Trout Fishing Tips
Welcome to Apex Fishing Tips, this section of our website is specifically for trout fishing. On this web page you'll learn about trout and trout fishing tactics and methods. We provide information on trout that is useful to all anglers, it doesn't matter if this is your first time fishing for trout or you've been doing it for years, our trout fishing tips will help you catch bigger trout, more often.
First, you'll find 6 trout fishing tips that will help you catch several popular species of trout, including brook, brown, cutthroat, golden, lake and rainbow trout. Our trout fishing tips can be used by both experienced and novice anglers. If you have any trout fishing tips, you'd like to share, please contact us with them, and we'll add them in the below list.
In addition to 6 trout fishing tips we're going to teach you about a few different species of trout. We also list below the current world fishing records for all the popular species of trout. If you still need more trout fishing tips, we've provided some additional resources at the bottom of this page. You'll also find some awesome trout fishing pictures.
6 Trout Fishing Tips
- Using live bait is a great way to catch native (wild) trout. Trout will bite on earthworms, waxworms and other types insect larval. You can also use minnows, shiners and crawfish. Ensure that live bait or that the type you're using is allowed in the body of water where you're fishing. As trout get larger, they tend to feed mostly on larger bait fish and crustaceans. Some places restrict the use of live bait or certain types of live bait.
- Using power bait, lures, spinners and spoons is a great way to catch both native and stocked trout. Power bait comes in a wide variety of colors, allowing anglers to match the color to the conditions of the water. Anglers can have a lot of success with flashy spinners and bright colored trout lures. Soft plastic trout worms, with a spinner or a jig head are also a great tool to catch trout. Hands down the best way to catch trout is with artificial flies and a fly fishing rod.
- Power bait usually only works for stocked trout. If you're fishing in a lake or pond that has stocked trout power bait is your best bet. It mimics the pellets used to feed those trout at the fisheries they came from. If you're fishing in a lake, river or stream that has native (wild) trout power bait will most likely not work.
- There are a few popular fishing rigs that are perfect for catching trout. The slip bobber rig is a great way to suspend live or artificial bait at any depth. The drift rig is a great way to suspend bait at the bottom and allow it to drift around. The three-way rig is a great way to suspend bait in a specific area near the bottom. Trout fishing rigs that put bait near the bottom work best with minnows or floating power bait. If you're using worms or waxworms on a bottom fishing rig use a float jig to keep it off the bottom.
- Using the right hook is vital to catching trout. Obviously, the location, situation and fishing rig being used play a vital role as well. The hook size really depends on the average size of the trout where you're fishing. The type of hook really depends on what you're using for bait and the type of fishing rig being used. Look for hooks that are specifically for designed for trout and size them appropriately to the average size trout where you're fishing.
- Trout have notoriously soft mouths, especially for smaller size trout. It's common to hear anglers complaining about hooking a trout to lose it 5 to 10 seconds after reeling it in. Therefore, it's important to not set the hook like you would with a bass or walleye. A soft, but steady jerk is enough to successfully hook a trout. Reel it with a slow to medium pace and keep the line tight. Don't jerk the line to keep it tight, rather speed up a bit if tension loosens.
About Trout (Salmonidae)
Trout is a common name for several different species of freshwater fish that belong to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Trout are mostly found in freshwater lakes and rivers, but some species can survive in saltwater. Trout are an important food source for many different animals, like brown bears and eagles. There are 11 species of fish in North America that are considered trout.
Of the 11 species of trout in North America, six are very popular among anglers. They include the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), the brown trout (Salmo trutta), the cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), the golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita), the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Trout are so popular they're grown in fisheries to be released in lakes for recreational fishing.
Most species of trout can be caught using a wide variety of live baits, including corn worms, earthworms, fly nymphs, salmon roe and waxworms. Artificial baits and lures are also very effective. Spinners and plastic trout worms can be used with traditional fishing methods, while flies can be used when fly fishing. Power bait or trout bait, a manmade bait, comes in a wide variety colors and scents can also be used.
Trout Fishing Records
The below International Game Fish Association (IGFA) trout world fishing records are up to date as of 2019.
- The all-tackle world record for a brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is 14 pounds and 8 ounces. The brook trout world record was set by Dr. J.W. Cook in the Nipigon River in Ontario, Canada.
- The all-tackle world record for a brown trout (Salmo trutta) is 42 pounds and 1 ounce. The brown trout world record was set by Otwin Kandolf on March 8th, 2013 at Ohau Canal in New Zealand.
- The all-tackle world record for a cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) is 41 pounds and 0 ounces. The cutthroat trout world record was set by John Skimmerhorn on December 1st, 1925 at Pyramid Lake in Nevada, USA.
- The all-tackle world record for a golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita) is 11 pounds and 0 ounces. The golden trout world record was set by Chas Reed on August 5th, 1948 at Cooks Lake in Wyoming, USA.
- The all-tackle world record for a lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is 72 pounds and 0 ounces. The lake trout world record was set by Llyod Bull on August 19th, 1995 at Great Bear Lake in Northwest Territories, Canada.
- The all-tackle world record for a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is 48 pounds and 0 ounces. The rainbow trout world record was set by Sean Konrad on September 5th, 2009 in Lake Diefenbaker, Canada.
Trout Fishing Pictures
A picture of a brook trout (S. fontinalis) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: OrvisNews.com / Flickr)
A picture of a brown trout (S. trutta) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: mstack1968 / Flickr)
A picture of a cutthroat trout (O. clarkii) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: Rich Ryan / Flickr)
A picture of a golden trout (O. aguabonita) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: Marc Arndt / Flickr)
A picture of a lake trout (S. namaycush) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: Berger / Flickr)
A picture of a rainbow trout (O. mykiss) caught on a fishing trip.
(Credit: Ray F. / Flickr)
Trout Fishing Resources
- Trout Fishing Basics - Learn the trout fishing basics and how to catch trout on the Take Me Fishing website.
- Fly Fishing for Trout - An awesome YouTube video of an angler catching lots of trout while fly fishing.
- Rainbow Trout - NPS - Learn more about rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on the U.S. National Park Service website.
- Steelhead Trout - ADFG - Learn more about steelhead trout on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.
- Lake Trout - UMN - Learn more about lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) on the Sea Grant Minnesota website.