Catching Big Trout

[PathFinder]

What weight does your tube jig head typically have? I usually have a hard time getting to the bottom due to the current. Also I have had awesome luck with the lucky craft pointers for spotted bass, however I use it as a jerkbait, twitch twitch let it sit ect. Is that how you use them for browns?

The weight of the jig is the biggest factor for success with them. I have everything from 1/8 to 1/2 with me all the time and change accordingly depending on depth, current, etc.
We fish the Luckys with more of a steady retrieve with a twitch thrown in every couple of reels or so. Definitely different than jerkbaits are usually fished for bass, though I can't say that technique wouldn't work in a lake setting.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[BroodBuster]

Anybody ever try a pink worm under a float? Sure works on steelhead!

 

[DavePwns]

The weight of the jig is the biggest factor for success with them. I have everything from 1/8 to 1/2 with me all the time and change accordingly depending on depth, current, etc.
We fish the Luckys with more of a steady retrieve with a twitch thrown in every couple of reels or so. Definitely different than jerkbaits are usually fished for bass, though I can't say that technique wouldn't work in a lake setting.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

Good to know , do you like using something simular to a 2.5 inch gitzit fat tube?

 

[PathFinder]

Good to know , do you like using something simular to a 2.5 inch gitzit fat tube?

Yeah Gitzits are good. Really any white tube 2.5"-4", I'm not sure I've seen one brand that really stands out to me VS the others.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Catching top end Trout is not necessarily all about what tackle/lure/fly to use but more about getting it in front of that monster Trout's face when it's feeding. Most of the 5-12 lb Rainbows and Browns I have ever caught have been in Rivers on very small nymphs, and in lakes on slightly larger baitfish, leech, and crawfish imitations. It's all about matching the forage base for whatever water you are fishing. If there are a ton of midges in a river the big trout will eat them too as long as you can put it right in their kitchen which is the hard part. Fishing with big lures and streamer type flies will eventually produce and you may get some instinctual/territorial type takes but you'll cast your arm off trying in most places, and this is more effective at night or when slowly trolling from a boat IMO.

For big River Trout just remember that they will usually occupy the best most oxygenated and usually deepest parts at the head of a run where it's hard to get flies and lures to while maintaining a natural presentation. They are smart and weary and you usually only have one chance at them. Best of luck!

 

[Muley Buck]

Yup. Use a 3 or 4 inch Rapala. Big fish, big bait.

Can also use chub or sculpin for bait.

Fish at night too.

About 15 years ago I had an ol' boy that had caught a pile of BIG trout tell me "lions don't eat mice" and to remember that when fishing water that holds big trout. Needless to say, I've followed that line of thinking. It works.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Lucky craft Pointers and white tube jigs. A friend and I consistently catch 20"-30" fish on water most fly fishermen never break 16" on.
For those of you fishing at night, what part of the country are you in? We've given the night fishing thing a pretty valiant effort but I've never been impressed. The two fish we've caught that broke thirty were both caught around 10:30 in the morning.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

them fly fishermen are purists though, they would rather catch small fish than break tradition and get big fish. Besides, everybody knows the small ones taste better....

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Book a trip to the San Juan river and slam trophy rainbows all day long, if you want to do AK, go to king salmon and hit the naknek River....lots of big fish in those trophy waters.

 

[Marmots]

As far as conventional tackle goes, rapalas are my favorite lure of all time. So much so that I feel like I'm cheating on them by suggesting a trout HD lure instead. Trout HD lures are basically a synthetic rapala/rattle trap hybrid that work incredibly well, though you may want to upgrade the hooks.

My favorite way to target big trout is chucking streamers on a fly rod. Get an 8 or 9 weight rod, load it with full sink line and a 15 lb fluorocarbon leader, and top it with a six to eight inch white streamer. Swing them through riffles, dredge them through holes, and drag them under cutbanks. All of my biggest trout have been on Kelly Galloup streamers with obscene names.

 

[rustneversleeps]

Lucky craft Pointers and white tube jigs. A friend and I consistently catch 20"-30" fish on water most fly fishermen never break 16" on.
For those of you fishing at night, what part of the country are you in? We've given the night fishing thing a pretty valiant effort but I've never been impressed. The two fish we've caught that broke thirty were both caught around 10:30 in the morning.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

I'd love to see a 30" brown...thats a fish of a lifetime. You've caught two trout over 30" ?

 

[PathFinder]

I've caught a bull trout (and a laker, that's different) over 30. My buddy caught his first brown over 30 this summer. Lots of fish 20-30 inches to catch those two.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk

 

[mooretitan]

I have caught a handful of browns between 20-22 inches. They just don’t have the thickness to really be considered a big fish. I am going to try fishing some areas during the night and tossing rapalas this fall if I can get a trip in. If not next season will be tossing bigger lures even if my catch count suffers

 

[apsudd]

Try a Phoebe lure. I have a hard time finding them sometimes in Georgia, but they absolutely crush them. Caught about 30 fish last Friday...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[manitou1]

Try a Phoebe lure. I have a hard time finding them sometimes in Georgia, but they absolutely crush them. Caught about 30 fish last Friday...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What colors, sizes doe you use?

 

[apsudd]

I want to say 1/8 oz is what I was using this past time, solid copper color. I’ve had luck with the silver and silver/blue color as well. For some reason I think they like the smaller ones better!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Try some of these lures, I hear they work great.

 

[Joseph2186]

I've had a lot of luck swing fishing white death, and black bunny leech streamers up in New York but they can be very particular and just completely stop hitting one fly and go to something else. Both are very easy to tie

 

[Muley Buck]

Try a Phoebe lure. I have a hard time finding them sometimes in Georgia, but they absolutely crush them. Caught about 30 fish last Friday...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Phoebe's are pretty bad ass!

 

[Pk_in_Dallas]

I’m a tailwater fisherman and use flies but I would echo that big browns move up toward the dam during the fall. November is probably the best month to target the big browns. They are easy to see in the water as they look like torpedos. I simply target them and use bigger flies with a dropper. #8-#12 nymphs, and scud. I will move about ten - 15 up river and simply drift the nymph in front of them at a 45 degree angle and that is how I have caught big browns. The key is locating them.

Freestone River fish are much more weary than tailwater fish but once you locate one and can setup without spooking them that is half the battle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sharticus007]

I’ve caught lots of 5-10lb browns with a panther Martin. I’ve notice with martins your retrieve rate can make a big difference, probably the same with any lure.