I need help targeting big brown trout

guest2014

Hi, I fish a small to medium sized boggy lake in the west of Ireland, it contains perch, brown trout and bream. I fish from fishing stands on the shore. The methods I use are bubble and worm, bubble and maggot, swim feeder with maggots, fly and bubble and very rarely spinning. This year I have just caught perch using mostly bubble and maggot, but I want to catch trout, especially the 3 pound plus trout that I see jumping every evening I go fishing. anyone any ideas how I can do this?

KevinEIRE

Hi,
What I find about trout is that if I fish lower in the water, I seem to catch more trout than any other fish. Try fishing without the bubble and go to the very bottom. I just use a very simple rig which involves a sinker, swivel, a lead shot, then the hook. It stays at the very bottom always. Watch out for snags though!
Good luck.

guest2014

KevinEIRE wrote: »

Hi,
What I find about trout is that if I fish lower in the water, I seem to catch more trout than any other fish. Try fishing without the bubble and go to the very bottom. I just use a very simple rig which involves a sinker, swivel, a lead shot, then the hook. It stays at the very bottom always. Watch out for snags though!
Good luck.

Hi, yes I have caught trout on maggot swim feeder in the past, would you say the 3 pound plus trout would go for maggots? do you use worm or maggot when fishing off the bottom for trout?

thefisherbuy

Hi,

Well Targeting a big brownie is hard, It's hard to get big brownies I think it took me 5 years to get my first really big 5lb trout (i got him on dry fly) from my river, I don't know if its like this with lakes, But sometime if you try a fry lure at night that's your best chance, Or getting up at dawn and target a trout rising for dry flies, i think if your any good with the fly rod, Give it a go with a smallish dry fly, when you see a big trout rising... Remember: Presentation is key not distance!


Good luck.

guest2014

thefisherbuy wrote: »

Hi,

Well Targeting a big brownie is hard, It's hard to get big brownies I think it took me 5 years to get my first really big 5lb trout (i got him on dry fly) from my river, I don't know if its like this with lakes, But sometime if you try a fry lure at night that's your best chance, Or getting up at dawn and target a trout rising for dry flies, i think if your any good with the fly rod, Give it a go with a smallish dry fly, when you see a big trout rising... Remember: Presentation is key not distance!


Hi, I have tried dry flies with a clear bubble in the past, I am not a fly fisher though but have tried the bubble and fly because I thought fly's might be the best way to target the trout and avoid the perch. I will try dawn with the dry fly and maybe worm fished off the bottom. would anyone recommend using a spinner? I think I read that spinning is best in spring or autumn for trout?

guest2014

what worms are best for trout? earthworms or dendrobaena worms?

kildare lad

ive caught trout spinning small mepps and blue fox vibrax spinners size 2 and 3 works for me... dont catch them that often but wen i do thats what they normally come in on.. try the gold n copper blades, i heard using live minnow are good as well never used that method before but will try it sometime!!

Kess73

guest2014 wrote: »

thefisherbuy wrote: »

Hi,

Well Targeting a big brownie is hard, It's hard to get big brownies I think it took me 5 years to get my first really big 5lb trout (i got him on dry fly) from my river, I don't know if its like this with lakes, But sometime if you try a fry lure at night that's your best chance, Or getting up at dawn and target a trout rising for dry flies, i think if your any good with the fly rod, Give it a go with a smallish dry fly, when you see a big trout rising... Remember: Presentation is key not distance!


Hi, I have tried dry flies with a clear bubble in the past, I am not a fly fisher though but have tried the bubble and fly because I thought fly's might be the best way to target the trout and avoid the perch. I will try dawn with the dry fly and maybe worm fished off the bottom. would anyone recommend using a spinner? I think I read that spinning is best in spring or autumn for trout?

A spinner is an effective method of catching trout, but it is also a very effective way to catch perch, and have found that the same spinners that work well for trout are just as attractive to perch.

Given where you are fishing in an area with a good population of perch I would tend to either fish deeper with a ledgered worm (which may still get some attention from perch but not as much as the bubble held worm) or go with what thefisherbuy said (but be aware that perch will come to the surface for a fly so you still might catch a few of them, although a good sized perch can give a great fight on a fly set up ).

Bio Mech

I would ditch the bubble and get some proper floats. Good sized wagglers would help you catch.

I would plumb the depth and fish slider if needed. Spray maggots regularly to get the trout to feed. I had my three biggest trout on maggots while stick float fishing or rivers. Once they switch on to them as a food source even bigger fish will take then.

Worm worth a try too.

I would also lure fish but you may have to wade through the perch.

Dry fly would help isolate the trout a bit. Perch will take them the odd time but not as much IMO.

If it was me I would probably be float fishing, varying the depths and spraying maggots or chopped worm. You will catch perch but the bigger trout should push them out when they move in.

guest2014

Thanks for all the replies guys, I will give all advice a go. from taking the advice about fishing deep, off the bottom and feeding maggots, I think maybe the method that would suit best would be to cast out a maggot swim feeder far out to the deep water, as that would mean fishing in deep water, off the bottom and attracting fish to the area I am fishing. and hopefully the bigger trout come to the feeder to feed.

breghall

kildare lad wrote: »

, i heard using live minnow are good as well never used that method before but will try it sometime!!

Isn't live baiting illegal??

guest2014

1st evening back at the lake, using a maggot swim feeder, fished far out in deep water. caught 3 small perch, going to keep fishing the swim feeder in the same area for the next few evenings, hopefully the trout will show up.

would anyone recommend fishing a full day or just evenings?

Bio Mech

guest2014 wrote: »

1st evening back at the lake, using a maggot swim feeder, fished far out in deep water. caught 3 small perch, going to keep fishing the swim feeder in the same area for the next few evenings, hopefully the trout will show up.

would anyone recommend fishing a full day or just evenings?

I would float fish it myself. Fished just off bottom with a large waggler to get the distance and maggots sprayed over the top. No weight on the hooklink and let the bait fall slowly though the water. Twitch it the odd time then recast over the area you are feeding and start again.

On a couple of the lakes I fish (which have mixed stock like yours) we get hardly any trout ever on the feeder but regularly get them on float gear fished up in the water.

We don't target the trout but they do show up. Make sure you have a slammo type disgorger if trout are possible and also for the perch.

guest2014

Bio Mech wrote: »

I would float fish it myself. Fished just off bottom with a large waggler to get the distance and maggots sprayed over the top. No weight on the hooklink and let the bait fall slowly though the water. Twitch it the odd time then recast over the area you are feeding and start again.

On a couple of the lakes I fish (which have mixed stock like yours) we get hardly any trout ever on the feeder but regularly get them on float gear fished up in the water.

We don't target the trout but they do show up. Make sure you have a slammo type disgorger if trout are possible and also for the perch.

I might bring a second rod and try the large waggler and your method. i have a slammo type disgorger but was lucky enough last night, the perch were all hooked on the lip and easy to release.

guest2014

I tried the swim feeder(in deep water) 3 evenings in a row this week, not much luck, all I caught was 5 perch in the 3 evenings. on my last evening 3 guys turned up, they were using maggots/worms and stick floats and 1 was spinning, fishing only about 20 feet from the shore, they were catching on every cast, id say between them they caught easily 40 perch in an hour and a half, including a monster perch about 3 pound.but not 1 trout. they said on another evening 2 months before the caught 10 trout using the stick float and maggots. might go at dawn and use stick float and worm/maggots, see if i have some luck getting a trout or two but it looks like its a lottery as there are so many perch in the lake. I think the guy said he caught a trout in the rain one evening there.

thefisherbuy

Is the lake fished a lot? That might be a reason why your not catching... Big trout are smart They'l know which bait to not bit and to bite, Are there many fly anglers on the lake, if i were you i'd go with the fly, and meaby one day scout the lake (around dusk, or dawn) with no gear! see where most of the trout are rising then the next go around that time and give it go, If you are fishing with drys here's a good selection! The daddy long legs It bit early for them but they'l work, and sedges that's what hatches around the summer time!


good luck

guest2014

thefisherbuy wrote: »

Is the lake fished a lot? That might be a reason why your not catching... Big trout are smart They'l know which bait to not bit and to bite, Are there many fly anglers on the lake, if i were you i'd go with the fly, and meaby one day scout the lake (around dusk, or dawn) with no gear! see where most of the trout are rising then the next go around that time and give it go, If you are fishing with drys here's a good selection! The daddy long legs It bit early for them but they'l work, and sedges that's what hatches around the summer time!


good luck

no the lake is hardly fished at all and as far as I know no one fly fishes the lake. I have the sedge flys and daddy long legs and have tried the bubble and fly once or twice but no luck, should I maybe try the wet fly? I find the dry fly's sink after a while even though I spray them with the liquid that keeps them afloat. what weather suits fly fishing? do you need there to be a good ripple on the water surface?

thefisherbuy

guest2014 wrote: »

no the lake is hardly fished at all and as far as I know no one fly fishes the lake. I have the sedge flys and daddy long legs and have tried the bubble and fly once or twice but no luck, should I maybe try the wet fly? I find the dry fly's sink after a while even though I spray them with the liquid that keeps them afloat. what weather suits fly fishing? do you need there to be a good ripple on the water surface?

Hi,


Good, I find that garrys gink is way better, Nice selection, Well Yes Do you have any wet flies? ( flies like these: Bibio , Green peter, black pennel , clan chief, Gold head haresear) Weather like Dull and cloudy day with no sun, Sometime day like this late evening like 10 or 11 is worth a try with the dry, Is better to have a good ripple on the water..

thanks.

dodderangler

You won't find any enjoyment out of catching trout on a swim feeder and using maggots. Trout don't feed like that. They're not bottom feeders.
They're predatory fish and also eat insects.
Spinners or a fly rod or even trotting a worm in fast water.
Yes they'll take a maggot but your more likely to attract course fish that feed primarily off the bottom.
I suggest you get some spinners. I use mepps Size 1 or 0 and depending on the weather il use gold or bronze for sunnyish days and silver for overcast cloudy days.

guest2014

dodderangler wrote: »

You won't find any enjoyment out of catching trout on a swim feeder and using maggots. Trout don't feed like that. They're not bottom feeders.
They're predatory fish and also eat insects.
Spinners or a fly rod or even trotting a worm in fast water.
Yes they'll take a maggot but your more likely to attract course fish that feed primarily off the bottom.
I suggest you get some spinners. I use mepps Size 1 or 0 and depending on the weather il use gold or bronze for sunnyish days and silver for overcast cloudy days.

I have 2 rods ready to go today, both with waggler floats, going to use maggots and worms. my problem is there are so many perch in the lake its impossible to avoid them. i could use the mepps spinner but I have only ever caught perch with it. would you recommend wet fly fishing for the trout?

Bio Mech

dodderangler wrote: »

You won't find any enjoyment out of catching trout on a swim feeder and using maggots. Trout don't feed like that. They're not bottom feeders.
They're predatory fish and also eat insects.
Spinners or a fly rod or even trotting a worm in fast water.
Yes they'll take a maggot but your more likely to attract course fish that feed primarily off the bottom.
I suggest you get some spinners. I use mepps Size 1 or 0 and depending on the weather il use gold or bronze for sunnyish days and silver for overcast cloudy days.

Non ferox trout are omnivores. They will feed on all sorts of food. There is, IMO, no easy way to target trout like this exclusively. Where there are perch and other coarse fish around and the trout are not ferox its difficult to select them. Non ferox trout and perch have a very similar diet. I would suggest you keep the feed going in and spray maggots over the top. The trout will switch on to them as a food source.

You might just have to wade through the small perch until the trout move in. And try the spinner now and then around the area you have been fishing in.

On the lake I mentioned above the fishing sounds exactly the same. The perch and roach move in quickly and you get trout at intervals here and there. I would guess we get 100 coarse fish for every trout. Its the same on the river flowing out of the lake. But the trout do make an appearance eventually.

I wouldn't just spin it myself as you would be casting all day long. We have had trout of all sizes on both maggots and lures, a good bunch of maggots (five or six on a size 14).

guest2014

Bio Mech wrote: »

Non ferox trout are omnivores. They will feed on all sorts of food. There is, IMO, no easy way to target trout like this exclusively. Where there are perch and other coarse fish around and the trout are not ferox its difficult to select them. Non ferox trout and perch have a very similar diet. I would suggest you keep the feed going in and spray maggots over the top. The trout will switch on to them as a food source.

You might just have to wade through the small perch until the trout move in. And try the spinner now and then around the area you have been fishing in.

On the lake I mentioned above the fishing sounds exactly the same. The perch and roach move in quickly and you get trout at intervals here and there. I would guess we get 100 coarse fish for every trout. Its the same on the river flowing out of the lake. But the trout do make an appearance eventually.

I wouldn't just spin it myself as you would be casting all day long. We have had trout of all sizes on both maggots and lures, a good bunch of maggots (five or six on a size 14).

I will give your idea a go and report back, thanks for the advice.

Bio Mech

guest2014 wrote: »

I will give your idea a go and report back, thanks for the advice.

No bother. Keep the maggots going in. A small catapult regularly. Every couple of minutes. Keep a small amount trickling through the water. If you notice fish swirling on the surface when you put them in shallow up and you might catch them on the drop.

dodderangler

IMO avoid using maggots and swim feeders an the like for trout. I don't see any sport in it at all. I know with course fish it's the method to use but trout will nearly always swallow that hook full of maggots and 50% of the time will lead to a dead trout. Especially with small trout. It's not worth it.
fishing with a fat worm with one or two split shots and you'll see the bite and will almost always be hooked in the jaw. But a heavy feeder and a small trout you won't see the bite and it'll be down it's throat.
It's my advice that I was also given which is why I don't use maggots. It's a lot more fun spinning a mepps or using a fly. The fish won't swallow the hook and will return relatively unharmed.

Bio Mech

dodderangler wrote: »

IMO avoid using maggots and swim feeders an the like for trout. I don't see any sport in it at all. I know with course fish it's the method to use but trout will nearly always swallow that hook full of maggots and 50% of the time will lead to a dead trout. Especially with small trout. It's not worth it.
fishing with a fat worm with one or two split shots and you'll see the bite and will almost always be hooked in the jaw. But a heavy feeder and a small trout you won't see the bite and it'll be down it's throat.
It's my advice that I was also given which is why I don't use maggots. It's a lot more fun spinning a mepps or using a fly. The fish won't swallow the hook and will return relatively unharmed.

I don't think that's all true really. If you strike early, get a slammo disgorger and know how to use it you wont harm trout. That 50% figure you claim, what are you basing that on if you don't maggot fish yourself?

The trout we have caught on maggots all go back. I would guess >95% are hooked in the mouth and I would say well over 99% go back unharmed. We have had several repeat captures of large trout so I know they are fine. I don't ever keep any trout. Havent in years. I cant remember the last one that actually had any problems. Unless its a big fish (for a picture) they don't even come out of the water.

People who deep hook fish generally don't know what they are doing, that goes for maggots, worms and minnows. I have seen plenty of people deep hook trout on minnows. Most people I know would think of spinning minnows to be one of the least sporting of all methods (not that I go for "sporting ethic" myself anyway but just since you brought it up).

I agree though I wouldn't feeder fish it. Much prefer the float but feeder can be very sensitive if you do it correctly. If you fish a feeder or a paternoster the contact is direct to the quiver tip so even very small bites can be seen. The weight of the feeder has no influence on the sensitivity.

Anyway I digress, OP has a slammo disgorger and the lake to himself so I see no issue with it myself.

dodderangler

minnow are a trout natural bait. How is it least sportsman.
I have never in me while life spin now minnow have I ever deep hooked a trout. The take is straight away.
Using maggots the take is not straight away. The fish can stay in the one spot and pick it up without you knowing and swallow it right down. I'm talking from experience as I used to alway use maggots when I was younger. Been well over ten years dive I last used maggots for the simple reason of fish being deep hooked.

Bio Mech

dodderangler wrote: »

minnow are a trout natural bait. How is it least sportsman.
I have never in me while life spin now minnow have I ever deep hooked a trout. The take is straight away.
Using maggots the take is not straight away. The fish can stay in the one spot and pick it up without you knowing and swallow it right down. I'm talking from experience as I used to alway use maggots when I was younger. Been well over ten years dive I last used maggots for the simple reason of fish being deep hooked.

Float fished maggot fished off bottom will show the bites straight away - instantly. If you fish the feeder properly you will also see even tiny bites. If you are ledgering and not seeing bites and deep hooking fish then I would suggest you are doing something wrong (not you specifically but just in general).

I don't see how minnow being part of a trouts natural diet makes it sporting. Artificial dry flies are not part of a trouts diet does that make fly fishing unsporting? Ubiquity in the diet is hardly the defining characteristic of sport. Using maggots doesn't do any ecological damage unlike harvesting minnows out of a river. I would suggest that makes minnow fishing a very undesirable method and personally I don't do it. Anyway as I said I don't target trout on these methods but they show up. I would rather be catching my intended target but the trout do respond to them.

Also arthropod larvae including several types of what we would consider "maggots" are in fact a common part of trouts natural diet especially sea trout who often feast on maggots that flush out of weed banks in estuaries.

I am also talking from experience from 30 years fishing for everything from tiny roach on the Dublin canals to fly fishing for salmon in Scotland. If you don't feel you can fish maggots safely then that's up to you but it doesn't mean the OP cant.

Anyway its gone well off topic so I will leave it there as its derailing the thread.

guest2014

I have been back at the lake twice in the last 2 weeks. 1st evening using waggler and maggot, caught loads of small perch. no trout, even though a big one jumped in the area I was catapulting maggots. went at dawn as well with bubble and double dry fly set up, the flys kept sinking, caught a small perch on the fly. then i tried spinning for a while with no luck. there was a few nice trout jumping far out in the middle of the lake at dawn.

dodderangler

Have you got any Tasmanian devils?
On lakes I find them the best.

guest2014

dodderangler wrote: »

Have you got any Tasmanian devils?
On lakes I find them the best.

no, im not a big fan of spinning to be honest.

thefisherbuy

Its not abd method, but I remember going to lake that didn't have much big fish 1lbers were very rare, The 1st cast i felt some but i didn't strike then a second cast i was in i was a lovely brownie about 1 3/4 or 2lbs! Its very good the devil

tight lines