Fall is a great time to catch big brown trout, so anglers are wise to use lures that imitate the browns’ favorite foods -- crawfish and baitfish.
Brown trout like big meals. While you will catch browns on various traditional trout-fishing lures, a crankbait that imitates one of the fish's favorite meals will increase your odds of getting a bigger trout to bite.
Browns are unlike other trout in various ways. Similar to smallmouth bass, they like deep, slack pools and eddies, and the darker a spot, the better. Largely nocturnal, they bite best for day-time anglers near first and last light and on gray days. In addition, big browns are notoriously wary.
During autumn, however, brown trout can show up virtually anywhere, and sometimes they will hit in the middle of the day. Fall spawners, browns move onto shallow gravel bars this time of year. The biggest fish also become a bit more reckless, making them more susceptible to being caught than they are during any other season.
While it's true that brown trout of all sizes eat their share of insects, including tiny bugs that they sip from the surface, adult fish would far prefer a crawfish, a sculpin, or a baby rainbow trout as a meal. The best lures imitate those critters and are able to get down to where the big browns lurk.
For imitating crawfish, it's tough to beat the same
Rebel Crawfish that stream smallmouth fishermen commonly tie to the ends of their lines. Rebel Crawfish suggest craws in a swimming posture, which is the situation that makes real crawfish most vulnerable to being eaten. To fish one effectively, quarter your casts upstream and crank the lure back, reeling fast enough to keep the bait wobbling even as it moves downstream.
The best specific model depends on a stream's size and character, the size of the craws the trout are used to seeing and even the size of the trout. For many trout streams, a
Deep Teeny Wee-Craw is ideal. However, a traditional Wee-Crawfish is a better choice for major rivers and many tailwaters. A few large tailwaters with strong currents, deep runs and big trout call for a Deep Wee-Crawfish or even a Big Craw , but those definitely are the exceptions.
In streams where big browns feed more heavily or fish and in situations where a more subtle action is required, a
2 1/4-inch Excalibur Ghost Minnow is tough to top. The Tracdown model , which sinks when it's not in motion and handles current better than the floating and suspending versions, typically is the Ghost Minnow of choice. Use the rainbow trout pattern for clear water and bright skies and the brown trout pattern for low-visibility conditions.
Sometimes trout will hit a
Ghost Minnow best when you alternate jerks and pauses. Other times a steady wobble will attract far more strikes. If the water is clear and calm enough to do so, always watch your bait on the retrieve. If you see followers but aren't getting hit, change retrieves or switch colors.