Stocked Rainbow Trout

[sweet446]

i need some help i need to catch some stocked rainbow trout i havent caught one for a while im usin wire jigs and im fishing about a foot from the bottom but they just arent biting maybe if u guys could give me some pointers that would be great.

[Spicoli]

Well what is the lake that you are fishing on, is it in the mountains? i think that it depends partialy on where the lake is, for me i fish with a small hook with a tiny weight on it with power bait nuggets and i catch lots of them here in saskatchewan that way, i fish it right or the bottom, 2-3 inches off.

[mullen2525]

powerbait kills on stocked trout

[salmotrutta]

Power bait(color does matter ,experiment)I like pink and orange.Rainbows also like sandy bottoms.Fish shallow like 1 to 4 feet.

[mullen2525]

color defanitly does matter, like salmotrutta said expirament, differant colors will work in differant waters, i've had the most success with orange and chartruese, or however you spell it.  Try using the egg style ones they came out with this past year I believe they are sold everywhere like the regular stuff, they look like beads strung together and theystay on your hook a lot easier and i've had good success on the open water with them.

[iceintheveins]

I would fish a little deeper, 10 - 20 feet is best. I would use really small jigs tipped with a bit of nightcrawler, or just deadstick 1/4 of a crawler. Work all the water depths, from one foot of the bottom till about 5 feet below the ice hole until you find the depth most fish are using.

Tyler

[ChenBassHead]

 

Power bait(color does matter ,experiment)I like pink and orange.Rainbows also like sandy bottoms.Fish shallow like 1 to 4 feet.

Oh man, I have just the place....a swimming area from 1-5 feet Do they ever congregate around riprap?

-Zach

[TroutFishingBear]

 

Power bait(color does matter ,experiment)I like pink and orange.Rainbows also like sandy bottoms.Fish shallow like 1 to 4 feet.

In my experience 1 to 4 feet is a bit shallow (although there are fish there). I like anywhere from about 8-25 ft. of water.  with about 15 being premium. Seems theiy also like dropoffs and will suspend around the 8-12 ft. range a lot. In the morning is when they are more apt to be in the 1-4 ft. you described, they move gradually deeper as the day goes on, and then shallower in the evening.
Power bait does work for stockers, I will agree. Personally I think, nothing outfishes a shrimpo or ratso tipped with a waxworm though. Blue or orange seems to be the best colors.
sometimes I like to be deadsticking a worm near the bottom on a hole about 4 or 5 ft. away from where I am actively jigging a castmaster. The worm will get a lot of hits. Make sure you jig the whole water column, especially that key 8-12 ft. range where more than half of my fish come from.
Hope this helps you out, even though this is mostly tips for wild rainbows, my lakes are augmented with stockers and I catch the lights out of those.

[salmotrutta]

I believe any structure could attract the bows,but i have just been programed to fish shallow sandy flats.Must be a New England thing.

[TroutFishingBear]

I believe any structure could attract the bows,but i have just been programed to fish shallow sandy flats.Must be a New England thing.

I agree with you that sandy flats are great for rainbows, they are probably more consistent producers in most lakes/reservoirs. I just wanted everyone to know that other places hold them too. I've always noticed that the less commonly fished place holds more aggressive and larger trout. So if all the sandy flats have been pounded, anglers don't dispare...

[Kodiak Commando]

From TroutFishingBear on Dec 31, 2004, 05:41 PM

In my experience 1 to 4 feet is a bit shallow (although there are fish there).

My experiences are different. I catch 80 percent of my fish in less than 10 feet of water especially around stucture like logs, weeds and drop offs.

[Polar]

I catch alot of trout thru the ice.Most of the time I fish in water 10ft or less.I always split the difference on a few tipups.In New York I am allowed 5 this is my setup Say I am in 10 ft of water 1 tip up is foot off bottom,2 tipups are 5 ft off bottom next 1 is 3ft below ice and the last one is a 1ft below the ice.See what happens then adjust the tipups to whatever one is getting the most action.For bait I always use minnows.Jigging I use a vingula tipped with a few spikes.

[Trevor]

I think Polar hit the nail on the head when it comes to being successful for rainbows.  More than anything I believe searching the entire water column to be the key to success.  Too many anglers drop their lure all the way to bottom and keep it there for the entire day.  Even if an active rainbow is hugging bottom he is almost certain to rise to a lure presented four or five feet over his head.  Often the forage rainbows seek will be suspended just under the ice.  If you look down and see lots of critters swimming around just under the ice, then explore the upper portion of the water column....I've fished with people that seem reluctant to do this even when I am catching and they are not.  It's hard to shake ideals and old habits.  Often people spend their lives fishing a handful of methods that have worked for them on occasion in the past.  They develop a sense of overconfidence in such methods.  This is often a serious detriment to the angler.  I think the key to success is openmindedness.  Each time you set foot on the ice forget all that came before.  Approach each day of fishing with a fresh and open mind.  A willingness to continually change methods throughout the day until you hit what works.  Forget "old reliable".  Do some exporing, have fun, and catch more fish....

Trevor

[buzzbomb]

They just love cheese!  I've probably caught more stocked rainbows on cheese than any other bait.  If you don't have a 'baitholder' hook try slipping 1/2 the spring from an old fashioned ballpoint pen onto the shank of a hook to keep the cheese on.

[sweet446]

no theres no mountains where this pond is and so orange is the best color to use?and ive tried cheese before it didnt really work and im fishing in water that is 1-10 feet deep and im fishing about 6 inches off the bottom and its not working do u guys have any lure suggestions

[Polar]

no theres no mountains where this pond is and so orange is the best color to use?and ive tried cheese before it didnt really work and im fishing in water that is 1-10 feet deep and im fishing about 6 inches off the bottom and its not working do u guys have any lure suggestions

Did you even see my post If you can use minnows in the water you fish try it.

[sweet446]

these are little fish will they bite for minnows

[TroutFishingBear]

yeah, they will bite on minnows. (trout bite on just about anything)
For lures, I like #6 shrimpos and ratsos tipped w/ waxie. Hard to beat!
Here's my limit of 4 14"-20" rainbows I caught on a blue ratso tipped w/ a waxie in 18 ft. of water. I caught them jigging the whole water column. That 8-12 ft. deep range is important, seems to be the best.
[/img]
notice the blue thing hanging off of the rod guide? That's the ratso. You really need to try these if you haven't!

[sweet446]

cool thank for the help ill try thos ratsos out

[sweet446]

hey tried that ratso today got a big lunker today it weighed 2.7 pounds and it was 17 inches thanx for the tips guys

[mullen2525]

what exactly are these ratso's looks something similar to something I have called bass assasins anyone know what i'm talkin about, are they the same thing?

[TroutFishingBear]

Sweet, that's sweet that you caught that fish Glad you have had success and when you have used a ratso there is no going back to anything else it seems.
Mullen, I don't think they are much like bass assassins. Maybe you are thinking of a diff. bass assassin than I am?
Here are some pics of ratsos. You will know which ones are ratsos. I did a google search.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=ratso+fishing&btnG=Search

[mullen2525]

thanks TFB, got ya now was a little small in the picture and was the first thing in my mind it resembeled, thanks for clarifying

[iceintheveins]

Ratsos and shrimpos are great lures for any fish, especially trout and panfish. Tip them with a small waxie or a piece of nightcrawler, I mean a little piece, and just kinda bob them up and down, working different places in the water column like TFB described.
In one lake this year, the trout have been showing and biting best in about 10 feet of water and they are near the bottom, but will aggressively charge just about any small jig tipped with a waxie. In another lake where the trout are more wild, they seem to be congregated in the 8 - 12 foot depth range in 20 feet of water. Just kinda depends on how deep the lake is I guess. Most of the lakes I fish except for a couple are quite deep.

Tyler

[JPS]

For stocked trout in summer what i've used is:
a) canned corn
b) marshmellows (the tinny coloured ones)
these two things outperforms anything from worms to powerbait and artificials of any kind

I've never fished for them in winter

JP

[Kodiak Commando]

Marshmellows and power bait are great in the summer cuz they float. I usually use them with a big weight and when you do this the weight will sink to the bottom and the bait will start to float upward until the weight stops it. This is great for weedy areas cuz you won't hook the weeds and the fish can see your bait much better. I also do this for ice fishing in weedy areas if  i am not using a slip bobber. I especially like to double up power bait and worms or eggs cuz the power bait will float the eggs or worm off the bottom (only small worms) and the eggs or worms usually will be the ones that are bit.

[scansy]

I fish for rainbows through the ice in a lake in the mountains of PA.  Most of my luck is on powerbait.  I have also caught a few on minnows, but not many.  I never really tried much jigging, but will after reading this forum.  The depth I fish depends on when they stocked the lake.  If there is a fresh stocking, I fish where a small stream comes in.  As close to the running water as I dare get on the ice.  If they haven't stocked in a while (ie. the trout are starting to get a little bit more wild), I fish on a point that runs about 3-10 feet deep.  They cruise back and forth over this point (it's rocky with some weeds in the summer) looking for food.  I run tip ups straight out from the point (I'm allowed 5 in PA) starting at about 3 feet and ending at about 12 feet.  Usually, there is no real pattern.  If there is a pattern (all of the flags on one of the holes), I will put the rest of the tip-ups parallel to the shore at the same depth.  I usually fish about halfway between ice and bottom.

Anyway, that's what works on the lake I fish - it's the only lake I fish for trout through the ice.  The other lakes I fish don't have trout.