Tips for Trout

By Captain John Bond of Rod Dipper Charters, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada

I am sure that there are plenty of anglers out there who are chasing speckled trout. If you are like me, you have your favourite lures. Here are two that your buddy may not have, and you better have: The Gibbs Toronto Wobbler and the Koho Spoon, in great combinations of nickel/brass/copper, and many other bright colour combinations. Simply remove the rear hook, add a short length of monofilament line, a sharp snelled hook and worm, Gibbs Wedding Band or Sparkler and you have a winner!

A couple of years ago, I spent two months fishing in Bermuda. One day while working on the charter boat, I asked the Captain if we were fishing a thermal barrier. He said "No man, it is a trash line." (Called a Tide Line on the West Coast of Canada, a scum line in the East. Whatever you call it, FISH IT! They generally have debris floating in a tight meandering line, and in fresh water, one side is warmer than the other. I tend to fish the warm side as there is less chance of all floating things attaching to my lines. Top that off with a Fire Orange Crystal Gator Spoon up high or a lure with lots of colour and vary your speeds. This acts like a barrier line and the fish will not pass it.

On a more geographical note, with the return of great Coho fishing in Lake Ontario, do not forget the old standby, a Red Herring Dodger and lure combination. Wait a minute, your fishing buddy wants to troll at 2.5 mph! - Not so good for your dodger set up. Here is the fix for the problem: Lengthen the lead on your downrigger to 75 feet, now watch the rod tips pulse nice and slow. It will not be long before the action begins!

Talking about the lead length, if there are no fish on the screen, what should you do? When I encounter this problem, my boat speed pushes 4 mph. To have proper lure action, I stretch the lead length 40 to 50 feet more than usual. The reason is that the longer the lead, the slower the lure moves. Think of the possibilities knowing this!

This tip is my Favourite: I have a spot I call the "PLAY ZONE." I do know that there are always fish there some place, but the trick is the current. I have a speed sensor that goes down on the downrigger to help me sort out which direction the current is running, and I always troll somewhat into the current with much better action. To do this, stay at the same boat speed, watch your downrigger cable angle. The slow way, cables straight down, the fast way lots of cable angle, try it! Fish face into the current looking for an easy meal to drift by.

Slip Sinkers are a wonderful tool, but how deep is the lure? Usually, it is best to guess as to how much line to let out. Not any more! You can develop, with some work, a graph that tells all, each size needs to be tested. Set up your slip sinker, say 100 feet of lead, now troll to shallow water, watch for the weight to contact bottom. When it does, you know how deep the lure is. Each lead length, do the same, before long you will have a great chart, now that sounds better than a guess and will improve your catch.!