Art and I caught a lot of fish. We didn’t keep but what the limit allowed, but we caught a lot of fish. We also mostly fished with bait, usually nightcrawlers and salmon egg depending on the time of the year. In the Spring we used a lot of salmon eggs, the rest of the year it was nightcrawlers.

Our tackle of choice was ultra-light spinning rods and reels, Fly rods were OK, but we caught a ton more fish with spinning tackle. Again, Art and I caught a lot of trout. What’s a lot? Anywhere from 22 to 54 trout a day. One day we caught 103 when our friend Fred was with us. Of course there were many days when we caught nothing or maybe one or two.

This background is so you get the idea that I’m not just some yahoo spouting off about trout fishing, that only read ablut it in a book. (I may be a yahoo, but of a different kind)

Here’s a story I did about how to catch Golden trout.

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.