The simplest way to catch more trout than you ever imagined is to do the opposite of what most other anglers do. I realize that this might sound like advice that comes directly out of an episode of Seinfeld, but it’s true. Most anglers are like sheep and do whatever it is that the crowd does. If that means using the same rod and reel for all of your fishing, so be it. If that means not walking any farther than the worn trail goes, so be it.
If you’re going to be successful as a trout angler, you need to have a trout rod and reel. That rod and reel should be light action (at the biggest). I personally prefer ultra light action rods and reels for trout, but light action will work. The rod should be no longer than six feet. For trout fishing rods, I prefer five footers but it’s not necessary for the rod to be longer than six feet. An ultra light reel that matches the rod will work fine, just nothing too big. This reel should be spooled with line no heavier than six pound test line. Six pound is the maximum. Again, I prefer four pound test line, but nothing larger than six pound, certainly not for good fly fishing anyway.
Now that we’ve covered the size of our gear and the size of our line, the next important aspect of catching trout, is the size of your hooks. Most anglers use hooks that are entirely too large for trout fishing. I’m of course speaking of regular fishing here, not ‘flea flicking’. ‘Flea Flickers’ aren’t afraid to use small hooks, hell they have to fleas aren’t very big. I’m speaking to all of the normal anglers out there and most of you use hooks that are entirely too large. I personally use size 10 hooks, and in order to catch more trout than you ever imagined, don’t use a hook larger than a size 8. I suggest using a set of gang hooks (which is simply two hooks tied in tandem). If you truly want to catch more trout than you ever imagined, I suggest using the good old earth worm for bait. A worm baited on a set of #10 gang hooks is deadly. You see the small hooks eliminate the dreaded “worm ball”. The “worm ball” is whren an angler uses a single hook that’s too large and threads the worm on to said hook, thus creating a “worm ball”. There is nothing natural about presenting a worm like this, and the amount of trout caught is directly affected.
If you begin to employ the tips outlined in this article (rod and reel size, line size, hook size, and type of bait) you will catch more trout than you ever imagined. Never forget what Steven Wright said, “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”
Stevie James is an experienced fisherman who has set up a Free Fishing Information website to offer free tips, techniques and tutorials that will really help you on the way to more successful and more enjoyable fishing!
