How to catch brown trout

[flagrunner88]

Hi I have been fishing for only a few years and I have yet to catch a Brown trout I have a lake that has plenty and they are stocked but i was wondering how deep what to use for bait wat kind of leader how big of a hook and so on any tips greatly appreciated

[brown-time]

Much depends on what the browns feed on in your lake.  Here at Blue Mesa in Colorado, where we catch lots of browns, the fish feed real shallow real early, 5-10 feet, then move to 20-50 feet down after the sun gets on the water.  I like to start with a gold or firetiger Kastmaster on one rod, jigging pretty steady, and a chartreuse or white glow tube deadsticked with a mealworm on a rod 3-4 feet away.  Usually right off the bottom. Then a white jigging Rapala and a chartreuse or brown/yellow Ratso combo moved into 20-40 feet after about 9 O'clock.  Our browns feed mainly on crawdads, small perch minnows and bigger 6" late stocked rainbow trout or kokanee smelt.  A white #4 or 5 Swedish Pimple jigged down the hole will sometimes catch a hog brown or the occasional laker that comes in to look also.

[HARDTOP]

Browns are meat eaters sucker meat works best but shinners strips of salmon bellie fresh prowns from the store also work well attract them by jigging slow and on the bottom

[Wiener]

The setup that works for me is #10 Berkley Transition or Florocarbon fishing line and very small hooks.  I usually use treble hooks that are #16 to #20.

I like the small hooks that don't kill the minnow, and I usually use them as a quick strike rig. (two treble hooks tied in tandem)

I hook one treble hook in the cheek of the minnow, and the other just through the skin on the back.  One good jerk should pull the hooks free.   As for minnows,  I like Rosie Reds, and Milwaukee Shiners, but Fatheads have worked also.  You could also try spawn, mealworms, waxies until you find out what the trout on your particular lake like to eat.

As for depth, you'll need to experiment.  Set one tipup a couple of feet off bottom and another a couple of feet down from the bottom of the ice.  I then jig in the other holes that I have drilled.   Swedish Pimples, jigging raps, etc.

Keep the hooks, small.   IF you are going for very large trout, like on the great lakes - you could move up to a #10 or #12.   Take your time, once the hooks are set you can get the fish in on very light line.

Here's a pic of a 29 1/2" Splake that I caught on a small lake.  I caught it on #8 lb florocarbon and #20 treble hook.

[slipperybob]

15-30 fow for me.