| Anyone who spends time fishing for trout knows | | | | and tie one end to the end of your line. Now take |
| that trout fishing involves more than simply putting | | | | one of the pieces of line and tie it to one of the |
| some salmon eggs or live worm onto a hook and | | | | other ends of the swivel. At the end of the line, tie |
| calling it good. If you want to be truly successful as a | | | | on a snap-loc sinker (1/4 to 3/8 ounce will normally |
| trout fisherman you need to have some different | | | | suffice). You should have one more end of the |
| trout rigs at you disposal. When I use the term 'trout | | | | swivel to tie off to. Tie the last piece of line to this |
| rigs' I'm referring to different ways of rigging your | | | | end of the swivel. Now tie your hook (many trout |
| bait and or lure so as to give you the best | | | | fishermen like a small treble hook) onto this piece of |
| opportunity to catch trout. | | | | line, and add the trout bait of your choice. |
| Before we get into the rigs themselves, let's discuss | | | | 2. The Slip Rig - This trout rig is best used with some |
| some basic trout fishing etiquette. When fishing for | | | | sort of floating trout bait, so it floats off the bottom. |
| trout, light line and small hooks should always be | | | | Begin by taking the end of your line and snipping off |
| employed. All too often I see trout fishermen using | | | | one piece 12-18 inches long and setting it aside. Now |
| line and hooks that are much too large for trout | | | | slip an egg sinker onto your line. At this point tie a |
| fishing. You're line should be no heavier than eight | | | | small barrel swivel to the end of your line, which will |
| pound test and your hooks should never be larger | | | | act as a 'stopper' for the egg sinker. On the opposite |
| than size six, in most instances. When it comes to | | | | end of the barrel swivel tie on a set of pre-tied gang |
| trout fishing the bottom line is this: the lighter the line | | | | hooks (size 8 or 10 are the most effective). Now |
| and the smaller the hooks, the more bites you will | | | | add enough trout bait to completely cover each of |
| get. | | | | the hooks on your trout fishing rig. The slip rig is now |
| Now, shall we get down to the trout fishing rigs that | | | | good to go. |
| will help you catch more fish? Sounds good. The first | | | | Both of these trout rigs are for use when still fishing. |
| two rigs are for still fishing, the third is for the flowing | | | | They should be cast out and allowed to sink to the |
| waters of rivers and streams. | | | | bottom. Then the slack line is reeled in slowly until the |
| | | | line is completely taught. Many trout fishermen |
| 1. The 3-way Rig - This trout rig involves a snap-loc | | | | choose to prop their rod against a forked stick for |
| sinker, a three way swivel, a hook (or set of gang | | | | stability. At this point it's a waiting game. My normal |
| hooks), and your trout bait of choice. Begin my | | | | rule of thumb is to wait at least a half and hour |
| taking the end of your line and cutting off two | | | | before checking your bait, unless you've had a bite |
| pieces, both 12-18 inches long. Set these pieces if line | | | | of course. It shouldn't take too long for your rod to |
| aside. Now choose a three way swivel that is | | | | start bouncing. |
| comparable to the size of the line that you are using, | | | | |