Tips

Trout Fishing Tips (From Trevor Kugler, Yahoo Contributor Network)

As the weather begins to 'break' many anglers start to focus their attention on trout fishing and one of the best ways to catch these beautiful fish is to go worm fishing for them. I having been worm fishing for trout for more than twenty years and in that time have learned some keys to fishing with worms that have enabled me to experience a ton of trout fishing success. In this article I will outline some of the most important keys to success when trout fishing with worms so that you can use this information to your advantage.

The following tips for worm fishing for trout have worked well for me over the years and I know they will do the same for you. Before I get down to the "keys" themselves it's important to point out one mistake that many trout fishermen make that needs to be avoided in all trout fishing scenarios, but especially when you are trout fishing with worms. When fishing for trout you always want to use fishing line that's as light as possible. Many trout fishermen use fishing line that's entirely too heavy and it costs them dearly. Four pound test monofilament is a great place to start when it come to the fishing line that you use for trout fishing.

With that being said, let's get down to the keys to trout fishing with worms, what do you say?

Wash Your Hands - this is something that many anglers overlook when trout fishing. We, as humans, have a "scent" that all fish (and especially trout) can easily detect on any bait or lure that we touch with our fingers. And can you guess what tends to happen if the trout you are attempting to catch can smell the "human scent" on the fishing worm that they are thinking about eating? You guessed it, they tend not to bite the worm. For this reason you always want to make sure that your hands are free on any "human scents" before you touch your fishing worms. This can be accomplished by either washing your hands with odor neutralizing soap or by simply rubbing your hands with dirt or gravel.

Present Your Worm in a Natural Manner - Again, this is something that many trout fishermen tend to overlook when If you enjoy fishing with worms. Rather than just hooking a worm onto a single hook when worm fishing for trout, your fishing worm needs to be presented in the most natural manner possible. This means using a set of gang hooks or similar worm rig that allows a worm to be presented as bait in a natural manner. Your worm appearing to the trout the way that a worm naturally looks makes a huge difference in the number of "bites" you will receive.

Make Sure That Your Worms Are Lively - Dead or dying worms simply aren't very effective when used as bait for fishing, so you always want your worms to be as lively as possible. This means keeping your worms cool and not hooking them in such a way as to kill them. The bottom line is that you want your trout fishing worms to be as lively as possible when fishing for trout.

The aforementioned keys to trout fishing with worms will make you much more successful when fishing with worms for the popular game fish known as the trout.

Catch & Release fishing with a worm

A circle hook is a fishing hook designed so that the point is turned perpendicular to the shank to form a circular shape. The principal advantage to using circle hooks is that fish are almost never deep-hooked - research has found that circle hooks are more likely to hook a fish in the mouth rather than the gut, making them easier to remove and reducing harm to the fish

The principle behind the hook is simple: after the hook has been swallowed the fisherman applies pressure to the line, pulling the hook out of the stomach. The actual curved shape keeps the hook from catching in the gut cavity or throat. Instead, the hook slides toward the point of resistance and embeds itself in the jaw or in the corner of the fish's mouth.

Remember, don’t set the hook! Slowly and steadily reel in the slack in the line until the hook sets itself in the fish. This requires some patience and restraint... patience to make sure the fish has had time to swallow the bait... and restraint in the initial urge to forcefully set the hook

Ice Fishing Tips

Baits A number of baits are available to a mobile ice angler. You should have baits that will work for a number of different types of fish since you will undoubtedly be covering a lot of ground.

Swedish Pimple - these are probably the most popular ice fishing baits. It is always good to have a couple of different sizes. Swedish Pimples sizes are identified in numbers. The number 5 is the most typical size used for crappie and white perch. Size 7 or larger is typically used for bass and pike. The number 5 is equivalent to a 1/4 ounce lure. You will want to have a number of different colors of Swedish Pimples also. Red and chartreuse are the two colors I make sure are in my lure box.

"Tipping the Lure" Often you can increase your success by applying one more technique. 'Tipping the lure' entails putting some type of bait on the hooks of the lure. This can be a 'mousie' (a small white worm/larvae), a mealworm, a 'dilly' earthworm, or a piece of cut bait. The scent released from the 'tipping' can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. Often a fish will stop just inches from a suspended ice jig before striking. The use of fresh bait on the hook may be the key that makes the fish strike

I've never been a fan of fishing with worms. I always thought that worms were for kids and newbie fishermen. Over the last few years, some of my fishing partners have been constantly pressuring me to use worms for trout. I finally gave in and began to use them for specks. I still stand by my word that worms are for kids 'cause it's WAY TOO EASY to catch brookies with worms. In the past, I would rarely catch more than a half dozen trout while using spinners, spoons, flies... Now whenever I use worms, I'll almost always catch over a dozen brookies within a few short hours. Last summer, I caught 21 in 3 hours on a worm harness. I have also used worms for ice fishing and the results were the same: Total brook trout destruction!!!