Lure fishing for trout doesn't exactly have much of a tradition
to report on, but it sure is fun. The way to be successful fishing in this
manner is fairly cut and dried. First, you should have the right equipment.
Now, while a simple Zebco-style spincast outfit may work fine,
they're not always very good at casting thin flimsy line, which is a
necessity. Some of the pricier spincast reels do quite nicely, but a
lightweight spinning reel with a medium action 6-foot rod is a better place
to start for most fishermen. Some trout fishermen swear by ultra-light
set-ups, but this is not necessary. The smaller the reel, the smaller the
crank ratio. The shorter the rod, the less shock absorber effect you'll have,
meaning you'll have to use your drag setting and brains to avoid breaking the
line. In other words, landing the fish is more challenging. Shorter rods also make
it more difficult to cast a good distance. Regardless of the
rod and reel you choose, you should string your reel with not more than 4 pound test
line. Some believe that the trout actually can see the heavier line, but this is
controversial. Even if they could see the line, are
they smart enough to care? Who knows? One thing is certainly true -- all
things being equal, fishermen with thin flimsy line catch more trout.
With the equipment issues taken care, all you have to do is
acquire the right lures, learn to cast to the right locations in the creek,
and provide the right kind of action to the lure. The lure will always
represent something swimming in such a way as to trigger a trout to pursue
and attempt to eat it. Perhaps the most popular option is the in-line spinner
bait. A well-known example is the ever-popular Rooster Tail, but there are
several other outstanding options offered under the names Blue Fox, Mepps and
Panther Martin. For most Missouri streams, 1/8 oz and 1/16 oz sizes in a
variety of colors will work well. In-line spinners are designed to imitate
minnows and work best when retrieved in a straight line at a moderate speed.
If you reel too slowly, the spinner won't spin properly, which often puts the
trout off.
The next lure you should try is a little bass plug, also known
as crankbaits. Small Rapala's are popular choices, but mini-crankbaits also can
very productive. Look for a plug that will imitate small shiners (silver),
suckers (gold), or sunfish. The beauty of using a plug is that you can
experiment in a wide variety of ways. You can buy floating, sinking or
neutral buoyancy plugs to help you reach different depths. If the plug has a
plastic lip jutting out and downward from the front of the lure,
it will swim downward when you reel. So, floating lures will swim downward
until you stop reeling them, at which point they will slowly begin to float
back to the surface. When you stop reeling a neutral buoyancy plug, it won't
float back to the surface, and it won't sink any further -- it stops dead in
the water. Sinking plugs sink, of course. They sink face first when you reel
and belly first when you stop. Other than these built-in perks, the action of
the lure is totally up to you. Vary your retrieve from quick to painfully
slow. A straight consistent retrieve works fine, but also experiment with
jerky retrieves and start & stops. If you can convince the fish that the
minnow is injured and weak, it will often trigger a strike. Spoons work in
much the same manner that a plug works, except that they are heavy and sink
fast, so you're pretty much required to retrieve them somewhat quickly.
Try working the spoon up and down in big sweeping moves.
These three types of lures -- in-line spinners, crankbaits and
spoons -- are the basic lures that represent little fish. With these lures,
you'll catch hatchery fish or fish that have grown large enough that they've
acquired a taste for other fish. You may occasionally find trout waters that
do not support a sufficient population of aquatic insects to support the
resident trout. Fly fishing these streams can be very frustrating and
sometimes downright impossible, unless you are using flies that imitate
minnows (streamers). Lure fishing these waters, however, can be an absolute
blast with almost non-stop action.
Marabou jigs (not Crappie jigs) will flat out catch trout, if
you know how to fish them. Many fishermen are under the mistaken assumption
that marabou jigs imitate minnows, but they actually imitate the swimming
action of certain large mayfly nymphs by dancing up and down rather than side
to side. In fact, a marabou jig is technically a fly and can be used on
waters designated as fly-fishing only. But, this lure is best fished with a
spinning outfit. Trout and salmon appear to be programmed by nature to react
to this motion almost without fail, so these lures will work even when the
actual mayfly they imitate is not present in the water. In fact, when marabou
first became popular as a fly-tying material, some states actually outlawed
its usage due to the massive success fishermen were having and how it
actually depleted some trout and salmon populations.
To achieve the proper effect, cast and allow the jig the sink
for a few moments. Then retrieve the jig at a slow rate while simultaneously
and rapidly twitching your rod tip up and down. Rapid twitching means RAPID
twitching. Your rod hand should bounce down perhaps 4x per second while your
retrieve hand is making no more than one revolution per second. Try counting
"one-one-thou-sand, two-one-thou-sand..." and so on, while bouncing
your rod hand on each syllable. It takes a little practice to get the feel of
it. Many trout fishermen are jig fisherman exclusively and can't imagine why
anyone would consider fishing any other way. And with the success they enjoy,
it's hard to argue with them. Favorite jig colors are white, hot pink, and
black & yellow mixed.
The last basic type of lure we'll look at here are soft
plastics. Soft plastics are banned in many Missouri trout waters, which are
managed for wild trout and/or trophy trout, because soft plastics cause a
higher mortality rate in trout that are released. When a trout grabs most
flies or lures, it recognizes right away that it doesn't feel natural and
will try to dislodge it. When a trout grabs a soft plastic lure, however, it
feels very natural. So, the trout's reaction is to try to toss it further
back into its maw. For this reason, these lures are often very deeply hooked,
causing lethal damage to the fish. From a legal standpoint, the state of
Missouri considers soft plastics to be member of the bait family. So, anywhere
you are permitted to bait fish for trout, you are also permitted to use soft
plastics. Otherwise, they are off-limits.
The favorites include twister tails, rubber shad and
specialized rubber worms designed just for trout. These are all very simple
to rig and use. A small white or black twister tail or plastic shad rigged on
a jig head can be cast a good distance and retrieved in a straight line at a
moderately slow speed with great success. The tails of these lures offer all
the action you need to trigger a strike from a hatchery fish or even a big
monster looking for protein power snack. You basically fish these lures just
as you would a straight-line spinner. The plastic worm is fished differently,
however.
Some of these trout worms are made with a bend in their middle while others
are manufactured in a straight tube form. This is to allow for distinctly
different fishing methods. In either case, you'll use a small hook of size 12
or so with a small split shot sinker or two about 18" above.
Method #1: bend the worm in half at its middle and push the
hook through the bend. Cast the worm and allow it to sink to the bottom.
Retrieve it slowly with a sharp upward twitch of the rod tip every second or
two. If you get a bite, you'll probably set the hook automatically when you
twitch it.
Method #2: thread the worm onto the hook so the worm lies flat.
The point of the hook should be a bit exposed, and the eye of the hook should
be hidden inside the worm. In a section of the stream with a rocky bottom and
minimal vegetation, cast the worm and allow it to sink to the bottom.
Retrieve it extremely, almost painfully, slowly without twitching. You will
feel the weight of the rocks against the sinker from time to time, but just
keep reeling slowly -- no jerking. The line will wrap around a rock and the
worm will dangle downstream from the rock, appearing to swim upstream. Once
the worm comes around the rock, it will be washed back downstream until the
line again wraps around a rock. It will then begin swimming upstream again.
So, the big picture is this. The worm swims up, flips down, swims up, flips
down, and so on. It's truly neat. It's very important that you use small
sinkers with this presentation. Larger sinkers will get hung up on
the rocks. So, instead of using one large sinker, use several small sinkers.
Method #3: rig the worm as in method #2, above. Cast into a
deep pool with a slow current (see Where to Fish.
Again reel the worm in slowly. Keep your rod tip up and try
to keep an eye on the worm. Every couple of seconds, give the worm a few
twitches with the rod tip. If you can see the worm as you reel it in, you'll
begin to grasp how alive these things can look with just a little twitch here
and there. Experiment with the action to achieve the "swimmiest"
look you can. Here's the kicker on this one. This retrieve will get every
fish's attention in the stream. At some point, a fish will grab the worm and
try to run away with it hanging from the corner of his mouth.
Instantaneously, every other fish in the river will want that worm. So, if
you attempt to set the hook and instead pull the worm out of the fish's
mouth, let the worm sit right there without a move for a couple of seconds.
Very often, another fish will viciously attack it, and the fight is on! Very
exciting.
With all of the lures reviewed on this page, focus your
attention on the deeper water immediately below riffles or rapids.
The chutes just below Tan Vat Access on the Current River as they turn into a
very nice stretch of good lure-fishing water. Double-check regulations before
you fish Red and Blue Ribbon Waters. Certain lures are often forbidden.
All we need to make you a trout reproduction is a photo of your fish!
