The Grand Daddy Of Trout, The Rainbow
Written: Aug 25 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An excellent fighting fish, and a challenge to find.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: An excellent, and fun hobby!
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| mcmaster's Full Review: Rainbow Trout |
Fishing for Rainbow Trout is one of the most superb pastimes, that I have! Cooking and eating a Rainbow is also fun, as well as delicious! Fishing is also a great way to spend time with your family. I started teaching my daughter to fish when she was five. I have not been home very much at all since 9/11. Every time I call home, my now seven year old daughter says, "Papa, when are we going fishing?" She sure loves to fish. My wife fishes with us once in awhile, she prefers watching us fish, or bottom fishing.
How And Where To Catch A Rainbow Trout
This is the trick! A lot of people say, “well, I don't know where to fish for Rainbow." Well, the odds are, you have fished around Rainbow trout. Rainbow trout do not live so long, and get so large for being stupid, or easy to catch. The biggest Rainbow Trout are rarely caught. Rainbows are a very wary fish, and very cautious. The first thing that I try and do is find a good deep hole, where no one is fishing. The harder the place is to get to, the better chance you will have of hooking into a Rainbow. I like to find a secluded spot with a deep pool of water, preferably, right after a rapid, or some fast water. Rainbow like to lay in the bottom of deep pools where the water is cooler, and they are protected. Furthermore, they get plenty of food down there in the deeper pools of water. Especially, in a deep pool, right after a rapid.
I use one of many fishing poles. I don’t use anything fancy at all, just your run of the mill $35.00 fishing rod, and spinning reel from any sporting goods store. I also use 8-12 lbs test line, no particular brand. I’ll also have a small tackle box with a few necessities along. You should bring several different types of baits, lures, or fly’s. You never know what or when an old Rainbow will take the bait. Here is a list of tackle that I have in my tackle box while fishing for Rainbow Trout .
► Eagle Claw or Laser # 2 fishing hooks
► Stringer
► Sinkers
► Worms rubber
► Night crawlers live
► Gerber multipurpose knife
► Swivels
► Small Net
► Basswax crawdad scent
► Extra fishing line, 10 lbs
► Panther Martin Lures
► Fly’s
► Soft Rubber Crawdad bait
► Waders, if you use them
► Fishing License
► First Aid Kit
► Camera
That about covers the basics of what I would take while fishing for Rainbow Trout . Some fishing techniques that I use for catching Rainbows are simple, but important! There are A couple of points that are very important if you want to catch a monster Rainbow. The first thing is that your bait has to be on the bottom of the river. Most fisherman fail to use sufficient enough weight, so their bait drifts down the river without ever hitting the bottom. When fishing with bait, you must have enough weight on to get your sinkers on the bottom. It’s better to have a sinker too many, then not enough. When your bait is bouncing off the bottom, you can fell it…bump, bump, bump. I place my sinkers 20 to 30 inches above my bait (leader). This way when my sinkers are bouncing on the extreme bottom of the river, my bait is bouncing along about two feet off the bottom. I have real good luck with Rainbow Trout and Steelhead at this depth. Now you need to figure out what sort of bait or lure to try. Rainbow Trout will hit on many different sorts of lures, and baits. One of the best baits for a Rainbow is a plain old fashioned, night crawler. Why? Because any fish eats worms naturally. Anything that a fish eats in nature, it’ll eat on a hook as well. That’s why fly fishing works so well, and it works on every fish out there! Another good way to latch onto a Rainbow Trout is by using a particular kind of Panther Martin Lure. . My personal favorite Panther Martin Lure is called a Fluorescent - PMRFL. This lure falls under the Wonder series. If you’re after a trophy Rainbow trout, give this lure a try with some Basswax crawdad scent! Rainbow Trout seem to like the Fluorescent colored lures. Lastly, I will use a rubber crawdad with some Basswax flavored fish attractant. Rainbows in nature, eat a lot of crawdads so this works fantastically. Not many fisherman use this technique.
Lets talk about casting for Rainbows. Now we have found a spot we want to try, and rigged up a pole with one of the baits discussed above. You should be standing straight on the bank, or a bit above the hole that you are wanting to fish. The reason being, it takes a bit for your bait to sink. What you want to do is cast your bait as far as you can, up river. Now, hopefully your bait will be bouncing on the bottom as it drifts trough your fishing hole. If it is not, just move farther up the river and cast. Now as your bait is bouncing off the bottom, let your line keep going out, do not flip your bail. Let your fishing line keep going off your reel! I’ll let my bait drift down river at least fifty yards before I flip my bail and see if there’s a fish on. If there is a fish on, he’ll give a tug, then you give a tug back in order to set your hook! If and when you hook into a Rainbow Trout, your in for the fight of your life! These trout are very vigorous fighters, and tremendously fun to catch!
Now that you have caught a Rainbow Trout you still have to land it. This can be a difficult thing to do, if you fish alone. A lot big fish are caught, just to flip off the hook at the last minute and get away. This is why you need to bring a net. As you get the fish close enough to the bank, slide the net under it, then retrieve the fish from the water. Remember to keep your line tight at all times. When you let slack get in-between the fish and yourself, this is when your fish will flip the hook out, and get away. Then you’ll have to go home and tell everyone how you had this huge fish on, and it got away. They always say the same thing, “Yep, sure ya did”. You also must remember to set your drag. This adjusts how much tension can be pulled on your fishing line before your reel will start giving up fishing line. If the drag is set too tight, a big Rainbow will snap a line with no difficulty. If the drag is too loose, you’ll never reel one in. You have to find a happy medium, that will make a big fish tired after some time!
Now you have to cook your fish or put them back! I put most of them back after I have caught them and taken a picture for proof. All fisherman need to carry a disposable camera for proof! Cooking a Rainbow Trout is very easy, and man they are some good eating! After thoroughly cleaning your fish, lay it out on a large piece of tin foil. Now, spice up the fish using, salt lemon pepper, onion and lemon juice. Then spread a light coat of Best Foods mayonnaise on the entire fish. Now wrap the fish up completely in the tin foil and bake it. I like to cook mine outside on the barbeque, while telling exaggerated fish stories, and having a cold beer. I would bake a fish in the oven at 350 degree for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on it, fish cook pretty fast.
My final Thoughts On Fishing For Rainbow Trout
I have been fishing for Rainbow Trout every since I was a young boy. While a lot of my friends were out getting in trouble, I was out fishing. Fishing is just as addictive as any drug out there. It’s too bad that more parents do not introduce there children to more sports such as fishing. I realize that in a city fishing may not be an option, but there are other sports like Hockey or Martial Arts. Kids need to have a wholesome hobby that they can really get into. Once a child gets involved in a hobby, they tend to get in less trouble. That’s what I tell my wife anyway. That way my daughter and I can sneak off and go fish for Rainbow Trout a lot! I know, I am a yahoo…, but oh well, there two fisher people my household now, a fisherman, and a little fisher gal. Go fishing, it’s a blast! Always have you fishing license and check your state fishing regulations.
This is my entry into Puckmugger's Sports Challenge W/O . Thanks for hosting such a fun Write off, and congrats on over 155 reviews!
Thanks for the read,
~Mac
©2004 Joe McMaster
Recommended:
Yes
Recommended Line/Rod Weight: 10 To 12 Wt
Recommended Lure/Bait/Fly: Worms, Lures and crawdads
Region Where Found: North West United States
Recommend Guide, Outfitter or Boat: River Drift Boats
Flavor: A delicacy
Recommended Tackle: Mid-Weight Conventional
Recommended Line/Leader Weight: 6 To 12 Lb Test
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