There are two principles that I follow when fishing.
- Fish where you know that fish are
- When all other baits fail, go to the ole reliable trout worm
The evening turned dark fast and it was DARK! The canyon had minimal light and the moon hadn’t climbed it’s way over the mountain top until an hour and half into the fishing trip. I started off using a pearl white twist tail on a yellow jig head with no signs of life in the water. After 30 minutes of using this color configuration at varying speeds and methods which included swimming it at different layers allowing a drop here and there to bouncing it off the bottom very slowly. I changed to a lime green twist tail and got the same results of complete failure in triggering any type of action. The moon was illuminating at 93% and it was starting to over power the magnificent twinkles of the stars above as it climbed over the top of the mountain in front of me. I changed my fishing rig once again to what had usually worked at this particular fishing lake.
Settlement Canyon reservoir has a lot of rainbow trout and they were looking for a challenge. It was dark, cooling off and wind blowing at a steady rate. I had rigged my fishing rod up using a weighted small cigar float with a medium size split shot weight immediately below the float and above the swivel. Three feet later was my size 6 hook and artificial PowerBait brown trout worm. The worm was threaded straight so that it appeared to be swimming. Second cast, BAM! Brought in a smallish rainbow trout. Next cast, double BAM! Brought in a larger rainbow trout. Four cast later, fishing pole bent over and the line was running. I knew I had a good size trout and it fought nicely all the way in. I still had 10 minutes on my clock before I was to pack up and head home and I wanted the catch the limit for that fishing lake. I had cast out another time and then I noticed from the corner of my eye a black animal coming down the hill towards me. A skunk had decided to get a drink or noticed my fish on the stringer or something, but it was getting close to me. I don’t think it had noticed me at first but once I looked at it and then seemed to notice my presence and luckily it headed back up the hill.
At that point I was becoming skittish about the local wildlife heading out there since it was so quiet and dark. I decided to cast out one more time when I heard a much larger splash in the water further down the fishing lake and that was it for me. I packed up and left with my prize of three nice size rainbow trout.
The key to lake fishing is being mobile but tonight I didn’t do that since I was hesitant to get too far from my car. Lake fishing is also about knowing the conditions before you get there.
I knew that fishing lake and was familiar with the shoreline and where fish usually were active at. I knew the moon phase and how that influences fish behavior. I monitored the barometric pressure and it was stable and within the average range. The next thing was to figure out which bait and fishing rigg configuration was going to work to trigger a strike during a time of average bite activity.
The key lesson here is not to be afraid to try different fishing riggs, fishing bait or techniques out. Develop your skill and gain experience with how to use different fishing configurations. I’m a fan of jig fishing with different jig head colors and fishing trailers. It takes practice to get the feel of a jig hitting the fishing lake floor and bouncing it. I had allocated the first hour of my fishing trip to develop skill by practicing different luring techniques and jig movements. I did manage to catch two pieces of trash that were apparently at the bottom of the fishing lake. The last few minutes of my fishing trip went to actively wanting to catch fish as the top priority so that I had something to bring home for lunch the next day. I went to the fishing rigg and bait that has always worked for me there. And it delivered very quickly.
I have to admit that I am amazed out how effective and productive the artificial PowerBait trout worm bait is. The key to fishing that worm is to thread it so that it is straight when in the water. Don’t let it take the curvature of the hook or have it weaved as if it is holding onto your hook. I’m sure some places that configuration works great but in the fishing lakes that I have fished at, those haven’t triggered strikes as well as a straight tailed worm moving through the water.
I use this style but in the light brown color and have great success so far at every fishing lake I go to. When jigs aren’t bringing in the big trout, I use these to bring in any size trout. Food is food.