I'm in Pennsylvania for the week (only have 2 days left!) with a bunch of rivers and creeks that supposedly have brook, brown, and rainbow trout in them. I was out for hours today targeting areas off of roads and caught what must've been like 20 smallmouth, some fallfish, and sunfish, and the other day I was in a creek catching a bunch of stuff plus perch. No trout. So many fish but no trout. I'm targeting mostly deeper pools with slower moving water near fast water. I think the smallies are outcompeting them big time and they're struggling. Any way to sift through the others and get some trout? Especially brookies?
Been mostly using a 1/32 oz and 1/16 oz panther martin but also worms, beetle spins, and some other little things. They're all getting fish just no trout.
Posted by AdAdventurous7802
2 Comments
It’s July my guy. Up where I’m at in New England trout are very rare to catch in the summer. Early spring before things warm up, or well into fall when things cool down are the times for trout fishing.
I exclusively fly fish for trout, and this time of year, the only way I can get them to eat reliably is with small nymphs. Early morning and late evening, they will take some dry flies. And at night, the big ones will go for mice and other larger terrestrial critters. But the nymphs produce all through the day.
So, since you are using conventional fishing gear, go buy a pack of nymph flies and put them under some form of adjustable bobber. You want to occasionally tic the bottom with the fly, this is how you know you are at the right depth. Use the smallest bobber you can still cast.
Also, I tend to find more trout hiding underneath rock ledges and undercut banks with fairly strong current in front than in deep pools when the water is warm. Stronger current means higher oxygen levels and cooler water.