Free Bass and Trout Fishing Information
Catching Trophy Trout
Author: Trevor Kugler
Article:
What's more fun than catching a trophy fish? Not much, then you
add the fact that trophy trout can be caught in rivers that no
one would expect them to come out of, and catching them becomes
that much more exciting. My mentor taught me some of his
techniques more than 15 years ago, and they work great for
catching trophy trout. This man (my mentor) had more trophy
trout mounted than any human being that I've ever seen. And
almost all of his trophies (over 22 inches) were caught in
rivers that no one could believe fish that size came out of.
These were rivers that got a lot of fishing pressure and trout
fourteen inches and under were considered "normal". But my
mentor caught trophy trout out of these rivers and did so
consistently.
He always used small gear to catch these trophy trout. Ultra
light rods and reels spooled with 4 lb. test monofilament line.
If you've never used ultra light gear, you'd be amazed at the
size of fish that can be caught using this type of gear. My
mentor got me hooked on ultra light gear, and it's all I use for
catching trout and trophy trout. Using this lighter gear makes
you a better angler, because you learn things such as playing
your catch. I've noticed that many Bass anglers don't follow
this line of logic and enjoy 'winching' their catch in with
heavy gear. The point is that my mentor used nothing but ultra
light gear to catch all of his trophy trout.
Another thing he taught me about trophy trout is that they
insist on live bait looking "natural". For example a worm should
look like a worm. If you throw a worm into the water, what does
it look like? That's what it should look like when you're using
it to catch a fish then, he would say. So he came up with
gang hooks. Gang hooks are simply two small hooks tied in
tandem, and present a worm in a completely natural manner. So he
taught me how to tie and use gang hooks, which I do to this day.
Start using gang hooks and you will start catching more trout,
trophy and otherwise it's as simple as that.
My mentor would also say that trophy trout didn't move much,
once they found a good place in the river to feed. He explained
that trophy trout were very intelligent. In order to become
trophies, they had been alive for quite a while and had more
than likely been caught many times before. He said that they
became "smarter" by being caught and released, which I tend to
agree is true. This is one of the reasons gang hooks are so
important. So he would tell me that once they found a suitable
feeding area, they would stick around it. So if you find a good
area, don't be afraid to fish it consistently and hard. Trophies
aren't easily fooled; you have to work at it, he would say. And
that's just what he did. Once he located a good area, he would
fish it until he caught a nice trout.
My mentor also placed a lot of importance on checking your knots
and line consistently. You see, you never know when a trophy
trout's going to strike, and you always need to be ready. Trophy
trout put a lot of pressure on ultalight line and gear, and
frays and miss-tied knots can easily lead to lost hook ups and
lost fish. So pay attention to the condition of your line and
knots, you'll be glad you did.
Begin following the tips and advice in this article and you'll
be well on your way to catching trophy trout. Catching trophy
trout is rivers where people don't expect then is a ton of fun.
The bottom line is to keep after it and gain experience on every
fishing trip. Practice is the key to catching trophy trout. The
more time that you spend standing in the water fishing, the more
you'll learn and the better angler you will become.<
About the author:
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid
angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all
types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience.
He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of
trout fishing country.....Montana!
Gang-Hooks Tied And Ready! .
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