nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Trout for beginners

.red.

Hi lads,
I'd like to fish for trout and I'm looking for some advice.
I'm a shore angler who cant get out as much as I used to and have a supposedly good trout river(the Bride) near home that I'd like to fish a bit.
I'm pretty clueless so what should I be looking for? Fast water? Deep water? Bends or straights?
I've been down a few times in the last week and had a few tiddlers on my first day. The second time was after heavy rain and it was very fast and like chocolate. Am I wasting my time when it's like that?
I'll be using mainly worm and maybe a few small spinners or jellies.
Ill probably try a few stocked lakes too but prefer the idea of trying the Bride as it's literally walking distance from home.

Any advice welcome.
Thanks.

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

shamrock55

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

No. Don't put on any weights with a spinner. Simply get a heavier spinner.
A fish can swim faster than you reel so just try different depths and different speeds.

OK, thanks, what would be a good distance i should aim to cast

Ultimate Seduction

shamrock55 wrote: »

OK, thanks, what would be a good distance i should aim to cast

Distance means nothing

Rows Grower

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Distance means nothing

All other things being equal, the furthest cast will have the best chance of catching a trout on a lake.

Ultimate Seduction

Rows Grower wrote: »

All other things being equal, the furthest cast will have the best chance of catching a trout on a lake.

I wouldn't agree atall. You could cast it 20 meters over water with no fish seeing it. Key is knowing where the fish are

Rows Grower

shamrock55 wrote: »

OK, thanks, what would be a good distance i should aim to cast

You should be hoping to cast 30 feet at least and hopefully further but it's all about practice.

When you do cast from a standing position on a lake vary where you cast, ie start aiming at 10 o clock, then 11, 12, 1 and two.

Vary the speed at which you reel in and try different depths.

Rows Grower

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

I wouldn't agree atall. You could cast it 20 meters over water with no fish seeing it. Key is knowing where the fish are

I know you don't agree.

We have different opinions, it's no big deal.

.red.

I was down the river again this morning for just over an hour. There was fish everywhere, I could see them moving around and there was splashes and swirls non stop.
I didn't catch a thing tho! I'd only a handful of worms and would have stayed a good bit longer if I'd more but I got the feeling it didn't matter how long I stayed, I still wouldn't have caught anything.
Were they just fixated on flies at the top?
I've no interest in fly fishing, or spinning either. I really enjoy sitting back watching the rod tips and listening to the birds and the rustle of the trees so is there anything I can do to get them to take?

Rows Grower

.red. wrote: »

I was down the river again this morning for just over an hour. There was fish everywhere, I could see them moving around and there was splashes and swirls non stop.
I didn't catch a thing tho! I'd only a handful of worms and would have stayed a good bit longer if I'd more but I got the feeling it didn't matter how long I stayed, I still wouldn't have caught anything.
Were they just fixated on flies at the top?
I've no interest in fly fishing, or spinning either. I really enjoy sitting back watching the rod tips and listening to the birds and the rustle of the trees so is there anything I can do to get them to take?

I was talking to friends of mine from Cork at the weekend and they were telling me that so far this year they are having one of the best seasons yet on the Bride for Salmon. They're not big fish but are still decent sized between 4-6lbs and there seems to be a good run of them on the river.

They are catching them in the deep pools using double worms, slide the first worm up the line above the hook then when you have the second worm on the hook slide the first boyo back down.

It's important that the worms are lively when they are on the hook, they should be wriggling and bouncing to attract the fish.

The best ones to use are four to five inch long "dendrobena" worms that you'll see for sale in most tackle shops.

There's a knack in putting them on right, I use a size 6 hook with the eye bent away from the barb. Slide the hook through the center of the worms head and feed him up the length of the hook in one quick move before giving a quick flick to expose the barb of the hook at about a quarter of his length.

Pull the head of the worm up over the eye of the hook and your knot then and it looks very natural.

Some people reckon dawn and dusk are good times to catch fish that are otherwise slow to take but one thing is for sure, you have no hope at all unless you're at the river trying.

Tight lines.

.red.

Rows Grower wrote: »

I was talking to friends of mine from cork.......

Cheers, I've been using a baiting needle as I find it the handiest but presenting them the same as you describe on a size 9 hook.
Been using single worms tho as I'm after trout and not salmon cos I've no intention of buying a licence. I happy to catch anything and there seems to be plenty of trout to keep me occupied.
The rod I'm using is 0.5-5g with 6lb braid so even the smaller trout I've been getting are good craic.
Io
I met a lad last week who told me to try using soft cheese like calvita, is that allowed? So far I've just used worms.

Rows Grower

Cheese is a good bait for trout on the Lee and all it's tributaries and I've seen it work when nothing else would.

Best to use a small treble hook so you won't keep losing it but the downside is you'll probably kill everything you catch using a small treble.

If I were you I'd invest in a minnow trap (like a small version of a lobster pot) put some broken chocolate biscuits into it and catch some minnow in the low water, the minnow is the best bait on that river for trout. If you catch some full of eggs they are the best of all to use but remember you can't use them as bait when they are alive.

I've caught wild brown trout on various different rivers using cheese (the Lee and it's tributaries), black pudding (the Suir, Cashel/Clonmel) and stale chips (the Sullane, Macroom). If you put something edible in front of their nose and they are hungry they will find it hard to resist taking it especially if another trout shows interest in it.

Tacklebox

Rows Grower wrote: »

Cheese is a good bait for trout on the Lee and all it's tributaries and I've seen it work when nothing else would.

Best to use a small treble hook so you won't keep losing it but the downside is you'll probably kill everything you catch using a small treble.

If I were you I'd invest in a minnow trap (like a small version of a lobster pot) put some broken chocolate biscuits into it and catch some minnow in the low water, the minnow is the best bait on that river for trout. If you catch some full of eggs they are the best of all to use but remember you can't use them as bait when they are alive.

I've caught wild brown trout on various different rivers using cheese (the Lee and it's tributaries), black pudding (the Suir, Cashel/Clonmel) and stale chips (the Sullane, Macroom). If you put something edible in front of their nose and they are hungry they will find it hard to resist taking it especially if another trout shows interest in it.

Cheese is great in Ennis on the Fergus too

Rows Grower

With regard to the 6lb braid you'll probably never lose a fish with it but you'll definitely catch more if you switch to 4lb mono, brown trout are notoriously line shy.

Tacklebox

Rows Grower wrote: »

With regard to the 6lb braid you'll probably never lose a fish with it but you'll definitely catch more if you switch to 4lb mono, brown trout are notoriously line shy.

Fleuro carbon is the best I find anyhow

Rows Grower

Tacklebox wrote: »

Fleuro carbon is the best I find anyhow

I've only heard about how good the Fleuro carbon is recently but haven't tried it yet myself. The lads I know using it are serious trout anglers and they swear by it.

I'll be giving it a crack this season.

Ultimate Seduction

Ah cheese! That just brought back some memories. Trout on the Suir used to be mad for calvita cheese, trouble was I was mad for it myself and would have the block ate after 1 or 2 casts.

.red.

Rows Grower wrote: »

With regard to the 6lb braid you'll probably never lose a fish with it but you'll definitely catch more if you switch to 4lb mono, brown trout are notoriously line shy.

I'll get a block of cheese so for my next trip out, I'm only casting very short distances so hopefully it'll stay on.
I'm using about 5/6ft .18 fluro traces with as little of the small shots as I can get away with.

.red.

Just been googling minnow traps, I can buy one locally for €12 but I might have a go at making one from a plastic bottle.
Few questions about them tho,
Will I get any hassle from the fisheries officers for using them as bait? I was told one worm is trout fishing and any more than that will be seen as trying for salmon so unsure about the minnows.
I presume I'd catch a few, keep them alive and kill before use or are they better used from frozen?
How would I present them on the hook? I'm using size 9 hooks, lip hook them?
Cheers and thanks for all the replies to my previous questions.

rpmcmurphy

.red. wrote: »

Just been googling minnow traps, I can buy one locally for €12 but I might have a go at making one from a plastic bottle.
Few questions about them tho,
Will I get any hassle from the fisheries officers for using them as bait? I was told one worm is trout fishing and any more than that will be seen as trying for salmon so unsure about the minnows.
I presume I'd catch a few, keep them alive and kill before use or are they better used from frozen?
How would I present them on the hook? I'm using size 9 hooks, lip hook them?
Cheers and thanks for all the replies to my previous questions.

You certainly will run the risk of falling foul of a Fisheries officer as it is illegal to catch any fish in freshwater other than by way of rod and line.
Off the top of my head I believe the bye law is the control of fishing for coarse fish in freshwater no . 595 1977

Rows Grower

.red. wrote: »

Just been googling minnow traps, I can buy one locally for €12 but I might have a go at making one from a plastic bottle.
Few questions about them tho,
Will I get any hassle from the fisheries officers for using them as bait? I was told one worm is trout fishing and any more than that will be seen as trying for salmon so unsure about the minnows.
I presume I'd catch a few, keep them alive and kill before use or are they better used from frozen?
How would I present them on the hook? I'm using size 9 hooks, lip hook them?
Cheers and thanks for all the replies to my previous questions.

They are simple enough to make from a plastic bottle.

You won't get any hassle from a fishery officer for using them as bait as like the single worm they are not used to catch salmon.

They are better used fresh than frozen but make sure they are dead as you can't use live fish as a bait, having said that if you have some in the freezer it's better than having no minnow at all.

Use your baiting needle to hook them and have the barb of the hook at the minnows head.

I never heard of the bye law that prohibits catching minnow in a trap, but I do know that bye-law 806, 2006 states that "coarse fish" means any freshwater fish other than pike, salmom, trout, eels or minnow.

If you want to you could just tie your home made minnow trap onto your 6lb braid and once you lift it out of the spot or reel it in using your rod you would be fine but it would do no harm to call into the nearby fishery office and have a chat with one of the officers beforehand and show him/her your minnow trap and explain what you want to do for extra peace of mind.

Homemade traps usually only have one opening and it's best to place the trap so the opening is facing downstream.

Rows Grower

rpmcmurphy wrote: »

You certainly will run the risk of falling foul of a Fisheries officer as it is illegal to catch any fish in freshwater other than by way of rod and line.
Off the top of my head I believe the bye law is the control of fishing for coarse fish in freshwater no . 595 1977

Minnow are not a coarse fish.

rpmcmurphy

Rows Grower wrote: »

Minnow are not a coarse fish.

Not for the purpose of the 806 2006 bye law. However, the aforementioned 595 1977 bye law although entitled "the control of fishing for coarse fish in freshwater" bye law covers all freshwater fish. Also a minnow trap is indiscriminate in its abilty to catch fish therefore is capable of catching other species of freshwater fish. As an angler you will appreciate that you don't have to have caught a fish to be "fishing". Best check with your local ifi officer for clarity as advised by a previous poster.

malinheader

Lads just a quick question, are you able to spin for trout and if so is it succesful

dodderangler

malinheader wrote: »

Lads just a quick question, are you able to spin for trout and if so is it succesful

Mepps size 1 is my go to when fishing for trout. Only use worms if my daughter is fishing with me. But I always spin.
Nothing more boring than casting out a worm and waiting. Spinning you can cover a lot more water. And it’s more exciting.

Rows Grower

malinheader wrote: »

Lads just a quick question, are you able to spin for trout and if so is it succesful

You sure can and it sure is.

On a river it's the same as every other method of trout fishing, always cast upstream and reel in to make the bait/lure look natural.

Trout will always face upstream and they are always looking for something to eat.

The thing is usually if they are going to take a worm or a mepps, they will the first or second time they see it. Keep fishing upstream until you meet trout.

malinheader

Thanks for the advice lads. One last thing is there a certain time to of year to spin better than others.

Rows Grower

malinheader wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads. One last thing is there a certain time to of year to spin better than others.

My opinion would be the particular day is more important than the month, I would never spin on a bright sunny day unless it was straight after a flood and the water was a bit brown.

malinheader

Thanks lads and good fishing to yous.

dodderangler

malinheader wrote: »

Thanks lads and good fishing to yous.

In my experience a dark water with a nice flow is perfect. Not too deep. Normally 4-6 will produce fish. But you’ll also be surprised by trout in tiny stretches of water. A small pool could have a monster lying in it so never just assume there’s nothing there. Look for over hanging trees or rocks aswell. A big tick could have a good size trout lying behind it or just under it. So always go for them spots. Just be careful not to snag yourself.