Lake trout
Spinfishing is hands down, the only way to go to catch lakers. Really simple. Cover a lot of water; concentrating on points, humps and drop-offs using spoons on downriggers or popping large tube jigs off the bottom. Hitting the depths efficiently is where spinning gear shines.
Bait
There is nothing that compares to the fish catching ability of bait. Basically, we’ve had to eliminate its use in flowing waters of the province because it’s incredibly effective and if you want to catch and release, hooking mortality becomes an issue. So, we are mostly left with put and take fisheries where bait is allowed. I don’t use bait much because I primarily catch and release fish, but when I’m going to harvest a few fish from the local trout pond nothing beats floating Powerbait rigged to float 12 to 18” over a sinker. Sometimes it’s nice to kick back let the bait do the work.
The preceding examples demonstrate where spin fishing is advantageous because of its efficiency, lessened need for casting room, and ability to use bait. But to really appreciate the spinning rod, you need to understand its absolute versatility.
Who says you can’t fly fish with a spinning rod?
I’ve been in many situations where I’ve taken my spinning rod to explore a stream and ran into a hatch where the trout became picky. Rather than curse not having a fly rod, I’ve smartened up and packed small floats and an assortment of dry flies and nymphs for just these occasions. I also have along an extra spool of lighter line (4 lb test) and small split shots for casting the lighter flies. All you have to do is match the hatch and cast your float and fly far enough upstream not to spook rising trout or to allow for a good drift of a nymph through a run or pool. On some occasions it may even outperform fly gear because you can feed as much line as you want for your drift while avoiding drag on the fly. So, don’t forget to pack the spinning gear, it opens up more options for catching trout this summer.