Spring Lake Fishing for Rainbow Trout and Testing the Rod Sprocket
I love the Spring as the lakes thaw out and the hungry fish are eager biters! And in addition to this there are also the local lakes that begin their stocking routines. I live in North Vancouver and my local water hole is Rice Lake. It usually gets its first stocking of Rainbow Trout in late March or early April. All these stockings are done by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and can be tracked on their stocking page.
Shortly after the first stocking I love taking my boys out to go for their first Rainbow of the year. This year we had a good first showing getting into a few Rainbow. This journal outlines the 2 setups we used to catch these rainbow, one of my favorite change up baits and a great new fishing tool for holding my rod.
My Favorite Lake Setups for Trout
I have 2 setups that are my favorite for targeting trout in lakes. My first one includes a slip float, weight, bait hook and worm. Similar to the old school ‘bobber and worm’ setup except with a slip float instead vs. the bobber. If you don’t know the difference between the too, here’s a game changer tip…
My first Slip Float and how it became my go-to setup
Slip floats have been around for decades. I can remember my uncle rigging my first one up for me when I was 13 years old. He slid this funny looking wooden tear drop looking thing onto my line and had this yellow string to cinch the line which acted as the bobber stopper. I remember thinking this is way too confusing, I had only used round bobbers up until that point.
We headed out to our favorite summer vacation spot on Westhawk Lake, Manitoba targeting Small mouth bass. We had a split shot under the slip float a bait hook with a giant black live leech. Which by the way, is still one of the greatest live baits ever. Anyway, I quickly learned the beauty of the slip float and that was the ability to easily set the depth you were fishing by simply readjusting the yellow string. One of the benefits of the slip float is the ease in setting your fishing depth. You can set the bobber stopper as far up the line as you desire and it’ll feed through the guides and even onto the reel. You can’t do this with a bobber! In fact, you can only set the depth to approximately the length of you rod so that you can cast appropriately.
Anyway, I was hooked with the sensitive action of the slip float and watching it disappear under the water. We fished shallow and deep and smashed Small mouth bass all evening. Slip floats have been my go-to float ever since.
Types of Slip Floats and Favorite Trout Bait Combos
Fast forward to today, I got out fishing at our local lake with my oldest son. This trip I used a slip float on my ultralight trout setup, it wasn’t made of wood but instead of a soft foam (or clear plastic).
Under the float I use a little split shot weight to balance the float and a small Octopus hook (size 6). My favorite bait should not be a shocker as it’s small pieces of worms that we’ve dug out of the garden. AND if the worms don’t seem to do the trick and the fish are not biting, I often add a tiny piece of prawn or shrimp in combination with the worm. A change in scent and color presentation can differentiate you from other anglers and get those tight lipped trout to bite!
Using the the Rod Sprocket Rod Holder on the Lake Dock
At our local trout lake the dock doesn’t have any rod holders so I had a chance to test out the Rod Sprocket. It’s a great little rod holding device that can be connect to a variety of different places or objects with a long strap and clip to firmly hold your rod. I used it to connect my trout setup to the dock away from the foot traffic (lots of kids and people walking by). It would also be a great way hold your rod while attached to your favorite fishing chair as well.
I really liked using the Rod Sprocket for securing my rod with the bottom setup as its so important to have the rod perfectly still so that you can watch the slightest rod tip movements with these smaller trout. It also has a number of different spokes so you can secure your rod at the exact angle you want.
Anyway, I’ve had a chance to fish with the Rod Sprocket in a few places including the ocean piers where I’ve strapped my long beach casting rod to the pier pillars and it worked like a charm, but I’ll write more about those other uses another time.
These guys are a local business and have created a great fishing tool. If you want more information or to buy, check out their website RodSprocket.com.
Anyway, the trip was as success as we got into a 2 rainbows for the frying pan. These days it’s a great way to get some fresh air while practicing social distancing. If you want to learn more about the fishing setup we used check out my tip page: Basic Lake & Pond Setups.
Recommended Lake Gear I Like To Use
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Rainbow Trout Fishing with Powerbait
Here is a video of us Trout fishing off the bottom using PowerBait. It’s another effective way to target these fish especially when they aren’t very active on the surface.