My wife calls opening day trout "Too, Too, Too, Too Trout too" because the water's usually too high and too cold and too muddy there are far too many anglers crammed into far too few holes. Fortunately, in much of the country the typical catch is what we call "truck trout" here in Idaho where stocking's mostly for the tourists. And truck trout and their seekers apparently don't mind crowding.
But there's something special about opening day. Just be prepared.
If you're not a purist consider worms, long shank size 8 hooks and a float to bounce your worm down the line. Otherwise salmon eggs and, hopefully, size 12 or 14 salmon egg hooks or everybody's colorful favorite Power Bait on size 10 hooks does the job. Have you ever wondered if Power Bait and its clones was designed by commercial laundry owners to make the maximum colorful stain on your clothing? These are even better if a pup eats your bait and barfs on your lap -- details on request.
If you prefer to fish lures -- think slow! Loggy cold water trout like slow. I'll go with silver or gold spinners in the smallest possible sizes. I use Mepps and some home-made Colorado spinners interchangeably. Just remember the wider the blade and slower the spinn and, usually, the slower the sink rate. Spinners made from a couple of split rings do run more shallow than shaft and clevis spinners with weighted bodies. So bag some of each.
I do crimp spinner blades up on the corner away from the shank or clevis with pliers so two lures spin in opposite directions. This reduces twists. So do spinners with offset heads and ball-bearing swivels. In my experience the little brass barrel swivels simply don't. Remember that kinky lines turn straight if you simply run them out in the current without a lure for a bit.
Go To Page: 1 2
