trout fishing questions

[MCFantail]

Going to take the kids 5 and 3 trout fishing in leadville Co in august and wondered if anyone had any advice for catching trout in reservoirs. Have some flys, rooster tails and other small spinner baits. Will only be using spinning reels.

Thanks

[yogi]

i tried berkleys trout bait .(pink dough) for the first time last weekend and i was very surprised how well it worked you might want to look it up and maybe give it a try .

[Bow Drawn]

I'd check the regs for CO. first but small red worms work great or something that looks like them. I'd drift it from a float. It's alternative to what you're going to try and those are good ones.

[Va Hunter]

We don't have but one lake around here that has trout. The guys I know who target them use minnows(shiners) under lights at nite or troll Rapala minnows or spinners on downriggers.

[MCFantail]

thanks guys. I have read that you want to use 2 to 4 pound leaders has anyone had any experience with that?

[Monie]

Absolutely! Use the lighter leaders. Trout seem to have an incredibly sensitive mouth. Go with 2lb if you can find it. I'd even use a size 14 hook. If you can't find them that small, a size 10 would work too. Definitely try the Power Bait. Rainbow works good, too. What makes it better is to form it into a fish. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it works better than making it into a ball. Salmon eggs are tops. "Balls of Fire" work great! Put one or two on a size 10 salmon egg hook.

Another thing you can do is fish the bottom. This works best in the river, but it can be used in the reservoir. To do this you'll need an 18" leader, a 9" leader, 2 small swivels, sinkers, and hook.
1. Put your main line through the eye of one swivel. You want this swivel to slide.
2. Tie the other swivel to the main line.
3. Tie the 18" leader to the sliding swivel.
4. Tie the 9" leader to the tied swivel.
5. Attach sinkers to 18" leader (on the sliding swivel). Not too tight.
6. Attach the 9" leader to the tied swivel.
7. Tie hook to the end of the 9" leader and add bait of your choice.

When you cast out, you actually want to get the sinkers stuck. You want enough tension on your line that the rod is "loaded" (somewhat bent over). This way, when a fish takes the bait, it'll pull the sinkers free and hook itself.

Another thing you can try; use "water bobbers". They are clear bobbers that you fill with water to add weight. They slide along the line. They're great if you want to get some distance without your bait dropping to the bottom in .003 seconds.

Hope this helps.

[MCFantail]

Thanks monie

Have you had any luck with lures. The kids are more apt to stay with it if they can cast and not just sit and wait. They do have some experience with bobber fishing for blue gill, but they have to be bitting pretty regularly or they get bored.