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Rainbow Trout

Rainbow Trout are the staple of the Idaho Lake fisherman. They can be found in almost all cold water fisheries in the state. The Idaho Fish and Game maintains an extensive hatchery rearing and planting program for Rainbows.

Rainbow Trout or Oncorhynchus mysis are in the salmoniod family. Coloration includes green to bronze upper side and back. They have a pink to lavender band on their sides from head to tail. The belly and mouth is white. They have no teeth under their tongue, unlike the Cutthroat. There are numerous rows of black spots in a radiating pattern on the tail. Stream fish and spawners are darker with more intense colors while lake dwelling fish are lighter and more silvery.

Rainbows and Steelhead are the same fish, with the only difference being the Steelhead migrates to the ocean. Reportedly, the rainbow you have in your lake would run to the sea if it could get over the dam!

Rainbow Trout prefer water temperatures in the 55 to 70 degree F. range. They prefer clear cold waters but live in brackish and marine environments as well. The water preferred has plenty of oxygen, whether it is a lake or a stream. Rainbows like lakes with cool deep areas and plenty of shallow areas with good vegetation that provide good food. To be self sustaining in a lake the trout must have a stream available for spawning. They live in depths of 0 to 600 feet. Pend Orielle may have fish living deeper than this!

Spawning occurs in early spring, February to mid-June, usually April and May. They must have a running stream to spawn in.

Rainbow Trout feed on aquatic and terrestrial insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs, minnows, and small fish (including trout). The young feed primarily on zooplankton. They generally feed close to the bottom of their habitat, but also feed on insects on the surface.

Growth is dependent on the richness of their habitat. It may be as slow as one pound per year. They will generally live to 6 or 7 years but have lived as much as 11 years.

The world record Rainbow was caught in Alaska and weighed 42 lbs. 20z.

The Idaho record Rainbow Trout is a 19lb. 0 oz. fish caught in Hayden Lake in 1947.

Trout Fishing Methods

Rainbows take a variety of natural and artificial baits and flies. Floating and sinking flies that resemble locally occurring insects work well.

Natural baits such as grasshoppers and worms are very effective. They can be fished on the surface, on the bottom, at mid-depths, and jigged or trolled.

Artificial lures such as spinners, and bait fish replicas such as Flatfish, are usually casted from boats or the shore, or trolled.

A very effective method for catching trout is trolling with a gang troll followed by a spinner with a worm.

Trolling for Trout

Trolling is best accomplished with a Gang Troll or Flasher. A gang troll, or lake troll, or Pop Gear as they are sometimes called, consists of a string of 2 to 6 flasher blades hooked to a stainless steel wire which can run 18 to 60 inches in length. I like to use a 4 flasher gang, 36 inches long when I fish Idaho lakes, but I am still experimenting.

Lake Trolls

Pop Gear comes in many configurations, with all kinds of blades and colors. On sunny days the shiny blades are best. On overcast days without a lot of sunlight to flash off of the blades, a darker blade, such as black, or a fluorescent color may be better. I usually trail a wedding type spinner 18 inches behind the gang troll. Put a worm or corn on the wedding ring. Below is a photo of a wedding ring from Mack's Lures.

Wedding Ring

Thin blades like willow leaf shapes will have less resistance and troll more deeply. Big blades such as cow bells will really pull on the line and have a harder time getting down. But the bigger blades do have a bigger flash.

A Flasher or Dodger is one large flat reflecting unit that will reflect light and give different movements to the lure used. These are fished with a lure typically 36 inches back.

Flashers

Troll slowly at different depths until you get into action. S curves are a good way to cover the water and change the speed of the lure. Troll in areas where you see fish on your fish finder, even if they are on the bottom. Troll in areas with structure on the bottom or along the shoreline that has structure extending into the lake. Troll where the lake is deepest, or where the stream channel used to run. Troll all day because fishing can be good at mid-morning or mid-day.

Bank Fishing for Trout

The old standby, fishing from the bank, with a chair, a can of worms, and a six pack, cannot be improved on. This is likely the most relaxing yet interesting sport ever invented. Have you ever sat without a bite while the guy down the shoreline is pulling them in left and right? That has happened to me. I finally figured out that there was a reason for this. The other fisherman knew what he was doing! It is simply not good enough to just put a nice nightcrawler on a hood and chuck it out there.

First: Pick a good spot. An uneven place in the shore or an inlet, a place where rocks jut out into the lake, or a place where the depth changes drastically. Fish don't like plain old flat lake bottoms with nothing on them. They have to -relate to something- a rock, a stick, a log, or something like that. I am not a fish, but I believe that a fish wants to be able to see a stable object so that they can tell where they are. Anyway, pick a likely spot, or the best spot on the lake you can find, from what is available.

Time spent looking at the lake to determine a good looking spot on the bank, is the best time you will spend. I have noticed many fishermen will choose the easiest place to get to. Or a spot close to the parking lot. Or a spot that is level for their chair. Often, these are not the best spots. It may be better to choose a spot that is a little steeper as the ground slopes into the lake. Very shallow areas that extend a substantial distance into the lake will be easy to fish, but you will likely catch smaller fish.

Second: Vary the baits and presentations until you get some action. Small variations will make the difference. The guy using blond salmon eggs with his worm may be getting all the bites. Or powerbait may be good. Float the worm off the bottom 12 inches, 18 inches, 40 inches. If you have enough time, and beer, you will eventually be the one pulling them in!

My favorite rig is a nightcrawler, the whole nightcrawler. I know, you only have 18 worms and they cost $2.59 (14 cents per worm), but what if you caught one fish for every two worms? If you use half a worm, like I used to do, you may not catch any. Put the hook through the upper portion of the worm and let the lower half wriggle free.

Next comes a red salmon egg, why?, it just works for me a lot. Then a marshmallow, the whole marshmallow. Get the bag of miniature ones with the multi colors. Try different colors! I find that green works well. Then float the worm up from the sinker at varying heights until the fish can't resist it any more. Check your rig every now and then because the marshmallow will soften and come off the hook.

Bank Fishing Rig: The basic rig for worm fishing is a hook and sinker. Tie a sharp hook on the end of the line. Clamp a couple of sinkers 18 inches or so up the line. Use the kind of sinkers that have the tabs on them for easy removal, so that you can adjust your distance.

Another Rig: First - thread your line through a barrel sinker, then tie your hook on the end of the line. You will have a hook with the barrel sinker sliding loose on the line. Place a small clamping sinker on the hook side of the barrel at the desired distance you want your rig up off the bottom. It will only take a small clamping sinker to keep the barrel from sliding up toward the hook.

This rig will allow your bait to have less resistance as the Trout takes it, and will allow him to swallow the bait or hook himself. He won't feel the line because it is sliding through the barrel sinker. That's the theory anyway. With this rig I would imagine that you would like to keep your line loose between hook and pole.

Keep on Fishin' - Fishguy at Idaho Lake Fishing

Rainbow Trout Fishing Tips