Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3713 June 9-22 2018 | Page 9

FRESHWATER
VOL.37 • ISS. 13
June 8 - 22, 2018
9
Trout Rigs…
>
A six inch Sling
Blade and half
ounce baitfish colored
Hum Dinger, this is a rig
that has been working
well for Fish Sniffer
editor Cal Kellogg during
his most recent trout
trolling trips. The dodger
and spoon rig works on
most reservoirs most
days.
presents
Four Trout Trolling Rigs
YOU Can Count On…
<
Cal loves to troll
threaded worms
behind flashers. He is
trying some new flashers
this season. The flashers
shown here are from the
Yakima Bait Company.
They are called Rooster
Trolls and utilize the
deadly Rooster Tail blade.
>
I
was digging through my trout gear
the other day, putting together a very
concise set of trolling and casting gear for
my kayak. Since I’ve got limited storage
space in the kayak as compared to the
space available in the average
heavy aluminum trout fishing
machine, I had to really think
about what worked and what
didn’t, what I could sacrifice
and what I couldn’t hit the
water without.
In the end, I came up with
a concise selection of gear
that will catch trout wherev-
er my travels take me. As I
sorted the gear I spent time
reflecting on some of the rigs
that had really performed
well for me over the years.
That reflection is the basis for
this article. Here are 4 of my
favorite trout trolling rigs.
miles per hour.
I’m an aggressive troller and I like to
move quickly. For this reason, my hands
down dodger of choice for trout fishing is
a 6 inch Sling Blade, generally a green and
silver UV model. These dodgers
put out tons of flash and sound and
they work great when trolled from
2.5 to 3.
In terms of spoons you want
something that you have confi-
dence in that imitates baitfish.
That might be a chrome Kastmas-
ter, a Needlefish, a Hum Dinger,
Speedy Shiner or something else.
No matter what spoon you
choose try to match the size of the
spoon to the size of the bait.
When rigging up, remember
that you don’t want a spoon work-
ing too close to a dodger, provided
the spoon has a good action. I typ-
ically run my spoon 24 to 48 inches behind
the blade, with 30 inches being the norm.
With this rig watch your sonar and work
over the top of any marks you see. You can
also work structure like big points and bluffs
dropping into deep water. You’ll find that
while this rig is super effective for fooling
trout, it’s just as good for fooling spotted
bass.
FISH SNIFFER
HOW – TO
Small crankbaits
are great trout
lures especially when
the trout are near the
surface. These plugs
are called Yakima Mag
Lips. The smaller Mag
Lip 2.0 will dive to 5
feet, while the 2.5 can
hit 8 feet deep. These
plugs can be trolled up
to 4 mph.
by Cal Kellogg
<
Mack’s Lure
Flash Lite
Flashers are an
ultra-light, ultra-
innovative alternative
to traditional metal
flashers. These
flashers utilize Mylar
blades that spin with
very little resistance.
No 1: Spoon and Dodger At Baitfish
Lakes
In reservoirs like Shasta, Folsom, New
Melones, Don Pedro and many others the
primary forage of trout is baitfish. At most
lakes the baitfish are shad, but at some spots
pond smelt or a pond smelt and shad mix
are available.
The trout that live in these lakes are used
to chasing bait and they are used to seeing
their fellow trout pursuing and flashing on
bait too. And this makes them easy targets
for a well-presented spoon and dodger
combination.
A dodger pulsing through the water looks
and sounds like a feeding trout and few if
any lures can match the effectiveness of
spoons when it comes to giving the impres-
sion of a fleeing baitfish.
A lot of different dodgers can be used
for this work, but for me, I’ve got to have
a dodger that I can run at speeds of up to 3
No. 2: Naked Plug 250 Feet Back
Yes, grab a small crankbait or a 2 to 3
inch minnow plug and long line it way back
behind the boat. Plugs put off a bunch of
vibration and look like substantial meal.
This is a tactic I use most often when the
water is cool, the trout are near the surface
and I can topline the plug. I always figure
that the plug will be the last lure in my
spread that the trout have a chance to see.
Fish that moved in on my closer running
gear, got excited but failed to strike have one
last chance to take a swing at something.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 27