Will bass techniques work for rainbow trout?
29.October, 2009
Is there any possible way that I could use bass techniques and bass tackle for rainbow trout? Would a drop shot rig with a zoom magnum shakey head worm work for rainbow trout in shallow rivers? Or what about small jigs, texas rigged lizards, or shakey head worms with stand up jig heads?
Some bass techniques will work on trout, others won’t. I think what you have to consider when using crossover techniques is the differences in behavior in the two fish.
Bass are warmwater fish. As such they are very aggressive attack hunters. They ambush prey from cover, but also run down prey over long distances. They’re opportunistic — if they spend half a day feeding on minnows, they can still be enticed with a crawdad. Best of all they are easily provoked with things like noise, motion, and color — we all know bass will hit a lure that looks almost nothing like natural forage as long as the lure displays a certain color or motion. Bass go after large prey. My assumption is that bass and sunfish will go after prey up to one half of their own total length — I’m sure you’ve hooked little 10- or 12-inch bass on a lure that 4 or 5 inches long.
Trout are coldwater fish. They are not as aggressive as bass, do not strike as hard, will not chase down prey over long distances, and are more selective. They are less likely to be induced into striking a certain color or motion — they require accurate imitations of natural forage, including color, size, shape, etc. They are also inclined to feed single-mindedly, zeroing in on a single prey item to the exclusion of other forage. My rule with trout is that they will take prey up to one quarter of their total length and may even be spooked by large lures. Also trout (especially in rivers) often feed from "lies." A lie is an optimum position in a stream where the trout has cover, food, and refuge from the current. It’s like a comfort zone. The trout takes up its lie and then moves very little, taking forage that washed down the current.
So, with that in mind, big, noisy rigs will not work well on smaller trout (less than about 18 inches). Most trout that size are eating aquatic insects and similar forage, so a big swimming lizard, or 4-inch worm will interest them less.
Because of a trout’s preference to feed from a lie, they are less inclined to chase fast and far-running lures. A trout won’t move too far from its lie. That’s how coldwater fish are — it’s all about energy conservation. Smaller and slower running lures can be effective, especially if you can fish it so that the trout doesn’t have to move much. There is a trout stream about an hour from where I live where smallmouth bass have been introduced, and at certain times of the year I can catch bass and trout in the same place with the same spinner. I like brass and red colored Mepps and Jake’s spinners and have caught lots of trout with them.
I’m not sure about rubber worms. I haven’t fished for trout much with large rubber worms, and my gut says it’s not a great match. But trout love real worms, so a good worm imitation may catch you some trout. I think the difference will be presentation — a smaller, more subtle presentation is required for trout.
I’ve had a lot of success taking trout on small jigs (1/32 oz. to 1/8 oz.) in rivers and streams. Brown trout will KILL minnow imitations at this time of year — not only to feed but because of territorial impulses (they spawn in late fall). You can also catch trout with jigs by overhanging banks — trout like to hide out under the overhangs and if you don’t scare them off with your approach, you can find some big trout hiding in very shallow water waiting to ambush minnows and fallen insects, both of which you can imitate with jigs.
29.October, 2009 um 10:54 am
I am both a bass fisherman and a die hard fly fisherman and in my exp usually small rivers hold small bait fish small minnow or Shad patterns best bet invest in the do all roostertail can’t lose with that.
References :
29.October, 2009 um 11:11 am
Yes, to a degree. Roughly 90% of a trout’s feed is subsurface worms, minnows, bugs and opportunities given by wind blown creatures from shore. Sometimes an insect will emerge from the bottom of water to hatch. At these times, trout will eat nothing but the emerger, the adult bug, or the dying bug that falls back to the surface. They will be very selective.
A casting bubble and selection of flies can make the day if you do not own a fly rod. Ask locally to know which flies to carry in your area.
All of North America water has some damsel flies and caddis flies. Have some damsel nymphs and some elk hair caddis dries in your box for openers.
References :
29.October, 2009 um 11:35 am
Some bass techniques will work on trout, others won’t. I think what you have to consider when using crossover techniques is the differences in behavior in the two fish.
Bass are warmwater fish. As such they are very aggressive attack hunters. They ambush prey from cover, but also run down prey over long distances. They’re opportunistic — if they spend half a day feeding on minnows, they can still be enticed with a crawdad. Best of all they are easily provoked with things like noise, motion, and color — we all know bass will hit a lure that looks almost nothing like natural forage as long as the lure displays a certain color or motion. Bass go after large prey. My assumption is that bass and sunfish will go after prey up to one half of their own total length — I’m sure you’ve hooked little 10- or 12-inch bass on a lure that 4 or 5 inches long.
Trout are coldwater fish. They are not as aggressive as bass, do not strike as hard, will not chase down prey over long distances, and are more selective. They are less likely to be induced into striking a certain color or motion — they require accurate imitations of natural forage, including color, size, shape, etc. They are also inclined to feed single-mindedly, zeroing in on a single prey item to the exclusion of other forage. My rule with trout is that they will take prey up to one quarter of their total length and may even be spooked by large lures. Also trout (especially in rivers) often feed from "lies." A lie is an optimum position in a stream where the trout has cover, food, and refuge from the current. It’s like a comfort zone. The trout takes up its lie and then moves very little, taking forage that washed down the current.
So, with that in mind, big, noisy rigs will not work well on smaller trout (less than about 18 inches). Most trout that size are eating aquatic insects and similar forage, so a big swimming lizard, or 4-inch worm will interest them less.
Because of a trout’s preference to feed from a lie, they are less inclined to chase fast and far-running lures. A trout won’t move too far from its lie. That’s how coldwater fish are — it’s all about energy conservation. Smaller and slower running lures can be effective, especially if you can fish it so that the trout doesn’t have to move much. There is a trout stream about an hour from where I live where smallmouth bass have been introduced, and at certain times of the year I can catch bass and trout in the same place with the same spinner. I like brass and red colored Mepps and Jake’s spinners and have caught lots of trout with them.
I’m not sure about rubber worms. I haven’t fished for trout much with large rubber worms, and my gut says it’s not a great match. But trout love real worms, so a good worm imitation may catch you some trout. I think the difference will be presentation — a smaller, more subtle presentation is required for trout.
I’ve had a lot of success taking trout on small jigs (1/32 oz. to 1/8 oz.) in rivers and streams. Brown trout will KILL minnow imitations at this time of year — not only to feed but because of territorial impulses (they spawn in late fall). You can also catch trout with jigs by overhanging banks — trout like to hide out under the overhangs and if you don’t scare them off with your approach, you can find some big trout hiding in very shallow water waiting to ambush minnows and fallen insects, both of which you can imitate with jigs.
References :
29.October, 2009 um 11:47 am
Some great info. I’ll add my perspective and a few lures I use when I’m not fly fishing. Agree, trout like smaller presentations. You can certainly catch them with bass gear but most largemouth lures will be a waste of time. For example, you can leave the spinnerbaits at home but they will take a small crankbait and it’s actually quite a good tactic. They like to feed on the surface at times, but don’t use anything you would for bass on the surface. Buzzbaits, poppers, etc will just spook trout. When using spinning tackle, it’s best to use below-water presentations unless you’re at some fish farm where they eat pellets. Anything texas-rigged is a bad idea. The large hook and being buried in the worm are not good trout tactics. A small finesse worm or curlytail grub on a 1/16 jighead is the closest thing they will take. Your best lure is probably going to be an inline spinner like a panther martin or rooster tail. Use 1/16 to 1/6 oz sizes with 1/8 oz about perfect for most situations. Hair jigs resembling minnows in silver/black/white or resembling crayfish or sculpins in brown/olive will work well in streams over 3′ deep. Lastly, I agree with the casting bubble - you can put a lot of nymphs or even some streamers like wooly buggers on them and just let them drift with the current. Use whatever fly selection the local fly fishermen are using and put a small split shot 18" above the fly to get it down quickly. Use 4 or 6 lb test line and a very light spinning outfit.
References :
29.October, 2009 um 12:07 pm
Is there a way to archive the answers to this question? RIGHT ON! two cents though trout baits will work on bass, but very few bass baits will work on trout. basically it’s the size of each mouth being so totally different. But read the answers and learn, really good stuff Chadd
References :