[fishfinder]

You definitely want a nice soft rod to eat up the shock from any quick burst. Keep in mind trout have soft mouths and you really don't want to put much pressure on them, just let them do what they are gonna do (especially out in open water where snags are not an issue). Also, I'm not a big fan of real big baits when trout fishing and in regard to how you hook them, I go through the nose.