How to catch Golden Trout
Fishing for Golden or Palomino trout is as easy or hard as fishing for Rainbow trout – with one difference, you may be able to see them a lot easier. That doesn’t mean they’re easier to catch though. After all the Golden trout is really a Golden Rainbow trout. But if you can catch Rainbows, you can catch “Goldens”. I lived in New Jersey for many years and both New Jersey and Pennsylvania stocked Goldens/Palominos every Spring for a while. The best bait? In the spring it was Salmon eggs by far. Mike’s Lucky 7 was the brand I used. I just did a search on Mike’s and found that they have salmon eggs in all different colors and flavors! I just used the orange ones.
The rod was a four foot ultra-light glass. The reel was an ultra-light spinning reel with four pound test. I used one to four split shot ten to twelve inches up from the hook, depending on the current. Goldens are found usually in the head or tail of a pool or in the rapids. Cast your line upstream of where Goldens might be. Here’s the parts that will differ from any other instructions you may encounter:
- Hold your rod tip up high
- Hold the line in the crook of your index finger – you need to be able to detect the slightest “tick” from your line. No matter how big the fish is, they only give you a “tick”!
- It takes a while but you’ll soon be able to detect the “tick”
- When you feel the bite, lift your rod up high
You’ve probably hooked your first Golden, or even a regular Rainbow !
The rest of the year a half of a nightcrawler did the trick. If use a nightcrawler though, you have to let them chew on it a little longer or you’ll pull it out of their mouth.
This might sound like old advice from an old guy, because it is. One more thing to address. I fished for stocked trout every Spring. but I also fished throughout the entire year, and we actually caught some Goldens most of the year. Stocked fish or not, Goldens are fun and this works.
January 07 2009 01:02 pm | Trout Fishing
June 21st, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Actually Conner, worms are a pretty good bait for goldens, as they are for all trout. You may want to try salmon eggs, but its pretty late in the season for them. Just make sure you let them eat the worms for a while. Hold your rod up to at least a 45 degree angle, so that you’re able to feel it chomping on the worm. Then if they’re still there, set the hook.