How to Catch More Trout in the Heat of Summer
During my summer vacations, my dad would try and take us to different lakes to do a little trolling for trout. And when my grandfather went along, it was always a competition to see who could catch the most trout. But more than just catching the most rainbow trout, I learned a lot about summer trolling for trout. Whether in the mountain lakes, or the massive reservoir near our house. So to help you catch more trout on those long, hot, and dog days of summer, utilize these top 10 trolling for summer trout tips:
Tip #10 – Metallic and Chartreuse Are Your Friends!
Fishing in the summer means the sun hits the water for a long time. And as water temperatures increase, the trout go into deeper water, and you will want to have bright baits that can be seen down at depths of 40 – 100 feet when trolling. Copper and chartreuse will catch you trout all summer long!
Tip #9 – Adjust Your Depth
Trout may be higher up in the water in the morning, even on the top water bite. Then as the sun hits the water and water warms up, the trout are going to find those deeper pockets of water. So be very mindful each hour to make adjustments to your fishing depth. Making adjustments will help you find those big trout in the deeper waters to!
Tip #8 – Watch the Thermocline
The thermocline when trolling can be huge, when trying to find the trout on a big lake. I like to troll around and see if I can find a line where the trout are holding, which will give me a good idea on where the thermocline is, and where I should have my gear.
Tip #7 – Fish Early
Go early and get the takedowns! The trout bite will slow down a lot after mid-morning, so going first thing can produce the top water bites and more bites overall as the fish look to feed when the water temps are coolest during the day! Plus, you avoid the crowds later in the day.
Tip #6 – Avoid Still Water
I am always looking for moving water with oxygen and flow. That’s where the trout are going to be! Hit those high percentage flowing water areas, and your chances of getting a bite, or two, or a dozen will go up!
Tip #5 – Get Into the Action
In summer trout fishing, motion is your friend! The trout bite much bigger baits than any time of the year, and motion from Yakima Bait SpinFish, spinners, wedding rigs, Mag Lip plugs and other moving baits will get those big bites and takedowns. So make sure your baits have a bunch of motion, then get ready for the takedowns.
Tip #4 – Use 4 Bait Scents
In the summer, use garlic, crawfish, nightcrawler and corn! Whether wild trout or stocked trout, these 4 scents are must-haves to use in the summer. Not only do the trout love them, the warmer warm amplifies the scent profile in the water to get more bites!
Tip #3 – Use Chrome & Silver
The old saying goes: cloudy use gold, sunny use silver! On sunny days, my go-to flasher, spinner and bait colors are chrome and silver. The flash in the water gets the trouts attention from farther distances, and always produces the bites!
Tip #2 – Troll 1.5 – 2.5MPH
When trolling in the summer, you want to increase your speed of troll. The fish are looking to feed, and trolling the baits much faster will get those trout on the move to bite. Where as in the winter, you want to slow the troll as the trouts metabolism slows down and they don’t want to move as fast. So troll fast, fish fast, and catch fast limits!
Tip #1 – Move to Deeper Waters
No longer should you be trolling in shallow waters. You have to go deeper and find the trout anywhere between 20 – 100 feet depending on the body of water. Lake trout go really deep, but rainbow trout will spread out and go to the deeper waters. Use your electronics and make adjustments throughout the day on depth to find the trout!