Under the right circumstances, bottom fishing can be very effective for trout, but it’s important to know when and where to fish. That’s what I want to get into, so let’s get started!
Quick Answer:
Bottom fish for trout in lakes and ponds using a sliding sinker rig and a floating bait such as PowerBait. When bottom fishing in rivers, Use either splitshot pinched on the line above the bait, or a dropshot rig. Sinking baits like earthworms and salmon eggs work best in streams.
How Trout Feed And What Bait To Use
It always helps to understand the feeding patterns of the trout in order to catch them.
Determine whether the trout are in a river or lake, raised in a hatchery or in the wild, stocked as little fingerlings, or released at a mature age. These are all factors that will effect the feeding patterns of the fish you are targeting.
Wild Trout
One of the most hard fighting, and rewarding fish to catch is the wild trout. Whether they be rainbow, brook, brown, or any of the other many trout species, they are aggressive, hit hard, and fight with amazing strength.
These are the fish that have been through the survival of the fittest. They are pretty smart, and if they are in a body of water that gets fished a lot, they will be very careful about what they put into their mouths.
In the wild, trout eat mainly aquatic worms, insects, and smaller fish. So our bait boxes should include at least one of the imitators such as earthworms, mealworms, crickets, or minnows.
Stocked Trout
Trout can be stocked at different stages. Some are stocked as fingerlings which means they are around 4 inches. By the time these trout are big enough to catch, they’ll have pretty much adapted to be equal to wild trout.
However, most trout are stocked in the 8 to 12 inch range. These trout have spent long enough in the hatchery, that they have different swimming and feeding habits.
In the hatcheries, trout are fed floating fish pellets. These are small, hard, greenish pellets that float on top of the water. So these fish fed exclusively off the surface while they were raised. You’ll often see stocked trout cruising around a pond near the surface because that’s where they expect food to be.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t bottom fish for stocked trout, but fishing really deep may not always be the best method.
Our bait box should include PowerBait, earthworms, and my favorite secret bait… bread.
Time of Day
There’s one more important feeding pattern to know before we get into lakes vs rivers. That is, how feeding patterns change throughout the day.
The time of day will play a role in where the fish are feeding. In the morning, wild trout will be feeding on insects that are hatching off the bottom of the lake.
As the day goes on these insect pupa will float towards the surface and the trout will follow.
Once the pupa reach the surface they will break out of their skin, dry their wings, and fly off. At this point the trout will be eating them off the surface.
In the evening as the sun is setting, the flies will return to the surface of the water to lay their eggs, and once again the trout will be eating them off the surface.
This insect life cycle happens in both lakes and rivers, and mostly effects wild trout, whos main diet consists of these insects.
Lakes And Ponds
For whatever reason, trout like to swim. You’ll rarely see a trout sitting still. They may be holding in one spot in a river, but they still have to swim against the current in order to stay there.
This is helpful to know when bottom fishing for trout in still waters.
Knowing where to cast our bottom rig can be a little confusing. After all, you don’t want to cast in the wrong spot and waist 15 minutes waiting for a bite, where there aren’t any fish around.
What you want to do is intercept the path of the cruising trout. I have noticed, that trout (especially stocked trout) like to cruise laps around the lake, or go back and forth over a section of the lake.
Take some time to observe before you pick your spot. If you can, walk along the bank looking for cruising trout, or fish feeding off the surface. Take note of how far off the bank they are swimming/feeding. How deep is the water? Are they swimming along a drop-off? Do they seem to be they staying in the shade? Are they near a weed line, or fallen trees?
Take all this information and try to determine the path these fish may be navigating along. Then cast your bait out to intercept that path.
If fish are feeding off the surface, then you will probably be better off using a bobber and worm, but if the water is shallow enough, you can still use a bottom rig with a floating bait such as PowerBait. You would just want to use a leader long enough to float your bait up to within a couple feet of the surface.
Rivers And Streams
In my opinion, it is much easier to locate fish in a river. However, the techniques needed to present the bait to them takes a good amount of practice, patience, and skill.
As opposed to lakes, rivers are usually more rocky and filled with snags. You’ll probably lose a lot more gear and spend more time tying knots, especially as you are learning the river.
But once you learn to read a river, and know exactly where you can cast and catch a fish, it becomes the most rewarding type of fishing.
Bottom fishing is one of the most effective methods to target trout in rivers.
The number one most effective type of bottom fishing in a river, may not be what you think of when someone says “bottom fishing.”
Although you can pin your bait to the bottom with a sliding sinker rig, I’m going to go into a more involved yet effective method called drift fishing.
But before I get into those rigs and techniques, I want to finish telling you where to find trout in rivers.
Trout like to hang out and feed behind rocks, in front of rocks, tight along the bank, and in deep pools.
Basically you want to find a spot that has fast water next to slow water. The trout will be sitting in the slow water but right next to the fast water where food is being washed down by the current. They will dart out into the fast water to grab food, but return to the slow water to take a break.
Drift your bait right through those seams where the fast and slow water meet.
What I have written here is very basic. If you really want to learn everything about where to find trout in rivers, then watch this amazing video produced by Wendell Ozefovich.
Bottom Fishing Rigs For Trout
To bottom fish for trout in a lake, use a sliding sinker rig. You want to keep your rig pinned to the bottom where it will intercept the path of a cruising trout.
You can also use the sliding sinker rig to bottom fish for trout in the deep, slow holes of a river, but for faster water I recommend a drift rig.
Sliding Sinker Rig
This is a super simple rig to tie, and one that works for all sorts of fish.
Just slide an egg sinker onto your main line, followed with an optional bead. The bead is to prevent the sinker from sliding over your swivel if the hole is too big and the swivel too small.
Then tie on your swivel, leader, and hook. If you are using a floating bait like PowerBait, then the length of your leader will be how high off the bottom your bait will be allowed to float up.
Hopefully you were able to determine how high off the bottom the trout are cruising at, but if not then 18 inches is a good place to start. Then adjust the leader until you find the right length to where fish are biting.
Splitshot/Drift Rig
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and when I was in my late teens, I decided to try steelhead fishing. This is where I was introduced to the rigs and techniques of drift fishing.
I have taken this style of drift fishing and applied it to trout fishing. The result is what I believe to be the most effective bait method for trout fishing in rivers.
I’m sure I’m not the only one to use this method for trout, but I don’t see many bait anglers using it. So if you haven’t yet, give it a shot.
The most traditional way is to just pinch some splitshot onto your line about 18 inches above your hook.
The splitshot method definitely works, but pinching these on your line can potentially damage the line. Be especially careful when using light leaders like 4 pound test. I like to use the splitshot with the ears on the back which allow you to open them up. That makes it easier to change weights to match the current.
If I have some on me, I prefer using a slinky weight. These are cords filled with splitshot and sealed. I make my own using shrink-wrap tubing.
You can then tie a snap swivel inline, keeping the snap free to clip on and off the slinky weight you need. This allows you to easily change the amount of weight depending on the strength of the current you are fishing.
Dropshot Rig
The dropshot rig is one I stole from the fly fishing world (don’t tell them I’m giving it to bait anglers.)
This rig is a little more difficult to tie. The difficult part is tying two knots to the eye of the hook.
Start by tying your hook to the end of your main like or leader. Then tie another length of line to the hook that is about 10 inches long. At the end of that short line pinch on your splitshot. Make sure to tie a knot in the end of the line so the splitshot don’t slide off.
The benefit of this rig is that you have more direct contact with your hook. When a fish bites, you’ll know sooner and be able to get a quicker hookset.
Add or remove splitshot to where you are just touching bottom a couple of times through the drift.
This rig also assures you that your bait is only a couple inches off the bottom.
Conclusion
To bottom fish for trout use a sliding sinker rig in lakes and ponds. Try to cast it out to a spot that intersects the path of cruising trout. Make sure you are using a floating bait like PowerBait. Trout will rarely stick their nose in the mud to eat something.
If you are fishing a river, it’s better to use a drift rig to reach the bottom, and let your bait float past the trout. You should use a sinking bait like a worm, or salmon egg.
Learn More
I have a bunch of articles on trout fishing. These include topics like How To Catch Trout, The Best Line For Trout Fishing, and How To Find Trout Fishing Spots Near You. You can find these and more in the menu at the top.
