I am bad a trout fishing

[zaknorman75]

Hi all, I believe this is my second post on this site. Always lurking and reading however.

I have a problem, and it is that I seem to be incapable of catching a trout lol. I enjoy all types of fishing but spend most of my time fishing salt water. Over the past two years I have made quite a few trout fishing trips and have not a bite to show for it. I'm curious as to what I'm doing wrong. I feel I am pretty good at applying knowledge that I read on site's such as these, as I have had success for other species I otherwise don't fish for using knowledge gained on this site (shad, walleye for example). I'll give a quick overview of how I'm fishing, and also my experience this Sunday.

I'm fishing with a 5'6 uglystick spinning reel lined with 4lb test mono. I connect everything I throw to the smallest black snap swivel I can find. I use phobe's, spinners, trout magnets (both tipped and not tipped with powerbait), and power bait on a size 6 or 8 hook. I alternate between floating both the trout magnets and the plain hooks 6-8 inches below a very small bobber.

This Sunday I was on the Musky around the Port Murray area. I fished for 4 1/2 hours fishing walking up and down the river covering many miles of river. I fished multiple holes, fast water areas, and stead rolling stream areas. At one point I literally saw a 20+ inch rainbow sitting in a hole 6 feeet away from me. I literally plopped powerbait 2 inches from his mouth. Ran every lure past his face a could. Wouldn't even move. Not interested in snagging a fish, as that still wouldn't cure my "I'm-very-bad-at-trout-fishing-syndrome"

I've had at least 3 experiences similar to thus last year, and that was when I quit trout fishing for the year and moved to species I know I can catch.. What am I doing wrong? I admit I stick slightly off the beaten path, as I refuse to stand shoulder to shoulder next to a bridge or "main hole". Is that the only place trout live? Don't these fish move all throughout the river? For instance this past Sunday I parked at the "main hole" on the musky, and walked past it fishing along the river for about 2 miles until I hit the next bridge and "main hole"

Really just looking for tips and maybe someone to tell me its fishing and I've just had bad luck. I love fishing, and I want to love trout fishing but as of right now I am frustrated.

And just a note - any fish caught by me swims away, every time.

Genuinely appreciate any input.

Zak

[njflyfisher]

I've always heard if you see a fish the fish most likely see's you. Those big fish are pretty smart if you can see them. You also mentioned your fishing your trout magnet 6-8 inches below your float. You got to get your lure deep to where the fish sit. Early mornings fish will usually lay on the bottom and you have to get your lure there to get any hits. As the water warms up the fish can move up in the water column.
If you really want to catch a trout you might have to fish those popular holes. Learn to read the river and you will have more success. I've also realized that smaller presentations are also better. Stocked trout fishing isn't that hard. It wont be long until you get the hang of it. GoodLuck

[Dino]

first thoughts that come to mind are: why use a snap swivel at all... tie direct. try switching to 4lb flourocarbon instead of mono...maybe even lighter if the water is clear and the fish are smaller... switch to some lures or flies that no one else is throwing instead of the same old spinner.. i could be wrong but i would ditch the powerbait.. i think there are so much more fun ways to fish ... do a lot of internet homework to find out what is being stocked when, try to go for the freshly stocked fish instead of the old gnarly one that has seen all the lures..if you are lucky enough to find wild trout, same thing try to get a lure in front of them now in early spring before they see too much fishing pressure.. once you get the heat, and a few months of fishing pressure, its going to get really tough so keep going from now until june i would say, you'll definitely start catching. last thing i was thinking is : when i first started trout fishing i would always walk far away from the access points covering a lot of water thinking it was a good thing to do but to be honest i never caught much ! i started catching when i found out the honeyholes, and better yet the less known honey holes, and found a way to get there before anyone else with a really good fly they haven't seen, on lightest possible flouro. but dont go so light you cant land a big fish. good luck! just my thoughts

[Dino]

my honest advice if u dont want to stand shoulder to shoulder and u want to catch fish is switch to a fly rod.. start fishing Ken lockwood gorge.. lot of fish , stockies, wild fish, its all catch and release i think.. it was open all year round when i used to fish it. its crowded on nice weekends but weekdays u can find plenty of water .. loaded with fish .. stockies galore

[Dave B.]

"quote:At one point I literally saw a 20+ inch rainbow sitting in a hole 6 feeet away from me. I literally plopped powerbait 2 inches from his mouth. Ran every lure past his face a could. Wouldn't even move.":End Quote:
If you were that close to the fish you were entirely too close. Also 'plopping' your bait almost on top of its head will almost never elicit a strike. At the least they'll ignore it, at the worst they'll take off for cover. Lose the swivel. Present your cast well away from the fish or likely spot and allow it to drift into the desired location in as natural a manner as possible, as close to the bottom as possible. They may be hatchery raised but they're not entirely stupid, nor are they blind.

[RussH]

True. If I toss a Pellet at my Betta fishes head he ignores it completely and he KNOWS that's dinner. If I throw it a little bit away and it floats past him he pounces on it, does a dance and then flaps for more. Fish are predators.

[FASTEDDIE29]

There's Trout throughout the river regardless of the recent stocking! Keep that rod tip high and play around with different bait drifting techniques! PB, eggs, works and butters should give you primo results granted your in the right hole! I hit a stream close to home and caught about 25 Trout including a few holdovers all on the bumble bee pattern rooster tail! They seem to be going after lots of different bait and lure choices so far this year! Good luck and let us know how you do! :D

[River Renegade]

That 20" trout was probably spooked and scared that's why it wasn't budging. Keep on trying different lures & baits, and one day you'll land him. Good luck to you.

[Jigman13]

Eliminate the swivel asap. Tie direct. If bait fishing #10 hook or smaller. Split shot 18-24" above hook. Size of shot varies by speed of current, depth and size of bait. Sweep seams, current edges and pools AWAY from where you are standing. If u see fish they certainly see you. Cast bait upstream keep rod tip up to feel your split shot ticking the bottom. If you're snagging often then you need lighter shot and better control of your line. It takes time to adjust to and you have to find a set up that caters to your need . Absurd amount of trout to be caught. Good luck

[AndyS]

Jigs, you can thank me later.

[NJSquatch]

Jigs, you can thank me later.

+1.....

[Jigman13]

+2!!

[bigfishy]

+3 for any and all species

[dfish28]

I'll put a few cent in on this...
First off as said before, loose the snap period bro!!, my favorite go to spinner is the "prop blade" rooster tail spinner in white, this is mainly for streams. I believe it's 1/16th of an ounce, looks almost like an inline buzz bait with its propeller shaped spinner that doesn't need to be reeled at all to give action: buy 3 of them and a few other colors you like- get them for sure.
Second: did you say Bobber? Lol, loose them as well for a stream unless using fatheads... Use split shot heavy enough to just hold bottom depending on current, I think 7 in slow and 5 for faster if I'm right, I prefer the round non removable style, seems like less snags.
Third: my go to bait method for bait fishing- I call this the "million dollar rig"
Take a mealworm on a size 12 hook, 10 if going for larger: I prefer the red gamikatsu octopus hook, no larger! - hook the worm in through center of the legs/neck area and out through the back of its head: I like the superworms you can get from one of our sponsors - Effingers in bound brook- they are the only one I know that carry them.... Here's the next more technical step...
Take some power bait, I prefer the ones with glitter or gulp in cheese,chartreuse,orange,or white take a clump large enough to be the size of a salmon egg! Roll this between your index and middle finger to form a coil(small sausage shape) once you have an even coil, place this coil above the head ov the worm, but allow a little overlap and close the coil around the hook and tippy top of the worms head and form that into a ball and keep the tip of the worms head inside the outer ball of PB to make it look as a worm is gorging on an egg in the water
Lastly and for some reason at lakes with bigguns my top secret is power eggs in white (anal beads) tipped with a waxworm or two, don't ask me why but it's dialed me in 4 breeders last Sunday- only day I fished and my 7# tiger plus many others last year... You don't have to listen, but these are my suggestions
I may not post much anymore, but I do fish!
Tight lines!!
Adam out.

[americandesi]

Zak there are a lot of good suggestions here. When I first started fishing for trout about 20 years ago, I read the book Fishing for Trout by Andy Gennaro. That book has a lot good info for someone just starting out. I also suggest watching YouTube videos of people fishing local streams to see what is working for others.

One other suggestion I have is to see if you can catch stocked trout either in a small pond or one of the numerous small brooks & streams that are stocked in NW Jersey before you fish a larger stream like the Musky. You'll have an easier time finding the fish. Once you have good day fishing a local brook, and you get a good idea of where the fish are then give the Musky another shot. The Musky in Stevens St. Park is a good place to learn how to catch stocked trout before the water there warms up in June and the fish disappear.

[americandesi]

Oh yeah. Stocked trout love butterworms. Cuz here on njfishing turned me on to them. Most of the local bait places should have them now. Or you can buy them online from http://www.elliotsbutterworms.com/

[zaknorman75]

caught 3 today! Plus a white sucker. Could not have done it without the input from everyone on this thread! Thank you. Pictures to come Monday!

[Dino]

caught 3 today! Plus a white sucker. Could not have done it without the input from everyone on this thread! Thank you. Pictures to come Monday!

nice work !!

[sam18014]

i would teach u how to get job done