You've got to love trout. They live in beautiful places, are opportunistic feeders that fight hard and put on great acrobatic displays. With the season now open we thought it time to give you a few tips to help you increase your catch rate this year.
- Approach from downstream or don't bother - Trout will sit facing into the current so they can see food drifting downstream. By approaching from dowsntream of their position and casting your lure up and across the current you are less likely to spook these often wary feeders.
- Re-sharpen or Replace - Trout have hard mouths so having needle sharp hooks will definitely get more hookups. If your hooks have been rattling around a tackle box for a season or two that ultra fine point will likely be worn down. It's time to re-sharpen or replace them.
- Early & Late - While trout will feed right through the day there are definite advantages to fishing early and late. These change of light periods often see an increase in feeding activity. There are usually less anglers about too and the lower light conditions will mean trout will be less likely to spook off your leader.
- Change it up - We all have our favourite lures but fishing the same lure all day can lessen productivity. Be sure to think about each location and change your lure accordingly. Is the lure that dives to 1m going to be the best bet on that deep, dark, slow pool? Possibly a soft plastic twitched along the bottom or a blade allowed to sink deep before being retrieved would be a better bet.
- Make it smell - If you're getting short strikes or follows from unconvinced trout it may be a good idea to add some scent to your lures. Not only will this make the lure smell more 'real' to the trout but it will mask the plastic smell of a 'straight from the packet' lure.
Right, the last bit of advice we have is get out on the water. You can't catch more fish from behind a computer. Good Luck!
