Winter Rainbow Trout ?

[gonzo79]

According to the DNR, Big Watab in Stearns county has been stocked with over 40,ooo rainbow trout fingerling in the last four years. I chase trout allover during the spring and fall but never through the ice. Any tips to help me get some Stearns County trout this winter?

[CrappieJohn]

Medium sized fatheads fished on a plain hook under a float or gobber up the hook with some PowerBait that is made for trout and looks like a marshmellow. If using the power bait, omit the float and place a splitshot a foot above the hook and drop the line to the bottom. Have a small rubberband placed around the very front of the rod's handle and when the bait hits the bottom simply slip a loop of loose line under it. Leave the bail open and put the rod in a holder.

If you like the activity more, try jigging with swedish pimples or kastmasters. Gold seems to be the best color, even better with a sliver of orange tape on them. The 1/16 ounce lures are plenty big. Waxies can be hung on the hooks of these baits, as can a small minnow.

[Gus]

tip up with a nice shiner a few feet under the ice will catch some cruisers also.

[gonzo79]

Is there a trick to locating them? Do trout suspend in the winter at a set depth like lakers do in the summer, or do they sit off the bottom, or are they all over?

[-Marc V-]

Hey Gonzo . . . You might want to check out the trout forum. There's some pretty good info in there about icing trout. I'm hoping to hook a few thru the ice this year with tips from FM.

Good luck.

[Neighbor]

Look for weedy flats next to deeper water. set up on top of the drop leading to deeper water. I like 6-13 FOW.

Drill or chip big holes so you can see down your hole well.

tip a small jigging rapala with a waxie or worm, and jig just under the ice 1-3 feet down. packs of rainbows will cruise the edge of these weedy flats insearch of bugs and minnows.

Try to be able to see your jig down hole at all times as they will sometimes just mouth the bait with little indication of a bite. Its is quite fun to visually fish for them this way.

Good luck

[HonestDave]

I have found they like 7' to 10' of water with weeds. Keep the bait a little above the weeds that is tipped with a meal or wax worm. We use a brown tube minnow this time of the year. They are looking for crawdads.

[gonzo79]

Thanks,

I checked out the trout forum and there is good stuff in there.

Gonzo

[fishermn]

One other comment, if its a designated trout lake, I believe you can only use dead minnows...

[CrappieJohn]

Trout love cold water and stay active throughout the winter. They are, in fact, the epitome of perpetual motion and never are idle it seems. Weed edges where shallow and deep water meet are good areas to set up and if you have a mid-lake hump with some weeds you'll likely find the trout nearby. The problem with trout under the ice is that they are continually on the move when they are searching for food. When they are at rest or in a neutral/negative mood they will probably retreat into much deeper water and go from cruising to traveling at an idle. They are interesting fish to pursue thru the ice to say the least.

[chunkytrout]

All really good points. "Cruiser", is definitely a word I use when icing streamers. So what Tom says is key. Find that feeding structure and stick to it. Larger prey in the weeds and the really small critters on deadfall / submerged wood and steeper rock piles. Site fishing can also be a great tool as some of those trout come in and leave so fast, they'd just be a quick blip on the electronics. We sight fish the pits quite often and it's a spectacle. One more approach for you is the light pan jigs on a slip tipped with waxies. Mmmmmmm Waxworms!