Float Fishing for Trout

By Dave Dyer

I have always loved to fish. If there has been any constant in my life it has been my unexplainable drive to fish. Family and friends have been baffled by my intense love of angling. I have often wondered why I love to fish so much and as the years slip by I have come closer to fining out why. Perhaps it is a fascination with water. Water is one of the most powerful forces on earth. Water gives us life, but its destructive forces can also take it away. Water can carve canyons out of rock and it can wash away cities over night. Our bodies are primarily composed of water, but we can not live under water for more than a few minutes. Fish are as at home under water as we are above water. I have always been intrigued by the under water world that fish are so at home in. They are the conquerors of water.



I have been fortunate in my life. I have pursued most every species of fish in North America, in all types of water, with all types of tackle. I do not get to fish for them as much as I would like to, but stream trout are my species to fish for. Stream trout do not grow as large or fight as hard as the steelhead, I spend most of my time pursuing, but there is something special about the water stream trout spend all their lives in. Wild brook trout, rainbow, cut throat, and brown trout, can only survive in the purest water. Trout will only survive in clean, cold water. Trout can not survive in water much over 70 degrees Fahrenheit or that has too many pollutants. Because of their requirement for cool, clean water, stream trout live in some of the wildest most beautiful places on earth. The best trout fishing is normally found in areas that have been forgotten or over looked by man. The streams in these wild places run crystal clear and are so cold that you would not want to wet-wade them. The wild streams where trout survive contain a wealth of aquatic life, from plants to the insects trout feed on. Trout truly live in an under water wonderland.

I have spent countless hours fishing for trout. I like to fly fish for trout and I can tie a perfectly proportioned replica of any aquatic insect trout feed on. I enjoy duping aggressively feeding trout into striking my quasi-insect replications, or flies, if you will. Fly fishing for trout is generally effective during an aquatic insect hatch, when trout are aggressively feeding. When trout are not aggressively feeding they can be difficult to catch on flies.

I love to fish live bait for trout. Most trout anglers fly fish and quickly turn their noses up at bait fishermen. Bait fishermen get a bad reputation primarily because; they have been portrayed as slovenly louses in books and movies. The fly fisher is depicted as a great angler that romances trout onto the end of his line, while the bait angler is passed out drunk on the bank. It is easy to see why most anglers getting into the sport of trout fishing want to become fly fishermen. I am here to say that fishing live bait is the most effective method for the taking of stream trout. If anyone wants to contest that statement, I will gladly challenge them to a streamside trout fishing match. I bring far more trout to hand fishing bait than I do with flies and I have caught my largest trout on bait.



You can find baits that will catch trout at your local bait shop. Night crawlers, red worms, crickets, and wax worms can be purchased at the bait shop. My favorite store bought bait for trout are wax worms (bee moth larva). Wax worms are very similar to many aquatic insect larva species that are found in trout streams. The most effective baits for trout can only be found in the stream that you will be fishing. The aquatic insects that trout feed on make the best baits. Catching your own bait is nearly as much fun as catching a trout. Catching your own bait is easy and only requires a small net with fine mesh. Many aquatic insects can be captured by simply overturning rocks and logs in the stream bed and picking the aquatic insects off. Holding your net underwater, down stream of the rocks you are over turning, will catch the lion’s share of aquatic insects. You will also find small crayfish, sculpins, and minnows in the net. All make great trout bait. The aquatic insects that trout like best include: caddis, mayfly nymphs, and stonefly nymphs. In the late summer and fall terrestrial insects will make up a portion of a stream trout’s diet. Terrestrial insects include: grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and ants. Grasshoppers are fabulous trout bait. They are easiest to catch in the early morning before the sun warms them and they become more active.



Once you have caught your bait, a good presentation is the key to hooking trout. I prefer to present my bait to trout under a float. Float fishing provides me with the most natural presentation. I prefer to fish with fixed float in streams. I use floats with a slim design in slow water and floats with larger diameters in fast current. I fix my floats on my main line to allow my bait to float just above the bottom. Once I have my float set at the proper depth and my hook baited, all I have to do is send my float on its way down stream. I slow my float down a bit at the start of the drift to allow my bait to get out in front of the shot and float. I can cover more water effectively with a float that I can with other methods.

My favorite trout rod is a 10 foot 6 inch noodle rod, rated for 2 to 4 pound test line. I like to employ the use of a centerpin reel when float fishing streams, but spinning reel will work fine also. A centerpin reel looks similar to a fly reel, but the centerpin has a larger diameter spool. The spool of a centerpin reel rotates effortlessly at current speed as the float makes its way down stream. Centerpin reels make it easier for me to control my float and allow for the longest drag free presentations. I spool my reels with 6 pound main line and then attach a leader of 2 or 3 pound fluorocarbon. I use tiny #12, 14, or 16 hooks with most of my baits. I also like to use small 64th and 80th ounce jigs. I mainly use jigs in conjunction with caddis larva or bee moth larva. A small jig tipped with a bee moth larva, under a float, is deadly on trout.

This article was originally published in the June 2006 Midwest Outdoors Magazine.