Best tackle patterns for Alberta trout

[Erik]

After some hard reckoning this summer, I've come to realize my tackle box is unsuited for trout and I will need to clean it out and reinvest in new gear. I'd like to hear people's recommendations for trout tackle (not concerned about flies). I'm primarily concerned about summer tackle as I have a decent supply of hard water tackle, but I'm open to suggestions either way.

Focus is on the trout species in this order:
Rainbows
Brookies
Cutthroat
Brown
Bull
Others

I'm not looking for your secret weapon, unless you want to share it, but rather some consistent lures and/or maybe some guidance on which colours tend to attract which fish.

[huntsfurfish]

Panther Martin spinners is one of my favourites. Various colors
Flatfish is another.

I know you said no flies, but a torpedo float and fly works very well too.

edit: rapalas is another.

Also as for colors, natural colors are best - golds, silvers, RBT, Brn Trout etc..
Exception may be for Brookies though then bright colors are good as well.

[waterninja]

J hook and a worm is all you need.

[3blade]

Colors: red, pink, yellow, black. In that order.

Browns are picky, and you might do better with natural finishes. The others, not so much. Bulls eat fish, so you need to upsize significantly when targeting them. A bull trout that eats 8-10 in Rockies will ignore a 1 in spinner.

Panther Martin spinners are very, very good for bows, cutts and brookies

Flies often outfish lures. Size 14 bead head pheasant tail, copper John, hares ear should be in your box. Under a water filled float, or use a nail as a weight and rig the fly off a dropper.

[58thecat]

Rapala rainbow trout F5.

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[Deep]

Many years on Alberta lakes- targeting trout exclusively now. Started with #2 Panther martins, a very consistent lure for sure. My trout box has many Rapalas , Flatfish a variety of sizes/colors Len Thompson spoons. Without a doubt my flies (trolled behind the boat) have landed a great number of trout. I typically have a small flasher 3-4 ft ahead of the fly. This fall I caught the "Boatman" time on the water....It was nuts.

[wags]

Originally Posted by waterninja

J hook and a worm is all you need.

Where bait is allowed, sure.

[wags]

Originally Posted by Erik

After some hard reckoning this summer, I've come to realize my tackle box is unsuited for trout and I will need to clean it out and reinvest in new gear. I'd like to hear people's recommendations for trout tackle (not concerned about flies). I'm primarily concerned about summer tackle as I have a decent supply of hard water tackle, but I'm open to suggestions either way.

Focus is on the trout species in this order:
Rainbows
Brookies
Cutthroat
Brown
Bull
Others

I'm not looking for your secret weapon, unless you want to share it, but rather some consistent lures and/or maybe some guidance on which colours tend to attract which fish.

I catch most on rapalas - purple has been very successful for me, as well as reds. GL!

Cheers.

[Fly fishing Alberta]

Pink rooster tail has always produced for me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tfng]

Little Cleo's; red and gold is my favourite. #5 gold Hildebrandt's as well.

[CNP]

Creeks and small rivers....................Blue Fox silver #0 on ultra light rod 4# mono. Rainbows, browns and cutties...............even the odd bull, RMW and grayling

[RavYak]

Not interested in flies? Must not be thst interested in catching trout then lol. Spoons, spinners, rapalas etc all will catch some fish and especially with the more fish eating species like bulls and browns. But the main diet of rainbows, brookies and cutties are insect related other then a handful of water bodies and with the bigger trout that will feed on minnows if present. If you arr dead set on not learning to give trout what they want to eat then you can catch some on the above mentioned methods or by soakjng bait but you will usually only see limited and mixed results.

[wags]

And in response to RavYak - I know several people that use spin gear that regularly outfish those using flies. Don't let these comments deter you.

Cheers

[idaman]

Originally Posted by wags

And in response to RavYak - I know several people that use spin gear that regularly outfish those using flies. Don't let these comments deter you.

Cheers

X2...I am one also.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by wags

And in response to RavYak - I know several people that use spin gear that regularly outfish those using flies. Don't let these comments deter you.

Cheers

Anyone can outfish someone else on any given day... I am just saying if you want to catch trout and lots of them learn to fly fish.

There are 2 ways to catch fish, imitate what they eat or go for reactionary strikes. With trout if you are using spoons, spinners, rapalas etc you are usually getting reactionary/inquisitive strikes and although these can be effective especially when the trout are not actively feeding the results are usually inconsistent and it is unlikely to have the epic days a guy can have when he finds the right fly. I am not talking epic as in a dozen fish, I am talking can't keep them off the line 50+ fish days. Good luck ever having days like that chucking lures, I have been there and done that and I still do chuck lures when flies aren't working but I wouldn't be bothering to waste my time on here replying if I didn't honestly believe fly fishing is the superior method if you sincerely want to catch more trout...

Originally Posted by idaman

X2...I am one also.

Better go back and review your catch rates Curtis, if you were half as good as you think you are you could actually give me some competition... Keep poking though, I always enjoy a good laugh.

[idaman]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Better go back and review your catch rates Curtis, if you were half as good as you think you are you could actually give me some competition... Keep poking though, I always enjoy a good laugh.

Just as I get a good chuckle every time you call me someone else's name or read one of your posts where you have the answer to all that is fishing.

[the11fisherman]

I get a real chuckle out of listening to people debating whether fly fishing or spin casting is more effective with trout. For an individual, the most efficient way of fishing for trout is typically the way that they spend the most time fishing. If you spend the most time fly fishing, you are going to catch more flyfishing, and if you spend more time spin casting, you will catch more spin casting.

I spend more time fly fishing by far for trout, so of course, I catch more fish fly fishing than spin casting in numbers. But there are days that either the weather or the currents are off for flyfishing, so I grab the spinning gear. And what typically happens? I start cleaning up on the trout. And then there are other days that my fishing buddies are using spinning gear and they are having no luck, but I am cleaning up on the trout using flyfishing tackle.

Those that strictly fish in one method, tend to be restricted in their fishing abilities and success. I have seen this many times. The best fisherman is the versatile fisherman. The one that is smart enough to change their ways to the ways of the fish, rather than being bullheaded and refusing to change anything.

Now to get back to the original question that was being asked in this thread..........deciding upon a single lure is hard to say for all the species of trout in Alberta. It depends on the time of the year, what bug hatches are going on, what types of minnows and tadpoles are present in the water body, what the weather is like, what type of water body it is (lake,stream,river), and the species of trout, and honestly every year it changes a bit.

My best four lures for this year(which changed from last year) were:
-The smallest black and white spoons I could find(lost a few during the season, so they varied in size depending on what I could find)
-Western Coachman Fly
-Stimulator Fly
-Army Truck Buzzbomb

I did not write these in the order of the most effective to least, because it really depended on the day. Now I can't wait to start a new year and find the best hooks of the season again. But please note........there could have been better more effective hooks out there to use.....but I stuck to the ones that were making me happy. What I'm trying to say is that EVERY FISHERMAN IS DIFFERENT AND HAS DIFFERENT STYLES AND LIKES.

If every fisherman fished in the exact same manner, there are a lot of fish out there that would probably never be caught and there would be few fish left over in the specific category of stupid that would go after that one technique that everyone would be using.

Sorry for the rant.

[the11fisherman]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Anyone can outfish someone else on any given day... I am just saying if you want to catch trout and lots of them learn to fly fish.

There are 2 ways to catch fish, imitate what they eat or go for reactionary strikes. With trout if you are using spoons, spinners, rapalas etc you are usually getting reactionary/inquisitive strikes and although these can be effective especially when the trout are not actively feeding the results are usually inconsistent and it is unlikely to have the epic days a guy can have when he finds the right fly. I am not talking epic as in a dozen fish, I am talking can't keep them off the line 50+ fish days. Good luck ever having days like that chucking lures, I have been there and done that and I still do chuck lures when flies aren't working but I wouldn't be bothering to waste my time on here replying if I didn't honestly believe fly fishing is the superior method if you sincerely want to catch more trout...



Better go back and review your catch rates Curtis, if you were half as good as you think you are you could actually give me some competition... Keep poking though, I always enjoy a good laugh.

For the record......I've had 50+ days on spinning tackle, 50+ fly fishing tackle and 50+ ice fishing tackle....
AKA- One of those don't eat, don't drink, and grow a larger bladder type of days.

[wags]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Anyone can outfish someone else on any given day... I am just saying if you want to catch trout and lots of them learn to fly fish.

There are 2 ways to catch fish, imitate what they eat or go for reactionary strikes. With trout if you are using spoons, spinners, rapalas etc you are usually getting reactionary/inquisitive strikes and although these can be effective especially when the trout are not actively feeding the results are usually inconsistent and it is unlikely to have the epic days a guy can have when he finds the right fly. I am not talking epic as in a dozen fish, I am talking can't keep them off the line 50+ fish days. Good luck ever having days like that chucking lures, I have been there and done that and I still do chuck lures when flies aren't working but I wouldn't be bothering to waste my time on here replying if I didn't honestly believe fly fishing is the superior method if you sincerely want to catch more trout...



Better go back and review your catch rates Curtis, if you were half as good as you think you are you could actually give me some competition... Keep poking though, I always enjoy a good laugh.

I'm sorry that you don't have the skills others have with your spinning gear, but this is categorically false, and has been proven so time and time again.

Cheers

[Erik]

Originally Posted by wags

And in response to RavYak - I know several people that use spin gear that regularly outfish those using flies. Don't let these comments deter you.

Cheers

Thanks. Not detered at all. In fact in response to RavYak, I have 6 fly rods that range from 3 weight to 9 weight and a switch rod too. Far from being disinterested in flies, I am asking the opinion of people for spin gear specifically because I wanted to learn and its much easier teaching my children about spin gear than fly gear, I suspect. My experience fishing my spin gear this year taught me that I have much learning to do and thus I've turned to the expertise of likeminded fishermen. Thanks for everyone's input; I will try some of the suggestions made here.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Erik

Thanks. Not detered at all. In fact in response to RavYak, I have 6 fly rods that range from 3 weight to 9 weight and a switch rod too. Far from being disinterested in flies, I am asking the opinion of people for spin gear specifically because I wanted to learn and its much easier teaching my children about spin gear than fly gear, I suspect. My experience fishing my spin gear this year taught me that I have much learning to do and thus I've turned to the expertise of likeminded fishermen. Thanks for everyone's input; I will try some of the suggestions made here.

If the kids are older use small spoons and spinners. If younger probably best to just toss out some bait under a bobber or on a bottom rig. Casting the little spoons/spinners well takes decent gear(smooth line/reel and light rod that can load up with the lighter lures) and a bit of touch/skill so isnt that great for young kids.

[anthony5]

Originally Posted by Erik

Thanks. Not detered at all. In fact in response to RavYak, I have 6 fly rods that range from 3 weight to 9 weight and a switch rod too. Far from being disinterested in flies, I am asking the opinion of people for spin gear specifically because I wanted to learn and its much easier teaching my children about spin gear than fly gear, I suspect. My experience fishing my spin gear this year taught me that I have much learning to do and thus I've turned to the expertise of likeminded fishermen. Thanks for everyone's input; I will try some of the suggestions made here.

Erik,I started to teach my two sons how to fish with spinning gear at the age of four on some of the East Slopes rivers, Oldman, Livingstone, Dutch Creek, Racehorse etc. Been fishing these rivers for 35 plus years and have found that spin gear is way more interesting than Fly Fishing, but to each his own. Send me a msg and I will help you and your kids how to read the water and catch fish in streams with spinning gear in short order

I do quite well with a fly rod, just not as much fun as getting into their hiding spots with spinning gear.

[Lazy Fisherguy]

my tackle for Bow River(blue ribbon area-bait ban), size 4 "Red Octopus" hook with a 3/16 oz. dropshot sinker on the bottom on a fluorocarbon leader drifted upstream down. that's it... simple as that.

[1/2 oz Bucktail]

For flowing waters I have always found jigs to work, especially on smaller waters where you can peel off some line and jig areas such as corner pools, log piles, overhanging banks, etc.

Carry an assortment of sizes for various species.

[lds]

Never had more trout action than a meps aglia gold body and silver spinner. That's all I use anymore when spin fishing for trout and it's never ended a day without at least one fish

[MoFugger21]

Blue fox spinners are usually my go to - gold, silver & copper - but with the price of them seemingly going up each year, it gets harder to justify them. I've also used Panther Martins and it seems (who knows really though) that I get more action with white and grey/silver colours than the bright yellows and pinks.