Unconventional Trout Techniques

[bfishn]

I think I've caught trout on every crank I've ever trolled for walleye, up to and including a trout pattern Long A, That said...

A hatchery-raised trout will have a permanent memory of a trout pellet as food to trust. I ran a trout farm for 9 years, and it was my business to help folks catch them. Hands down, far and above anything else without comparison, real trout food pellets outfished anything. Period. I simply took a cup of feed, soaked it in water for 5 minutes, and spread it on a newspaper to dry a bit so it was soft enough to put on a #6 hook.

Even though that was by far the best, and kids using it outfished their "fisherman" dads 10 to 1, some folks stubbornly stuck to what they thought they knew. One exception, a particularly grizzled old fly flinger, stroked my grey fish farm cat until he had a mess of hair, which he meticulolusly rolled into a ball about the size and shape of my feed pellets, and tied it with a bit of thread. While his grandkids fared better with cane poles and trout pellets, he outfished any other adult throwing artificials I ever had. Guess you could say he matched the hatch.

I know, it sounds "unfishermanlike", but it works.

[parsonsles87]

ok. im not a huge trout guy but have caught some 7 lb plus rainbows and some 5 pound plus browns on floats and secret summertime honey holes in small little known streams, but most of those fish wouldnt bite anything but a 4 to 6 inch live shiner with one side scraped a little so the scales come off a little in the water. throw that in a hole you know holds big fish and they WILL eat it!

[Quillback]

Caught a couple of nice browns years ago on the White below Bull on Little Cleo spoons, can't remember the exact size, but shad sized ones, 2-3". Spray painted one side white, cast them up stream and try and imitate a shad that's been through the turbines and is dead or dying and rolling down the river in the current. Those browns also feed on sculpins heavily, might be worth trying the soft plastic Goby imitators (looks like a sculpin) that have hit the market in the last few years.

[Ham]

I've caught trout in Bull Shoals LAKE on Shad Raps and crappie jigs.

I've had trout hit skirted jigs thrown for smallies in the Spring river and know of a trout caught on a buzzbait in the Spring River.

I've found LARGE crankbaits in the White River and a Zara Puppy that were lost to breakoffs so somebody is fishing them.

[Kayser]

Ran into a couple guys throwing big stickbaits with one single hook in the back close to the dam on the White River a few years ago. Said they had gotten a 15lb brown around 4am way downstream. Big fish eat big baits, plain and simple.

[hoglaw]

Caught a couple of nice browns years ago on the White below Bull on Little Cleo spoons, can't remember the exact size, but shad sized ones, 2-3". Spray painted one side white, cast them up stream and try and imitate a shad that's been through the turbines and is dead or dying and rolling down the river in the current. Those browns also feed on sculpins heavily, might be worth trying the soft plastic Goby imitators (looks like a sculpin) that have hit the market in the last few years.

This echos the swimbait comment someone made earlier I think. You're darn right they eat sculpins. I think every fish that lives in water with sculpins regards them as the king crab legs of the aquatic world. One time I was fishing the Illinois just west of Fayetteville and had drifted a wacky rigged worm past the same root ball a couple of times. I saw a sculpin just below me and managed to grab him from under his rock and put him on the hook to fish like a live jerkbait. First cast to the same spot produced a 5lb largemouth. My "non-sporting" way of catching big browns has always been tight lining dead mangled sculpins at night. We caught a lot of absolutely scary fish that way, but watching a 30" brown bleed out soured my stomach on that in a hurry. Maybe I could avoid that with circle hooks, but I just can't stand the idea of killing a big one. Those goby swimbaits look just like a sculpin. On a carolina rig or a pretty good rock-proof jighead or swimbait hook, I have to think you could stick some good fish in the White.

You really can't fish a stickbait that's too big on the White, particularly if the water is rolling. I've just been in the wiggle wart collecting business lately and I'm wondering if grinding a wart in the deeper holes would hang some fish. May have to get Trophy to do me up some mottled sculpin versions.

[mic]

This echos the swimbait comment someone made earlier I think. You're darn right they eat sculpins. I think every fish that lives in water with sculpins regards them as the king crab legs of the aquatic world. One time I was fishing the Illinois just west of Fayetteville and had drifted a wacky rigged worm past the same root ball a couple of times. I saw a sculpin just below me and managed to grab him from under his rock and put him on the hook to fish like a live jerkbait. First cast to the same spot produced a 5lb largemouth. My "non-sporting" way of catching big browns has always been tight lining dead mangled sculpins at night. We caught a lot of absolutely scary fish that way, but watching a 30" brown bleed out soured my stomach on that in a hurry. Maybe I could avoid that with circle hooks, but I just can't stand the idea of killing a big one. Those goby swimbaits look just like a sculpin. On a carolina rig or a pretty good rock-proof jighead or swimbait hook, I have to think you could stick some good fish in the White.

You really can't fish a stickbait that's too big on the White, particularly if the water is rolling. I've just been in the wiggle wart collecting business lately and I'm wondering if grinding a wart in the deeper holes would hang some fish. May have to get Trophy to do me up some mottled sculpin versions.

Next time cut the line above the hook. From what I understand that is the best way to save the fish. The acid in the fish will break down the hook.

[Mitch f]

Next time cut the line above the hook. From what I understand that is the best way to save the fish. The acid in the fish will break down the hook.

Here is an interesting article from Bassdozer regarding this issue: http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/manns/hook_in_out.shtml

[sitting fishing]

Zoom worms (for bass) will fool an occasional Eleven Point river rainbow, just ask my nephew.

I rember seeing a couple of guys trolling large flatfish and hot shots in combination with a cow bell set up ,,,

[Mitch f]

Saw a guy at Taneycomo using small rapala countdown slowly reeling it instead of twitches. He claimed to have caught several huge browns up to 20lbs doing it. He must have believed in this method because he stood for hours casting to the same spot and sloooooowly retrieving cast after cast.