The opening of another trout season is upon us, and needless to say, a lot of us are talking about heading out trout “fishing.”
So why don’t we say we are going trout “catching”?
Well, for good reason, because there are times when we hit the water and end up with no fish caught; we were “fishing” but not “catching.”
A lot of the time, we then find ourselves asking, “Why didn’t I catch any fish?” I’m sure a lot of things enter into answering that question, including weather and water conditions, location, lure or bait selection, type of equipment, and fishing techniques.
As a fisherman myself, I often find myself reviewing all of those factors, but that last one — fishing techniques — is one I want to address now.
When I delve into fishing techniques, one of the most important factors I find for improving hook-up success is detecting the strike when it occurs.
The strike or hit occurs when the trout, or any fish for that matter, finally attacks your offering.
Generally speaking, that strike occurs when we either see or feel that action.
Many fishermen often use a bobber of some type to see the strike.
Most of the time, it’s probably best to set the hook fairly quickly when that bobber pops under or is pulled beneath the surface.
One of the biggest problems I often see, however, is that the bobber being used is often too large for the fish you are after. Too large a bobber makes it difficult to detect the lighter hits of trout or small fish. Size is important, and that goes for the size of the rod and line as well.
Light spinning outfits with lines of four to six-pound test are good choices for trout and panfish fishing.
If you are using spin fishing gear without any kind of strike indicator, then you are dependent on feeling that strike.
Here again, all too often, I see fishermen making a cast and then letting a big amount of slack or loose line develop as the offering drifts down the stream.
Fish may be grabbing the offering, but the loose line does not send the message. I often hold some line in the hand that’s not holding the rod handle so that I can more easily detect a strike coming through that line.
You may also want to switch to braided line to make detection even more likely.
If you choose to utilize fly fishing equipment for your trout fishing, like I do most of the time, it’s also important to pay close attention to that drifting dry fly and be ready to strike or set the hook when the fish hits.
All too often, I was looking the other way when I finally got the hit, but I didn’t strike quickly enough, and the fish was gone.
In fly fishing, it’s very important to keep the rod tip high and the line with no slack, to feel that quick little tap or strike, and that’s especially important in nymph or wet fly fishing.
Even in fly fishing, I may use a strike indicator to detect hits, and I have found that the tandem rig works especially well.
You simply put a bit larger dry fly on and then tie a length of leader material to the bend of the hook and attach your nymph or wet fly offering. The length of the added leader depends on the depth you are fishing. The dry fly serves as your strike indicator, but quite often it’s the dry fly that is hit and not the nymph or wet fly.
Even when bass fishing with casting gear, if I’m pitching a surface plug, I keep a tight line and don’t allow much slack after the cast. The point is, if you want to hook up more often, it’s probably a good idea to use light enough gear and line and take up the slack so you can feel that strike when it comes.
