Letting the wind push my Crestliner down a rocky bank with a mixture of rain and snow falling, a cast to the bank, one turn of the reel handle and “THUD” another brown. When I get bit I put a waypoint or icon on my Lowrance which lets me go back through areas where we had numerous bites. This scenario has replayed itself many times this morning. Two of us must have caught 30 or more browns along with a few rainbows and a couple of lake trout.
The recipe is simple. Throw in the nastiest weather you can find, a few jerk baits, a couple swimbaits, a fast action rod, good raingear, warm clothes and a friend that’s willing to get very cold to catch fish and it’s on.
Let’s break this down. First of all, the weather; most brown trout feed in low light. This means we have about an hour at sunset and sunrise. Clouds and wind can keep the light low all day (I feel they are both important together but wind is a huge factor in this game). Throw in rain and snow, the clouds are a little darker which helps even more. As the wind crashes into the bank the waves wash bait out of the rocks, sticks, weeds and mud. The predators know this is going on and take full advantage of it. Basically, if it’s you’re fishing the calmer side of the lake, your missing out. Water temp plays a big role. If the water temp is less then 50 degrees, the fish might not attack a fast lure. Slow your reel down.
Locations are very simple, a rocky shoreline where the wind generally hits or sweeps the bank. The techniques can be used from the bank or a boat. One key is be willing to cover lots of ground. We have found most rocks in the wind will have browns in them.
Jerk Bait gear is pretty simple. I use the 7’ Scheels NOS rods medium action with a medium tip, Pflueger President XT reels spooled with 15 lb. Berkley X-9 line and a 10 lb.Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader. Using heavier line is always a good idea. Every now and then big lake trout are in there eating browns. My favorite cranks for this situation are the Berkley Cutters 110 shallow. The chrome colors work very well.
This technique is very simple. If you’re in a boat, cast to the bank or position your boat so you can cast parallel to the bank (If you’re in your boat and its windy, your boat control ability might be tested. Remember safety first). When the lure hits the water give it a little pull or jerk. Take in the slack, pause, repeat. Do this all the way to the boat or back to the bank. Most of your fish will be caught closer to the bank.
In calm water on a partly cloudy morning I’ve done very well for browns and lake trout using a Scheels Bio Bait 3.75” Swimbaits and 5” Switchbacks. The swimbaits require a slightly heavier head so I use a 3/8 oz round head. This gives the head of the bait enough weight to make it “wobble” just a little bit as you work it. The Switchback can be fished very slowly. It’s a great “nonaggressive” bait, so I use ¼ and 3/8 oz heads on them. I am a huge fan of Bio Baits original colors.
First, you need to locate how deep these fish are. In the spring I don’t fish deeper then 15’-20’. To work these baits is very simple. Either cast these baits to the shoreline and work down the bank or cast them parallel and try to work specific depth contours. The Swim Baits are a simple lift (no more than a foot) and drop. As the lure falls reel in the slack. I do fish these very close to the bottom and snags can be an issue. I tend to snap jig the Switchbacks back to the boat, while keeping them very close to the bottom. As I snap the rod tip (once again no more than a foot), I take in the slack and watch the line for a “jump”. Repeat this all the way to the bank or boat.
The gear I use for pitching these lures is Scheels “Outfitter” rods. 6’6” medium action with a fast tip. I like to size down the line a little to 8 lb. Berkley X-9 and an 8lb Trilene 100% fluorocarbon leader. When fishing on calm clear water I like the weight of the jig to affect the fall not the line, also the fish can be line shy.
This spring if you’re out on the water and haven’t tried targeting brown trout, give it a shot but be careful its very addicting.
