lures that work and it may help to talk to the locals to see what works best for them.
 
I live in NY and Joes flies are great as are small spinners. In the live bait area I perfer wax worms for trout. They work everytime for me!
 
Stand in the water to fish if possible, you'll have a higher hooking ratio. Also the fish won't see you as easily. Cast upstream and work the pools from bottom to top. Trout will frequently be out feeding in the lower portion of pools and if you have your eye on the best spot at the upper end of a pool, you may well scare all the fish before you are even within casting range.

Wear camo if you like camo (shirt). It helps on streams. Blue/gray camo can help where you are fishing open water.
 
22-rimfire said:
Stand in the water to fish if possible, you'll have a higher hooking ratio. Also the fish won't see you as easily. Cast upstream and work the pools from bottom to top. Trout will frequently be out feeding in the lower portion of pools and if you have your eye on the best spot at the upper end of a pool, you may well scare all the fish before you are even within casting range.

Wear camo if you like camo (shirt). It helps on streams. Blue/gray camo can help where you are fishing open water.
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Thanks!
Is camo really necesarry? Can i just wear dark clothes? Cause I have no camo stuff.
 
The camo thing is something that I do primarily on small streams where I have a green background. I just started the blue/grey pattern for open water and lake fishing. I am not sure what fish see, but something to break up your outline is probably not a bad thing. But they certainly pickup motion quite easily.

I wouldn't concern yourself about it. You can experiment later. The only folks I usually see with camo are my brothers and I. Occasionally you will see a fly fisherman with camo. My Brother took off work in PA last week (vacation), he caught something like 1600 trout last week. I find that amazing. Releases all of them.
 
line size is very important. try going with 2 lb. mono. in xtra small spin tackle. with a little practice you will find landing fish to 2 lbs. is certainly feasible. the largest bass [6.5 lbs] i ever caught was on 4 lb. mono.
 
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