Tips

Be sure you are matching your lure or spoon to the baitfish in the water you are fishing. It doesn't make sense to use a 4 inch mackerel jig or 3 ounce daredevil when fishing the river for trout. Small yo zuri's and rapala's are a good early season bet.

Any structure, debris, overhanging tree, or stumps, that change the flow of the water and offer the trout a place to hide in ambush should get a thorough look and at least a few casts.

Studies have found that schooling baitfish will remain in the open so the bright light will accentuate the mirroring flash of their sides, which helps to confuse predators. As the sun starts to drop, the mirroring effect will diminish, and the schools will spread out, forcing individual fish to rely on less effective prey-avoidance behaviors. Predator fish will be there waiting, ready to round up the strays.

In the early spring trout and salmon are slow from the long winter and are just starting to feed and begin moving around. Retrieve your bait slower and pause now and then to see if that is when they catch up with it.

Higher water in the spring is no reason to stay home. The fish will be there, though they will have moved back to the calmer water. Try fishing the pools and eddies of slack water, that form off the edge of structure, such as rocks and logs that break the current.

In the spring I like to start out with small spoons and lures and work my way up to bigger ones as the baitfish begin to get larger. Always try to match your bait to what is in the water.

I like to fish silver lures in clear water , and switch to gold lures in any off colored water. I can tell you that lures with red dots or slashes are VERY effective! Spoons, spinners and crankbaits with red dots will out perform all others!

Replacing your trebles with single hooks will make catch and release easier. If possible bend down the barb. You may lose a few but you were going to let them go anyways.Try adding a little piece of bait to the hook of your artificial if you are getting no action.

Try fishing early season trout in the shallows. They will come here to feed until the water warms and then move out to the deep.

When fishing trout in the river or stream, the fish tend to stay put, waiting for the current to bring them food. To find these fish you will have to move along and try different areas. In the lakes and ponds the fish tend to move and you will do well to find a spot and stay put. Look for a weedbed or point or some structure and setup there.

Trout usually feed along the edges, for instance between deep and shallow water, or fast and slow water, or through an open space in the weeds.

Be aware of where the sun is. Try to stay in the shade or keep the sun at your back. It helps hide you and makes it easier to see in the water.

Fishing live bait?? Try hooking the minnow just in front of the tail. It will cause him to swim to try to stay upright and active bait will attract the fish.

When fishing in a lake, finding the fish can be a combination of many things. Light, temperature, oxygen levels, food, shelter, all contribute to where the fish are holding. Check the depth maps, and use the countdown method to tell where you are. Cast out and count off seconds to set your depth. When you find the fish, you will be able to go back to the same level. Start at the surface and then work your way down to the fish. Trout, especially are sensitive to temperature so early season fish them on the top and work your way down as it warms up. Bass, are usually in the shallows to spawn, but will be where the food is otherwise. make use of structure and cover in all instances.

Rivers and Streams change everything. You now have current to contend with. It changes the way your lure swims, and it means rapid changes in depth. I fish both up and downstream, although many will only fish upstream. If you are fishing downstream, often I will just let the lure sit in the current for a second or two, and then move forward a little and hang it in the current again for a second or two. Fishing upstream, you need to keep the lure moving enough so it won't get hung up on bottom. Again I like to let it hang for a second and then move it and let it hangand then move forward again. Casting under branches and close to rocks are good places to work a lure. Let it flutter around structure and then jump it forward like a struggling minnow. Predator fish are often triggered to strike by the site of a foundering bait.