Lures and baits for trout
Trout lures and baits: stocked pond, stream and lake
At a stocked pond paste, maggots and micro spoons catch, in streams and lakes spinners, small crankbaits and flies. The water decides, not the fish.
The lure groups
What for, in which size and colour, and how to work it.
Trout paste and maggots (stocked pond)
Put-and-take ponds with stocked rainbows, static fishing with a float or a bombarda float.
- Size
- Paste as a hazelnut-sized ball or shaped as a propeller, maggots singly or in pairs on a small hook.
- Colour
- Paste in yellow, orange and green, white in clear water. Glitter helps on dull days.
- Retrieve
- Retrieve slowly with pauses so the paste rotates. Under a float at 1 to 2 m, change depth every 20 minutes.
Micro spoon
Pond and lake, active fishing with an ultralight rod.
- Size
- 1.5 to 3.5 g, up to 5 g in wind and depth.
- Colour
- Loud colours for stocked fish, copper and silver in clear water and for wary fish.
- Retrieve
- Slow, so the spoon tumbles, with short stops. Change speed on a follower.
Spinner and small crankbait (stream and river)
Brown trout in running water, rainbow trout in lakes.
- Size
- Spinner size 0 to 2, crankbait 3 to 6 cm, sinking in current.
- Colour
- Natural and subtle in a clear stream, gold in murky water.
- Retrieve
- Cast upstream and retrieve faster than the current, lead the lure past eddies, roots and pools.
Fly
Stream and lake, rising fish, clear water.
- Size
- Dry fly hook 12 to 18, nymph 10 to 16, streamer 6 to 10.
- Colour
- Match what is hatching. When in doubt brown and olive.
- Retrieve
- Dry fly drifts drag-free, nymph just above the bottom, streamer with strips along the bank.
Through the year
- Spring Streams open in March or April depending on country and region, spinners and nymphs. Best time for the spoon at ponds.
- Summer Warm water makes trout sluggish. Early mornings, deep spots, flies in the evening. Rest the fish when water goes above 20 C.
- Autumn Brown trout before their closed season carefully, rainbows in lakes active on spoon and crankbait.
- Winter Stocked ponds are the place. Paste and maggots slowly, spoons in sunshine.
Rules of thumb
Stocked trout react to colour and scent, wild trout to natural baits and stealth.
Rod up to 10 g casting weight, thin mono or fluorocarbon. Trout have soft mouths, set the drag soft.
Brown trout have a closed season in autumn and winter in most places, rainbow trout often not. Check first.
Quick questions
What is the best bait for trout?
At a pond trout paste and maggots, actively the micro spoon. In a stream a spinner, small crankbait or fly. The bait follows the water.
What colour for trout paste?
Yellow, orange and green are the standard, white in clear water, glitter on dull days. Change colour after 20 minutes without a bite.
What size spoon for trout?
1.5 to 3.5 g at a pond, up to 5 g in wind or deep water. The calmer the water, the lighter.
Next
Lures for other species
Lures for other species
Everything here is a rule of thumb from practice, not a guarantee. Lures are named as a group, not as a brand. Sizes are guide values.
In Germany, closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each state and can be stricter for single waters. All German rules by state, with the legal source. Outside Germany, the local rules apply: licence and agency by country.
Know more?
Additions, photos of your catches or a mistake in the text: write to us and we will gladly credit you as a helper.
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