LURE FISHING FOR TROUT
by Bill Thorpe

INTRODUCTION by
Brian Barwell, Deputy Editor
While proof-reading the draft of Bill's article, it very quickly became clear that he's fanatical about his lure fishing and has tunnel-vision about trout. Whether or not you agree with his methods or stunts, he certainly catches more than his fair share of trout .. and other predators.

TROUT FROM DAY 1 ..
Having fished with nothing else but lures from day one I can't imagine ever using anything else! My first lure was a mackerel spinner about 1 1/2 inches long which caught me a lot of fish...it really was a great lure.
Although I'm still happy, these days, fishing for the next strike, I prefer, above all, to target trout. In my travels I've visited all sorts of waters, rivers, lakes and so on, including a few fly fisheries. Having never got on too well with the art of fly fishing, I prefer to stick to lures...flies...lures...flies.. they do the same job don't they!!!

A lot of trout fishery owners don't like people using spinners ...but I stick to using lures where ever possible, and, OK, on some occasions, in some places where they're not supposed to be used. The odd fishery will allow spinners with a single hook rather than a treble, which for some reason seems to keep the owner happy ??!! On these occasions it's been an interesting exercise to find out that I on average lose about 50% more fish on singles compared with trebles.

Keen senses
Trout seem to have very good eyesight for what's happening well beyond the water's surface, so it's absolutely essential, if possible, to keep well out of sight and or fully kitted out in ex-Army camouflage gear. Also approach fish from behind and try to keep in their blind spot, that's if they have one!

Get kitted out
Wear polariods!! not just to look cool OK..but to gain a real edge because otherwise the fish can be very hard to spot, and will often be spooked before you get a cast in.

After camouflage clothes and polaroid glasses I reckon waders are about the next most essential bit of kit. They allow you get to places that you otherwise can't, and that's usually where the fish are. I used to use thigh waders but nowadays I always use chesties. They also come in handy when retrieving lures (especially someone-else's!) out of snags , or, more importantly, taking a short-cut across the river to the pub after a day's lure fishing!!

Feeding habits
In my experience trout will devour just about anything from a lump of bread to a lump of spinning metal! They clearly take spinners and small plugs because they eat small fish, minnows etc. It's common belief that trout mainly feed off the surface but like most other predatory fish, they'll find a meal just about anywhere including tight on the bottom. Generally tho' they're probably looking up'wards for food most of the time so a spinner fished mid water or near the surface does the trick.

Location
First find a water that's known to hold trout! Even then, in some rivers not tipped as a trout water will have a few hanging about, usually around weir pools or in the fast shallow gravel runs etc.

A good example's the middle and lower Thames, once many years ago famed for its monster brownies & now supposed to be defunct as a trout fishery...but hang on, there are still a few biggies there to be caught!

In waters holding trout, the fish basically get everywhere; in fast water, sometimes in slacks, on the surface, on the bottom or in mid water...where their food is is really the key to their location. Fast, shallow water containing lots of small bait fish would be a good place to start. In still waters head for downwind shallows and drop-offs.

Lures
I'll often use an Aglia Longue when fishing fast flowing rivers and streams; these are smallish spinners with narrow blades that cut down into the current near to river bed slacks where trout are lying.

I'll also use small spoons and Rapalas, which can be very good, and some of the bigger Kilty lures. As a rule spinners are generally better value than plugs. I also use Comets, other Aglias and ordinary Rooster Tails.

Sometimes it's difficult to get the lure down deep enough in very fast water, so I'll use something like an uptrace weight like a very small cut-down Wye lead at the top end of the wire trace to help the spinner sink .

I only use one small swivel on the trace without an anti-kink vane, putting-up with a bit of line twist. These lures and techniques work really well for me.

Hard mouths
Trout have very hard and relatively small mouths, which partly accounts for the high rate of dropped fish, say compared with pike. The smaller fish are about the hardest to hook, but when they're on , pound for pound, they fight like mad! Their rapid head-shaking etc can easily loosen a hook hold, so about the only answer to it is to make sure that the hooks are kept really very sharp. Most hooks that come with new spinners are pretty naff, so I change them straight away for decent ones like the Drennan needle eye salmon brand, ultra sharp & very strong.

Be warned, big trout put up a very tough fight, so in order to keep them out of snags and on the hook make sure your gear is up for the job.

Rods, reels& terminal bits
Most of my mates and I use Daiwa Samurai rods which we think are great. OK, so they're not that cheap but they're the biz for this sort of fishing. We all rate the Samurai's all-through action, soft at the top, medium in the middle and firm at the butt. We also use small fixed spool reels, and braid bought in bulk spools to share the cost.

However that's where the "we" bit ends, as I do my own thing when it comes to the terminal stuff. I prefer to make-up my own traces, which cost next to nothing, by twisting standard Drennan 15 lb wire to small swivels. A few of the others use heavier/thicker gauge wire which is supoosed to unkink with a straight pull, in theory, but I don't have too much trouble with bog-standard 7-strand wires and if necessary it's no problem to whip-up a new one. Besides, the lighter weight wire will allow the smallest spinners to work properly.

Catch & Release
Quite simply I never kill any fish for the pot and always prefer to put them back straight away. It's best, if possible not to even take them out of the water when removing the hooks. It doesn't matter whether they're brownies, rainbows, grayling or sea-trout, they all go back. If you want to eat trout, get some from the supermarket!

Don't be put off!
It's not always easy getting on to trout waters with spinners, or even mini fly-spinners, but it's definitely worth trying your luck when and where ever you can. Sometimes people will laugh and say things like "You'll never catch anything there, mate".... looking into a tiny little stream, put your polaroids on and you will be amazed what's in there and willing to take a tiny spinner.

Yep, get out there after trout! You will have loads of fun catching them with spinners and other small lures, amd what's more, you'll catch a load of other predatory species into the bargain.

Good Luck!
Bill Thorpe

Editorial Comment
Thanks, Bill, for supplying us with this interesting article about lure fishing for trout. These highly predatory fish can be very agressive lure-eating machines and, given the right tackle, can provide some of the best rod-bending action out there!

Please e-mail any comments or feedback to us,
Nick Caine (Editor), or Brian Barwell (Deputy Editor)
NickCaine @ Talk21.com

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