Daily Trout Stocking Schedule (2024)

FAQs

Do trout bite during the day? ›

In the summer, lake trout feed between first light and before 11 a.m., especially when the water is as calm as glass with clear skies and high pressure. In the early spring, your chances of success increase throughout the lake since trout feed in more parts of the lake and during longer periods of the day.

With a selection of spinners and spoons and a bit of experience with them on the water this time of year, it's easy to find fast action for stocked trout with a bit of flash and fun built right into each cast or troll.

Rainbows and brook trout will feed all day, and because they tend to be more “bug oriented” than brown trout, both species often feed more actively as a day progresses when the sun is shining because the warming water makes aquatic insects more active and fires up hatches.

Try the tips below to target trout on your next fishing trip. Wax worms, red worms, night crawlers, and minnows are a sure bet to get a fish's attention. Try hooking a cut piece of night crawler onto an unweighted size 6 hook and floating it into a deep, cool hole in a stream.

Some colours suit different types of water and times of day better. Black suits dark conditions, white gives excellent visibility in stirred and dirty water, red suits clear, shallow water, while in bright conditions flashy yellow and orange lures work well.

Inline spinners are great for catching trout mainly because the spinning blade on the lure's shaft triggers strikes from both aggressive and inactive fish. The flash produced by the spinning blade mimics the movement of the shiny minnows trout feed on in rivers and lakes.

Compared to most other trout, they are generally more wary, more likely to feed at night and, in the daytime especially, they tend to be more particular about exactly what they will eat. I'm a sucker for the challenge.

Stocked trout don't want to seek out their food, and they likely don't know how to do it anyway. They want convenience. So, anglers should use a bait that's suspended just off the bottom. You can do that with a bobber, but any amount of wind can make that type of fishing difficult.

The fact is that, as any dry-fly-fisherman knows, a trout spends most of its life looking up and feeding at the water's surface. This makes them very susceptible to being fooled by small topwater lures at night. A Rapala floating jointed minnow fooled this beautiful brown trout.

What powerbait is best for trout? ›

1. Berkley Powerbait. The go-to choice for any Rainbow trout bait angler is the tried and tested Berkley Powerbait that has accounted for more rainbow trout bait fishing than any other trout bait.

Skinny flows expose trout in a riffle that once offered protection, until that same riffle is far too dangerous for all but the smallest fish to feed. Trout are wary and cautious creatures. And they look for places to eat without exposing themselves to predators.

Monofilament fishing line seems to be the most popular choice among the trout fishing community as a whole. It is versatile, comes in an array of colors and sizes, it works with most trout fishing methods such as trolling, casting and bait fishing, and is typically the least expensive line you can buy.

Early morning is widely considered to be the best time of day to fish for trout, and for good reason. Low light conditions make a trout feel comfortable to sit out in the open and also doesn't allow them to scrutinize your offering so intently.

As great as lures and fly lines are as bait, you can't beat the live natural bait for trout. One of the tastiest snacks for trout are minnows. The larger trout gobble them down like candy. Not many anglers use minnows as bait, but if you're after the trophy trout, minnows are your go-to.

Feel for a pull on the line

Often, a tug or pull from a fish is quite sharp, and you can feel it distinctly against your hand while you're holding the rod. Sometimes you can also feel your bait or lure become suddenly heavy, which is again a sign of a bite.

Many anglers know that when trout streams get too warm, the fishing can go south quickly. Fish either aren't feeding or are seemingly nowhere to be found. Trout are stressed in these hot temperatures.