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I have a boat and actually tournament fish for walleyes. Seems that walleyes are all I've persued for the last few years. And having grown up on the easter plains of Colorado I've never really targeted trout as a species from a boat.
Would anyone mind giving me basic tips on fishing for rainbows from a boat? Stuff like what are cowbells, pop-gear how do you rig em and how do you fish them.
Thanks!
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Eric, cowbells, pop gear is trolling trailers to attract fish to the tasty treat at the end, like flat fish, repalas or just a nice juicy worm. Boat fishing for trout, there is many different ways you can persue them. ONe is spinner casting. just simply throwing spinners and reeling them in, things like blue fox, jakes lures, panther martin, cast masters, just to name a few. Another is still fishing, by putting on power bait, cheese, salmon eggs, worms, and throwing out and waiting for the moment of action. Thanks to alot of people on this site I am now starting to enjoy the world of jigging for trout. the only time I have jigged for trout was ice fishing, but many people have lead me to not only jigging in winter, but when it is 100 degrees outside. You can fly fish with a fly rod or bobber and fly on a casting rod. Just some tips!!!
btw, welcome to the site, maybe you can teach me somethings about Walleye, a fish I have yet to catch!!!
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This is just a simple setup, but it works effectively everywhere I've tried it for Rainbows, Kokanee, Cutthroat, and the occasional Brown.
Pop gear : Doc Shelton multi color (alternating brass and chrome) any length. I usually only run the 18-20" model. Add 1/4 to 1oz. of weight to the blade depending on the depth you are looking for. This also keeps the gear running straight in the water.
Leader: no more than 10lb. test mono. 6-8lb. is best unless you know there are 5+lb fish likely to be hooked. About 3 feet long.
Lure: Good old red/chrome triple teaser tipped with a worm.
I use level wind reels for trolling. A line counter is helpful in making sure you get back to the same distance and depth that you caught the last fish. If you don't have a counter, count the number of times the line passes from side to side on your reel as you are letting out line, to get real close. I use 12+lb line on this pole. I'm still trying to decide if I like mono or the superlines for this application. They both seem to have a time and place.
I start trolling at about 100 feet behind the boat and at about 1.5-2mph. If I pass over fish and don't get any strikes, I will let out line to about 150', then 200'. If that is still not working, I reel back up to about 100' and start speeding the boat up. 2.2mph, 2.5mph, etc.
Good luck! Hope it helps.
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That is all fantastic info guys. In addition, don't forget the basics. A simple rapala or crankbait slow trolled gets em every time.
Good Trout Fishing, Kayote
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Hey I second the rapala but don't forget the bait. Give them what they eat and you'll find it makes a big difference. But hey I am by far the worlds worst troller. So bad in fact I sold my last boat and went back to the shore. Now I have a tube and I'm back on the water ........ we'll see <grins>
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[size 2]Eric, trout fishing is pretty basic compared to walleye fishing. Mark them on your graph and then put a lure in front of their noses. I used pop gear a time or two when I first got a boat, but soon got tired of messing with it. You'll need leadcore or downriggers to control the depth. Now I just have a few methods for lakes. Early/late season when the fish are shallow, I cast/drift for them with marabou jigs, tubes, etc. You can also drift PowerBait, worms, or dead minnows (all that's legal here). I also troll a clown Rapala straight out the back. In fact, I ALWAYS longline a Rapala out the back even in the summer when the fish go deep--it always does well.[/size]
[size 2]In summer when the fish go deeper, I troll using downriggers and a spoon, like a Carter's spoon or any of your walleye spoons like scorpions. Bigger, bottom hugging bows/cutts can be had vertical jigging a sweetened jig or tube.[/size]
[size 2]I mostly troll between 1.8 and 2.2.[/size]
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One of my favorite ways to catch trout besides fly fishing, is the ever popular gitzit tube. They are fished well from a boat, and are retrieved similar to a jig. They are especially effective on waters with crawdads like kolob for all the rebs, and i would imagine strawberry for all you yanks.
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Almost all trolling is evil. Except drift trolling. Grubs, tubes, jerkbaits are where its at(i forgot spinners).
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