Tactics for Catching Spring Trout

In the spring of the year, as the ice melts off of the lakes and the weather begins to warm, trout fishermen from New Jersey to California begin to get antsy. Why? Because the spring trout fishing season is approaching and they can start to think abut hitting their favorite water in search of a few trout. How do I know this? Well, because for almost three decades I have been one of these anglers and know how much I anticipate the spring trout season.

In this article I am going to outline a few tactics for catching spring trout. You may or may not be familiar with the tactics themselves and if you aren't they should be added to your arsenal sooner rather than later. Just in case you were wonder what type of trout I'm referring to, it would be any trout that swims in freshwater, with an emphasis on the rainbow trout. And, just so you are aware, I prefer to use ultralight spin fishing gear anytime that I am fishing for trout. With that being said, let's get down to business, what do you say

1. Rippin' Rattling Crank Baits - Rattling crank baits are often thought of as bass fishing lures, but the fact of the matter is that rattling crank baits can also be effective for freshwater trout such as rainbow trout, especially in the springtime. The place to use rattling crank baits are anywhere that the water is stained and murky (much like you see in rivers during the springtime.) I love to fish my favorite rainbow trout river when the flows are high and muddy with an 1/8 or 1/4 ounce chartreuse flash or blue streak colored Rat L Trap.
2. Drifting 1/2 Night Crawlers - This particular tactic is best suited for rivers when the flow isn't totally muddy. When there is a decent amount of visibility in the river, this spring trout tactic can be quite effective and trout (such as rainbow trout) readily inhale plump 1/2 night crawlers as they flow with the current. Your goal should be to drift your worm with enough weight that it bounces along the bottom of the riverbed as is flows with the current.
3. Still Fishing Floating Crawlers - This tactic is best employed in large pools in rivers. One of the best places to find pools such as this are below dams, although they can be found naturally in some rivers as well. To make your night crawler (or 1/2 night crawler if you prefer) floats you are going to need something called a worm blower. A worm blower is simply a syringe that is attached to a small plastic bottle that allows you to pierce the worms skin with the syringe and blow air into the body of the worm. This makes the worm float off of the bottom, and when "blown" worms are fished on the bottom in a large deep river pool, they can be very effective in the spring of the year. I have caught a ton of nice rainbow trout using this tactic over the years.

I have found all of the aforementioned tactics for spring trout to be highly effective. If you are a trout fisherman who doesn't currently employ any of the tactics, they should be added to your repertoire sooner, rather than later. They will help you catch more trout this spring, I promise you.