Hook selection
First of all, you need to choose the right hook. Here you need to focus on the size and weight of the bait itself. Keep in mind that a product that is too heavy will drown the silicone worm, press it to the bottom, and this will reduce the possibility of a successful catch. At the same time, a hook that is too small is inconvenient to remove from the fish. Therefore, it is better to opt for large hooks made of light thin wire. They allow the bait to float freely in the water, imitating living organisms, while at the same time being easy to retrieve.
To avoid confusion, look for hooks designed specifically for trout fishing, such as Mustad's Ultra Point or Owner Mosquito. They are impressive in size and lightweight at the same time. At the same time, you should not be afraid that the wire will straighten out while fishing for large fish. If you use a quality product, it will easily support the weight of even very large fish. But on hooks, extension is possible, but only if you put a lot of effort into it.
Article on the topic: Characteristics of catchable trout spoons
TOP 5 silicone baits
All silicone baits for trout can be divided into two groups:
- those that imitate crustaceans, the so-called nymphs;
- silicone worms.
Let's look at the most popular of them.
- Lucky John Hogy Hog 1, 2 is a typical drowning “nymph” 3 cm long. Outwardly, it looks like either a shrimp or a small squid. It has a pronounced smell and taste of shrimp. Made in several colors (blue, pink, green, etc.)
- Lucky John Wiggler Worm is a passive silicone lure that imitates a worm. It reaches approximately 6 cm in size. Designed specifically for luring trout. Taste and smell - shrimp. Made in ten different colors.
- Lucky John King Leech is another representative of silicone worms measuring about 5 cm. It has a ribbed surface, making it easy to animate in water, imitating a living worm. Made in a wide color palette.
- Lucky John Unagi Slug is a passive floating worm-like bait that resembles a small fish in appearance. It has slits in the body and small fins. Made in three sizes: 6.3 cm, 7.6 cm and 8.9 cm and ten color options. Created to attract predatory fish, it has a pronounced smell and taste of mackerel.
- Lucky John Floating Trout Slug is another bait made of silicone in the form of a small worm about 6 cm long. It is used specifically for feeding trout, but is also good for other fish. Has 9 different color options.
Article on the topic: How to catch trout
Artificial baits
The gear for catching trout in winter with artificial bait is an ordinary fishing rod for trolling from a fishing store with a fishing line of 0.2-0.3 mm (depending on the expected size of the prey). For large fish, it is better to prepare more reliable tackle - a special carbon fiber fishing rod with a reel with a friction clutch. It is more convenient to fish for large trout using the American method - with a rod and reel, rather than using fishing line. However, this is a matter of taste and skill. The elasticity of the fishing rod is selected depending on the baits used. For balancers and ratlins, for example, a whip of the tackle that is too soft and collapses when thrown is not suitable. Gear for winter trout fishing must be both durable and neat. This fish will tear the weak equipment, but it may not take it with a thick fishing line.
Spoons
Tackle for winter trout is selected depending on the weight of the spoon used. For small jig-like spinners, the equipment is thinner - a soft whip, a 0.2 mm fishing line, and a nod corresponding to the weight of the bait. For larger baits and a fishing rod, a larger caliber is needed. If the trout is actively biting, the hooks remain bare. For passive fish, a shrimp is attached to the hook. This disrupts the play of the spinner, but for passive fish it is not important - the sluggish play of the bait and the smell of the bait are much more important. Trout prefer small, elongated spoons that deviate slightly to the side after being released. Sometimes the spotted cat responds better to natural silvery colors, at other times it responds better to bright, pink or orange shades. Read more about winter trout fishing with spoons.
Ratlins
Trout responds well to winter rattles - the main thing is that the game should not be too sweeping and amplitude. Winter wobblers attract spotted predators with their low-frequency play, similar to the movements of a wounded fish. No other bait has such a game. The gear for winter trout fishing on the platform with ratlins is the same as for other baits. In principle, this is a set for experimentation - spinners, ratlins and balancers are used in turn in order to identify a working option. Small models, 4-5 cm long, are suitable. Each bait requires its own unique game. An article about fishing for trout with winter wobblers.
Balancers
Fishing for trout on a balance beam in winter follows the same principles - small baits are used. Color – natural or provocative, depending on the preferences of the fish. There are no special balancers for trout - you can use any that are suitable in size and move well to the side with a short stroke. The best balancers for trout in winter are those that, with a short stroke, move to the side, turn around and return to their place head first. This point is important - many cheap models do not have such a clear game. It is better to check this point at home in advance. In principle, the iris responds perfectly to any small balance beams (up to 7 cm) with normal play.
The tee must be decorated with red pile, beads or beads. An excellent option is ready-made threesomes with drops. The hooks on the bait should be sharp and tenacious - often the predator does not attack out of food interest, but pokes the bait with its nose, aggressively driving away the competitor. Such pokes can manifest themselves in nodding shudders. You need to cut right away. Accordingly, the nod to the balancer is selected according to all the rules.
In your arsenal you need to have balancers of natural colors, and, for example, bright green with a red tail. The former work better on passive fish, the latter on active fish. During periods of poor bite, you can attach a shrimp to the tee. This, of course, disrupts the game, but it often happens that such a maneuver becomes the key to success.
Balancers for trout fishing in winter should not be used as actively as for perch. The spotted one prefers small jerks of the tackle, no more than 10-15 cm, with a long pause. Measured, low-amplitude play is important. The entire horizon of water should be checked with the tackle, from top to bottom. You can lower the rig a little lower after each wiring. Another option is to lower the tackle half a meter lower after several cycles. The main thing is not to rush and do everything measuredly. Frequent play can alert the fish; unnecessary movements and strong twitches should not be made.
There are times when the iris (with its general love for small lures) takes larger balancers well - 7-8 cm. Therefore, sometimes it is worth checking larger decoys. Selecting a balancer is a matter of experimenting with tackle. It is important not to overdo it with the game of tackle - the predator is more likely to react to trembling and sluggish twitching than to a wildly jumping piece of iron.
Edible rubber and silicone
Recently, winter trout fishing with rubber has been gaining momentum. To do this, use small jig heads or large bright jigs. The iris loves either pink-orange shades or natural colors. It is better to use edible rubber with a flavor as a refill. Silicone bugs, crustaceans and octopuses are all suitable. Size – up to 5 cm. Fishing for trout with rubber from ice follows the same rules. The best way to move the tackle is to slowly lower the bait to the bottom, naturally and without strong jerks.
Loading Features
Now you need to decide on the load. The most popular today is the Carolina rig with a bullet-shaped sinker. Since trout often tend to live in the lower water column, it is better to choose a bullet with a more rounded shape. Dragging along the bottom, such a sinker will actively muddy the water, thereby getting the fish interested in what is happening. In addition, rounded bullets roll more easily over rocky river bottoms.
If we are fishing for trout in the upper layers of water and we need to maintain the buoyancy of the bait, then we should use a floating weight. These can be water-filled floats, bombards or bobbers. The main thing is to correctly calculate the strength of the current and the mass of the load.
Nuances of the biting process
As for the bite, this also has its own characteristics. Trout is a very delicate fish, and it takes the bait very carefully. Only a couple of barely noticeable jolts will indicate that she is interested in the worm. If you miss this moment, the fish will swallow the bait and it will be impossible to remove the hook without injuring the trout. For the same reason, many fishermen use fluorocarbon in combination with braided line as a line, since the latter better conveys that the biting process has begun.
Article on the topic: Trout spawning: both in nature and artificially
And finally, I would like to add that trout are more actively interested in objects located further away from it, at a distance of up to 5–6 meters. Therefore, for fishing it is better to choose a place with clear and clean water. This will increase your chances of catching and also allow you to observe the reaction of the fish.
We hope that these tips will help you successfully go fishing with ease and excitement and get real pleasure from the process!
"Silicon" trout
For those who follow the sports life of Russian spinning players, we know about the fairly good performance of our team at the last world championship in spinning fishing from the shore, held in Croatia. Namely about silver medals. This event was covered in great detail on the fishing Internet portal fishingplanet.ru and almost everyone could track the progress of the tournament online. Now I am not going to return to the topic of the competition itself, but I would like to share the best practices and features of trout fishing that we learned from the tournament itself and preparation for it.
You're probably wondering now: how can it be that you pick something up, invent it, work it out, and then suddenly go ahead and tell it, and everyone will know about it without wasting any effort.
And then they will use your work. Partially true, but I think you can already guess where I’m going with this. No need to stop there!
I came up with something, showed it in practice, well done, didn’t show it - well done, maybe it will help someone else. But at the same time, the head will work, and the thought will go towards inventing something new that can again bring results. Moreover, when you do something yourself, you understand much more nuances and subtleties in it than when you spied it from someone or were told it to you.
And if athletes keep all the information, all their experience to themselves, our sport will never be widespread and popular. Play as openly as possible and share your experiences - then fishing will be much more popular and interesting for ordinary fans.
First experience
In general, the main technical preparation was before the training itself, when a thorough preparation of the expected working tires, weights, and everything else began. We were faced with a difficult task - to make up for the practice of catching trout with rubber that had been lost over several years. Of course, I caught trout in pay zones using silicone, but it was of the “whatever you throw at it, it eats” kind of thing. And of course, I had no experience in fishing in natural conditions. Actually, this was the main attitude not only for me, but for the entire team. And more specifically, to understand and experience fishing with silicone, since our team, regardless of composition, did not experience any problems with other baits.
Even during training for the World Championships in Andorra, we tried to catch trout using silicone. But the key word here is “tried,” since it immediately became clear that spinners and wobblers are much more effective. Perhaps the team paid for this, finishing only in seventh place last year.
And the main mistake and flaw was precisely the lack of experience in fishing with rubber. Well, we stepped on the same rake twice, and this cannot be allowed to happen a third time. Therefore, preparations for training before the championship in Croatia came down to almost nothing but a “silicon boom”. If something happens, you can always switch to more familiar wobblers and spinners, but there are a lot of questions with rubber.
Despite the fact that we had practically no technical experience in fishing with rubber, in theory we were quite well versed. Discussing and watching videos from the last championship in Andorra, the general technique of fishing with silicone was approximately clear. Direct participants in those events shared their knowledge and what they were able to spy on their opponents.
All that remained was to put all this into practice. And it was for this purpose that a training trip to the championship site was organized. And for the first time, the training process was as close as possible to the competition conditions, since we placed the main emphasis on released fish, and not on local fish, which behave differently. Although usually during training we caught local, resident trout. And as you know, in recent years this has not led to anything good...
The fishing conditions themselves also served very well. The Krka River has a fairly strong current, but not the same as on mountain rivers, and the depth in some places was very decent. Basically, all places were visible, and the fishing was visual. This is where it was possible to observe how the trout reacted to this or that bait, to different feeding techniques. Namely, the presentation of the bait is largely decisive. In general, almost everything was in full view, so it was possible to draw certain conclusions and conclusions.
Although I caught my first “silicone” trout from deep areas, when I didn’t see how it pecked, but only felt it. By the way, it’s even easier to fish this way, because without seeing how the trout reacts to the bait, you make fewer unnecessary movements. You just do the wiring as you see fit, and she’ll figure it out on her own whether she likes it or not. When the trout goes for the bait in front of your eyes, then doubts begin - whether to stop it, or to speed it up, and the decision is not always the right one.
Two fishing techniques
After several days of fishing, I determined for myself that trout can be provoked to bite in two ways. Moreover, they are both quite effective, and it is impossible to say which is better and which is worse, since everything depends only on the trout itself. And what’s most interesting is that each fish reacts to the bait offered to it in completely different ways, somehow in its own way. One feeding option is passive, simulating the most natural food object. And the other, correspondingly, is active, infuriating the trout, forcing it to rush to the bait.
In the clear water of a Croatian river it was very interesting and instructive to observe how the trout responded to changes in the behavior of the bait. Either actively catching up, then stopping a couple of centimeters from her.
The first type of bait presentation is characterized by the most natural movements. That is, having cast the bait upstream, we let it fall to the bottom, then we either do a very slow retrieve or don’t turn the reel at all. In this case, our imitation of the food object will almost freely roll along the bottom and be carried away by the current. Here it’s also a good idea to move the spinning rod forward in some places or even let a little fishing line off the reel so that the current doesn’t stretch the arc and change the trajectory of the bait’s drift. After all, if some worm is carried away by the current near the bottom, and then it suddenly takes it and turns towards the shore against the current, it will seem somewhat strange... But if it continues to swim along a straight path, the trout simply will not be able to ignore it. Bites very often occur precisely when the bait rolls along the bottom without tension on the line.
But in the conditions of this river, namely practically a “pipe”, it is quite difficult to perform such a serve. Therefore, you can resort to a more, as it seemed to me, simpler option - leading the trout to a reflexive attack. When something starts to flash in front of her, she will definitely pay attention to it, and if she is in the mood, she will start chasing. Having caught up with the bait, she can quickly notice the catch and ignore it, but if she makes a sharp jerk again, she, as a rule, continues the pursuit.
Of course, you can pull like this for a long time, and the trout can follow the bait all the way to the shore, but still not grab it. Here everything will depend on each individual trout - either it will still grab the annoying victim, or will leave it alone.
The only thing to keep in mind is that this feeding technique works best using the upstream method. And when the bait, accelerating and jumping quickly enough, rushes past the trout, it will definitely react to it, and with a high degree of probability will try to grab it without a doubt. But if you start to pull the bait from downstream, it may seem strange, and despite the fact that the trout will follow it, a decisive grip, as in the first case, may not follow.
And there is one very important nuance here, I would call it the optimal attack zone. Again, everything was noticed thanks to the clear water in the river and the current, which made it possible to see the fish and its reaction. So, it was clearly visible that most often the bait is interested in trout when it passes at a certain distance from it. Moreover, it is better to increase this distance upward. It happens that the trout takes off after the bait, which swims as much as 5–7 m away from it, attracting it with something.
But the attempt to put the bait right under her nose most often ended in nothing. Apparently, the specifics of her vision and sense of touch, as well as her way of eating, are structured in such a way that she pays more attention to distant objects.
There are different types of rubber...
Now is the time to talk about what to offer the trout. As I already said, we had plenty of all kinds of silicone. And there was a big task in determining the best baits. I caught my first “silicone” trout using pink Ecogear rubber, on a regular hinged mount with a Cheburashka. And almost immediately I fell in love with the color pink. Trout really really like rubber in pink shades. The good thing about a paramax twister is that it is equipped with additional “wings” that slow down its fall a little and make it float more.
I must say that this works quite well on trout. With this rubber, what I liked most was using fairly heavy weights, from 3 to 5 g. And, accordingly, the optimal conditions for use are deeper areas of the reservoir, where you most often do not see trout, but rather fish blindly.
Gary Yamamoto
Gary Yamamoto's edible rubber also coped with the task of gliding and slowing down when falling. From the entire bait you need to cut off only the tail and attach it to a regular rig with a single bait. Firstly, such a bait plans well, and secondly, when twitching, due to the large shovel on the tail, it creates additional movements that trout clearly like. But, having torn the tail off this bait, you should not forget about it. The remaining part will be useful to us later. And not only for trout fishing, but also for a variety of equipment, such as a retractable leash.
And in relation to trout, you can attach this bait to a jig head in a “boat” style. When falling, it plays like a vibrator, performing all sorts of pirouettes from side to side. I must say that it was precisely this kind of installation that helped me catch several fish in competitions that were extremely passive. And other baits could not interest them.
Berkley tracks
If we talk about trout fishing using passive technology, that is, imitating the predator’s natural food source as much as possible, here caterpillars from Berkley take the unconditional lead. After the World Championships in Andorra, this bait was a clear favorite among competitors. After the competition, Andrey Pitertsov pulled out of the water such a bait, consisting of three segments (caterpillars). In Croatia, of course, we tried to fish with three inextricably connected tracks at once, but the best option turned out to be one and a half or two. It is best if some part of the bait dangles freely. If we talk about mounting on a jig head, then, of course, it is better to attach one segment, since two will look too bulky. But when mounting on a Cheburashka and a single, I liked most of all mounting two tracks.
It’s safe to say that the bite with this bait was much more stable and better than with all the others. I purposefully experimented several times with replacing the bait in the same place. And they proved the superiority of these particular tracks. Although, of course, the very fact of changing the bait to trout has a very positive effect. In general, many athletes used this technique during the championship, trying to surprise the trout with something new, and not without success.
But most often it makes sense to do such alternation in different classes of baits, that is, alternate rubber, wobbler, spinner.
Cuttlefish
A good alternative to caterpillars are cuttlefish from the same Berkley brand. In general, it is quite difficult to link this bait with anything resembling the larva of aquatic insects. And according to the rules of the World Cup, the use of imitations of aquatic larvae is prohibited. By the way, already at the championship itself it became clear that only artificial bloodworms fit this definition, and all other rubber can be used. Another confirmation of the popularity and catchability of this bait was that it “lit up” at previous championships, as well as during training in the water area where Croatian athletes held selections (several such baits equipped with jig heads were caught).
And indeed, the trout showed a certain interest in her. But it seemed to me that this bait has a very good attracting effect, but it doesn’t come to bite often. There are also a lot of idle bites on it due to its relatively large size - small trout simply pinch it by the tentacles, but do not swallow it.
And since at the championship itself the trout released were noticeably smaller than those for which we trained, I practically did not catch with this bait.
Although the trout jumped out for it, perhaps more often than for all the others, there was a problem with the implementation. True, many athletes managed to catch it, especially Croats.
DAM
My first acquaintance with this tire from the new DAM trout program was during training in Andorra. But since things didn’t work out with the rubber there, these baits didn’t receive the attention they deserved. It’s a different matter in Croatia, when the psychological barrier has been broken, trout bite on rubber quite well, and there is an opportunity to position. This is where they showed their best side.
The best models, in my opinion, were Ball Head Worm and Long Tail Worm. I had this tire, first of all, for active tactics, that is, the fastest possible driving and frequent jerks. When making frequent and sometimes strong jerks, the trout rushed very willingly at this tailless pink stick.
Mounting options
There are a lot of options for installing trout rubber. It is clear that they are all subject to certain rules and should not go beyond them. Namely, equipping the bait with a weight in the head without separating the bait from the weight. That is, any kind of spaced baits are prohibited.
But at this championship, Cheburashkas seemed to be allowed. And it so happened that during the training the main emphasis was on the installation option with the Cheburashka. Firstly, it is much more effective in many respects, and much closer to our experience of use.
Unlike Western countries, where the culture of trout fishing with silicone is mainly reduced to jig heads or various kinds of hook loading. But literally a few days before leaving for the championship, I found out that no one seemed to allow Cheburashkas, and I urgently had to catch up on jig heads.
I must say that I did a colossal amount of work preparing the various heads in the remaining time. Thank God, Cheburashkas were eventually allowed, which was to our advantage. But at competitions of this level you need to have absolutely everything, and by the way, jig heads also come in handy.
Everyone knows that tungsten is heavier than lead, and when fishing for trout it is extremely important that the bait is compact, but at the same time heavy, in order to reach the bottom as quickly as possible or stay on strong currents. That is why the best cores for spinners are tungsten, as are, in fact, jig heads for rubber. But since tungsten is much more expensive than lead and less easy to process, it is almost impossible to find ready-made tungsten spoons or jig heads on sale, so you have to make them yourself. And here tungsten weights for fly fishing from Axis came to the rescue, as well as Briscola float olives, which are the best suited for rebuilding spinners.
Using two cones and one tungsten ball, it is very convenient to assemble a jig head on any hook. The main thing is that the hook has a long enough shank. We simply put the cones and the ball on the hook one by one, and then put them on glue or simply fix them with special locking rubber bands. This option allows you to change the design of the jig head at any time.
Also, with the help of Axis weights, it is possible to design different equipment options, fixing either just one ball or several, or a cone, on the hook. You can also use a cone to make the overall structure heavier when mounting it with a Cheburashka, without changing its size. Sometimes it is also very effective.
Tackle
I can’t say that fishing for trout with silicone requires some unusual gear, but there is no way to bypass this issue in this context. During training, I fished more with the new Pontoon21 Seven&Half 1.8–7 g Jig&finesse spoon rod. This is the lightest model in the entire line, and it is designed specifically for fishing with small silicone baits and spoons.
The spinning rod did an excellent job with the task assigned to it, allowing you to feel even the most accurate trout bite without visual contact and perform the necessary animation of the bait.
Typical trout spinning rods are considered to be rods with a more pronounced soft action. But it is almost impossible to cast a silicone bait with a “noodle” spinning rod, and most importantly, to give it the correct animation. And the supposedly large number of failures from stiffer rods can be classified as less significant criteria. Since, without making the correct wiring and without tempting the fish to attack, you will not get a single strike at all, but you will not see the fish either.
You always need to look for a reasonable compromise in the rigidity of the spinning rod, but, in my opinion, convenience for retrieving should be put first, and only then hooking and retrieving. By the way, another similar controversial point is the use of braided or monofilament fishing line. In general, if you understand this issue seriously, there may even be enough material for an entire article. But now, in a nutshell, based on real facts, I will state my opinion on this issue.
When I started fishing for trout, I used only monofilament and believed that the use of braid had an extremely negative effect on the bites of this fish. But I quickly realized that this was completely wrong. At the moment, I think the use of monofilament can only be determined by technical criteria. That is, when fishing on typical mountain rivers with a seething stream and stones, it would be more logical to use a “monk”. It is not as susceptible to abrasion as braid, and dragging a fish through a stream on a stiff line is also very difficult. The monofilament provides additional shock absorption, which prevents the fish from getting off.
In almost all other cases, I do not see the need to use monofilament. With braid, the cast is further, the sensitivity is higher, and the control over the bait is better. And as I already said regarding rods, I think the wiring itself and control over it are much more important.
At past competitions, I was completely convinced of this several times. I did the first experiment during training, finding a place where there were quite a lot of trout and they were biting, I purposefully changed the braided line to monofilament to see which would bite better and which would be more convenient to catch. I endured this torment for less than half an hour, during which I caught only one trout, although there were a lot of bites, but this “elastic band of panties” did not give any chance of making a normal hook. Apparently, it was necessary to cut trout, like bass or pike perch. Having replaced the braided line, during the same time I caught about 7 pieces. But it should be noted that the fishing was “blind” and at a fairly large distance - not the most advantageous conditions for monofilament.
The second time to test again the theories about reducing slippage with monofilament, the devil pulled me right back at the World Championships itself. Having received a fair number of retirements in the first two starts, for the third I took a spare spinning rod with monofilament. For the entire forty-five minutes that the tour went on, I blamed myself for this mistake. I managed to get into a sector where quite a lot of trout were practically under my feet, and most importantly, they reacted to the bait offered to them. But it was almost impossible to hook a fish, and even if it did, it immediately went away. I can’t say that I used dull hooks... I managed to pull out only one trout, and that was from the opposite bank. Having replaced the braided line again at the next start, we managed to catch two trout in a difficult sector.
At the tournament itself, I did not use the spinning rod described above for several reasons. Firstly, the fish we caught during training weighed an average of 300–400 grams; for the competition we were given 100–200 grams... It was also expected that types of bait would be changed very frequently, and a universal tool was needed that would work equally well with wobblers and rubber.
These spinning rods were Daiko Featherweight 702 UL-T (test from 0.8 to 7 g) as the main one and the same, only with a smaller test (from 0.5 to 5 g) 682 XUL-T, as a spare. The improved line of popular Japanese ultralight spinning rods turned out to be the most suitable for these fishing conditions. Thanks to the added rigidity, the rod is ideal for fishing with wobblers and rubber, and, of course, with spinners.
