Today, however, let’s talk about my favourite tactic to actually catch the fish: trolling for trout on the ice. Once the outside edge of weed beds or the steeper drop off is located, anglers do not need to go any deeper. Ice Fishing for Rainbow Trout Tips. I’m bound to come in contact with a Rainbow cruising this zone. In this deeper water the Rainbows tend to cruise in the mid water column to prey upon small minnows or insects. It holds up better in the cold conditions. Stocked rainbow trout are among the most popular and most accessible trout to ice fish for. Excellent options for bait when targeting Rainbows are Pink Maggots, Meal Worms, Dew Worms and Corn. Shallow mud flats and weed beds are best fished early and late in the day. The standard in the industry is the Rapala Jigging Rap. Between Pool 2 and Pool … Rainbow Trout are either super aggressive or very picky on what they choose to eat. The best time to pursue these giants through the ice is December through February. For most Interior lakes in Western Canada the ice fishing season starts in later December as the colder weather brings over 6 inches of hard ice. A small spoon tipped with a tiny minnow is an extremely effective combination as well. In most cases, you should choose bait and lures that are light and small. The beginning of the season offers some of the best Rainbow Trout fishing as the oxygen levels are still high in the water and the fish are aggressively feeding. Look for areas on the lake that offer flat shoals with a drop off ledges. Rainbow trout mostly feed on nymphs, larvae, leeches, snails, and small bait fish. Fish in depths of less than 10 feet for brook trout, splake may go deeper. While in Colorado we ran across an ice fishing guide and thought we would give it a try. The Trout will cruise just off the bottom of these shallow areas searching for the most nutrient rich fertile ranges such as weedy bays and shoals. The fact that they will often be found very shallow requires a change in tactics. Minnows are the best bait if you’re fishing big rainbows in larger lakes. A small split shot can be used to get the bait down to the desired depth. They are spooky and the activity will often get them off there bite. I prefer 4 pound test when I know the fish have been hit hard and the biggest fish I will catch is in the 16 inch class. They can be fished alone or tipped with a wax worm, piece of minnow, or small live minnow. However, this does not mean that an angler ice fishing for rainbow trout should set in one spot all day. Like most game fish, rainbow trout are most active early and late in the day and even at night. Participant. Live bait can also be used in conjunction with artificial lures. Using jigs tipped with some sort of bait that mimics a dying or injured baitfish can be very effective when the bite is on. Tiny jigs can be tipped with waxies or mealworms as well as the head or tail of a minnow. These expansive areas with muddy bottom and weed beds will have the most forage in the winter time. Anglers should start fishing the spoon about 5 feet below the ice. Aggressive fish are attracted to movement, which makes Freaky Frank's freaky worm an excellent choice for ice fishing. Rainbows will relate to shallow water in the winter months, sometimes as shallow as 3 feet under the ice. A big trout will hit and run long before you have a chance to get to your rod. While conventional fly fishing tackle cannot be used, weighted flies and nymphs can be used to fool rainbow trout. The topic of this article is ice fishing for rainbow trout. Another difference for anglers fishing for rainbow trout compared to other species is that successful anglers are more stationary. On cloudy days, the fish may stay shallow all day. Anglers should match the locally available forage for best results. A submerged weed bed in 8 feet of water that drops off sharply to 15 feet of water is an example of an ideal spot to fish. While moving around a lot is often the key to success when ice fishing, this is not so much the case when pursuing rainbow trout. If ice fishing the great lakes isn’t your thing I run trips inland all winter for pike, walleye and pan fish. You will find something fishy about this winter adventure. Anglers fishing tiny jigs or live baits very close to the bottom should do well. Rainbow trout are one of the most popular and recognizable fish in the world! Trout love the cold water. Many local states and provinces have programs in place to stock local ponds and lakes. As cold-water fish, trout thrive under the ice and often prefer to feed in shallow water in winter-just the opposite of their summer preferences. You can expect to catch Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Arctic Grayling, Arctic Char, Landlocked Salmon, and so much more. Of course, they can’t do this under the ice, but they still put up a terrific fight. Moving to deeper offshore ledges and fishing the mid-depths with spoons and plugs is usually more productive. It has an eyelet in the middle and a fin on the rear which results in an erratic circular swimming motion when jig. This is mostly due to the fact that rainbow trout do not school up and cruise much more than most other game fish in the winter. Ice Fishing Stocked Rainbow Trout. Rainbow trout will be most often found in two locations when ice fishing. They also thrive in many reservoirs, where ice-fishing often provides an overlooked opportunity. If you are jigging a small spoon with no luck try switching up your lure to a small baited hook such as a Mack’s Lure Glo Hook size 6 tipped with bait. Many small insects emerge from the lake’s bottom so using flies such as woolly buggers, balanced leeches, or even a bead headed nymph as they imitate what the trout are feeding on very well. Again smaller is better when fishing trout bait such as Powerbait. In last week’s On The Water online, we discussed some of the key early season tactics I like to employ when I’m ice fishing the many stocked trout lakes (brook, rainbow and splake) found across the country. Whether it's standing in a flowing river, on the banks of a lake, in a boat or canoe, or on the ice, fishing for Rainbow Trout is an incredibly popular activity. Small bait fish are usually found hiding in the weeds or relating to deep structure such as a drop off. Fish can be found as shallow as 3 or 4 feet. Selecting the best ice fishing lures for trout isn't hard. Areas between 5 feet deep and 10 feet deep are generally best, but every lake is different. They are a beautiful fish that has it all. After jigging it aggressively and working it for several minutes, a few feet of line can be let out and the process repeated. These are the areas where rainbow trout will find food in the winter. BROKE MY PB!!! It holds up better in the cold conditions. Flies can also be used effectively as long as they can get down to the fish. It has been around a very long time and continues to be a productive lure to this day. Ideally, the transition from the flat to deep water will be steep. The reservoir’s surface area varies from year to year depending on how much water is … Like most game fish, rainbow trout are most active early and late in the day and even at night. When fishing for salmon, use live shiners or smelts and set your trap just under the ice (1-2 feet under the ice). Some of the first ice fishing opportunities for anglers across the ice belt are often for shallow water trout. Spoons work very well in the middle periods of the day when rainbow trout are suspended over deeper water. A Rainbow’s diet in the hard water season mainly consist of dragon fly nymphs, caddis fly nymphs, leeches, snails, smaller forage fish and many other aquatic invertebrates which all reside in weeded or muddy areas. There aren’t many lures on the market that fool trout as well as Leland … Later in the day the Rainbows will become less active in the shallow water and they will move out to the deeper 10 to 20 foot range. In conclusion, this article on ice fishing for rainbow trout will help anglers catch more fish under the ice! Despite consistent catch rates in the summer and fall, Oakley experiences very little … If you drill into weeds, then move out 4 to 5 feet at a time until you locate the weed line.
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