As a person who has been fishing for trout for the past twenty plus years, I know how important it is to choose the correct bait when you are attempting to catch these beautiful fish. In this article I will outline some trout bait tips for each season so that you can begin to experience more success when you are trout fishing. Keep these simple tips in mind the next time that you head out onto the water and you will see that your hook up rates will begin to rise.

1. Spring - The spring of the year is when a majority of anglers do a majority of their trout fishing and one of the best trout baits that there is for the spring of the year is salmon eggs. Salmon eggs and the spring time go hand in hand, especially when you are fishing for trout in a river or stream. For fly fishermen the spring of the year means Woolly Buggers, ear nymphs, and basic egg flies. Also, for those of you who are fishing for trout that have been freshly "stocked", Powerbait trout bait is never a bad trout bait choice.


2. Summer - The summer is a difficult season for trout bait tips because it can be a difficult time of the year to fool hungry trout. As you undoubtedly know trout are a cold water fish and when water temperatures rise in the summertime, the trout's feeding behavior can become erratic. This is a good time of the year to try live bait such as worms or minnows, but expect a percentage of these baits to get "inhaled" (or taken very deeply) by hungry trout. The summertime is when many fly fishermen turn to grasshopper patterns with a 'dropper' trailing behind.


3. Fall - In my twenty five or so years of experience, the fall is the best time of the year for trout fishing. Techniques such as "drift fishing" with live or synthetic worms can be a difficult strategy to beat during the fall of the year. On of the best trout bait tips for using live or synthetic worms as bait for trout is to rig them in a natural and realistic manner. The summer is also a great time to use spinner flies as bait and some effective fly patterns for fly fishermen would include micro fly patterns (especially ones that are new creations).


4. Winter - The winter is definitely the hardest season of the year to catch trout. As water temperatures drop to nearly freezing temperatures trout tend to become very lethargic and feed much less often. Some anglers enjoy ice fishing for trout where some effective trout baits would include; micro jigs (often tipped with maggots), live shiners, and small Kastmasters. English Pheasant Tails and various midges are effective choices for many winter fly fishermen.

Add these simple trout bait tips to your trout fishing arsenal and you will be well on your way to experiencing more success on the water.

Trevor Kugler is Co-founder of JRWfishing and has more than 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his eight year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana. Check out our blog which is focused completely on trout fishing tips & tricks to help you be more successful on the water.