March / April Trout Fishing Tips with simple tackle?
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I’m going to a memorial trout fishing derby this saturday and was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on the best way to catch trout with a spinning rod.. any lures or baits / presentation styles would be appreciated. I’m more of a bass / pike / walleye person so I don’t fish for trout very often, although I have caught some browns on jigs before.
Should also include that I’ll be fishing off the shore into Lake Ontario.. so it won’t be in a stream/river.
FishSteelhead: Thanks a lot for the answer, if I could give you the best answer right now I would. I assume I would be also adding an egg / bell sinker above the leader, just for castability, correct? I was also thinking of the gang hook concept (not 100% sure if it’s legal in Ontario, I’ll have to check) but if it’s legal, how would I set this up?
I would obviously use the bell sinker for baits (powerbait, crickets, etc.) not if I’m using a spinner or Rapala.
FishSteelhead: Actually the weights I was thinking of are egg-shaped and have a hole drilled through the center (for the egg sinkers) and the bell sinkers are shaped, well, like a bell and you tie your line at the top, leaving extra line to tie your hook at the end. But the idea of having a “sliding/walking” sinker is probably much better. I like the rig setup, thanks. Just need to get some extra swivels and leaders in case I get snagged.. need beads too, have the sliding sinkers though.
Blazer1: Good tip with the lighter color choices in darker water, thanks.
dcnewco: Good tip with the spinners – if I were to use a spinner or a spoon what size would you recommend, given that I need to get my line out there but at the same time I don’t want to be putting a huge lure at the end of my line? I would think that fish at this time of year are a little lethargic and would probably prefer smaller baits.
Aaron: Thanks for the fluorocarbon line tip. I was thinking about doing this.
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try not to be doom.
Artificial bait, Panther Martin and Blue Fox spinners, Rapala’s Original Floater (personal preference be Shad color ~ Black & Silver). Live bait could be any of the followin’, Earth Worms, Nightcrawlers, Grasshoppers, Hellgramites and Crickets. Store bought Salmon eggs orrrr everybodys back up, good old Power Bait
… < ' (( ( > < Update: On your additional info., ya' said you'd be fishin' from the shore, if ya' haven't already best ta' go with say 6 or 8 # test for your main line and a 4 or 6 # test leader respectively, bout' 18-20" in length. One more thing, if your usin' earth Worms or Nightcrawlers ya' may want to put what is known as a Cocktail Marshmellow (the small ones) ta' keep them afloat, thread hook thru Mellow to eye and then add the bait (neither one floats ~ this be the reason for the Marshmellow) Power Bait be good by itself ~ it floats 
. Good luck with the tourney/derby:).
2nd Update: When your referrin' to an egg/bell weight I'm assumin' your talkin' about what I call a slider (weight has hole thru it and lets weight travel freely up and down main line so fisheee's cannot feel the weight itself)? If that be the case, my way be just ta' slide weight on main line followed by a small red bead, tie barrel swivel (ball bearing type be the better ~ my choice are SPRO or Sampo) to end of main line and then other end to your leader. On the gang hook set-up all I use now are pre-snelled type (use to do up my own but, just got lazy), rig them up just like a conventional hook. Again, remember the mellows for the worms/nighcrawlers. I'll just put one on the top hook ta' keep it off the bottom ie., floatin'. Yes' just use your weight for live bait, salmon egg(s) or Power Bait and not the Rapala (doesn't do justice to the correct movement of the lure).
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DJ, as much as I appreciate the thought, I don't worry bout' them Yahoo points, so don't you ~ just go out and nail the H _ _ l outta' those Trout on Tourney day
Found this site that has gang hooks, plus a little more info., on usin' them...
http://www.jrwfishing.com/gang_hooks.asp
Hope this helps buttt, like I’ve conveyed before, “Sit tight, because hopefully there’ll be other Answers ppl with good input for ya’ also
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I prefer Rooster Tails or another spinner similar. Color is not really important…I have used them all with success; see how the water is for darker or lighter shades though.
If you are fishing the shores of Lake Ontario you want to use a set up that will get you out there. I’d fish 8-10 ft off the bottom with a night crawler rig or salmon egg sacks (preferably the freshly made kind). Be sure to use heavy egg sinkers to keep your bait still. Lake Ontario can get pretty rough. You can try the spinners from shore, but I am afraid you will not be able to cast them out to where you need to be without the added weight. The spinners and spoons would be an ideal choice if you were in a boat.
on trout i found it best to make the leader out of florocarbon line it always helps me here in arkansas