Stocking Your First Trout Box: The 5 Essentials
The wall of a tackle shop can be an intimidating place, especially the trout section, with its thousands of tiny, specialized lures. Here’s a secret: you don’t need most of them to be successful. A trout’s diet is fairly simple, and a handful of classic, proven baits and lures will cover almost every situation you’ll encounter as a beginner. This is your guide to the five essentials that belong in your first trout box.
1. In-Line Spinners: The All-Time Classic Trout Lure
If you only buy one lure for trout, make it an in-line spinner. The spinning blade creates a flash and vibration that perfectly imitates a small baitfish and triggers a trout’s predatory instinct. It’s easy to use—just cast it across the stream and retrieve it steadily. The lure does all the work.
- Top Choices: Panther Martin, Mepps Aglia, Blue Fox Vibrax.
- Pro Tip: Stock a few 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz sizes. Use a gold blade in stained or brownish water and a silver blade in clear water.
- [Check Price for Panther Martin Spinners on Amazon]
2. Spoons: Simple, Yet Deadly Effective
A spoon is a curved piece of metal designed to wobble and flash erratically on the retrieve, looking exactly like a panicked, fleeing baitfish. They are heavier than in-line spinners, so they cast farther and can be fished deeper in lakes or fast rivers. Their simplicity is their strength.
- Top Choices: Kastmaster, Little Cleo, Thomas Buoyant.
- Pro Tip: A 1/8 oz or 1/4 oz Kastmaster in chrome/blue is a legendary trout catcher. Let it sink to different depths before you start your retrieve.
3. Small Jerkbaits: Imitating a Wounded Minnow
When you want to target larger, more predatory trout (especially big browns), a small hard-bodied jerkbait is a fantastic choice. These lures imitate a wounded minnow. A “twitch, twitch, pause” retrieve makes them dart and suspend in the water, which can trigger savage strikes.
- Top Choices: Rapala CountDown Minnow, Rapala X-Rap (size 04 or 06).
- Pro Tip: Use the CountDown model in rivers to let it sink below the main current before you start your retrieve. The bite almost always comes on the pause.
4. Dough Baits: The Secret Weapon for Stocked Trout
This is one of the biggest secrets in fishing. Stocked trout are raised in a hatchery and fed brown pellets their whole lives. Brightly colored, scented dough baits (like PowerBait) imitate those pellets. Wild, river-born trout may ignore it, but for stocked fish in a lake or pond, it’s often the best thing you can use.
- How to Rig It: Use a small size 14 or 16 treble hook. Mold a small ball of the dough bait around the hook, covering it completely. Use a couple of split-shot weights 18 inches above the hook to get it to the bottom.
- [Check Price for Berkley PowerBait on Amazon]
5. Live Bait: You Can’t Beat the Real Thing
When all else fails, live bait will almost always get the job done. Trout are opportunistic and will rarely pass up an easy, real meal. A simple hook and a piece of bait is the most natural presentation of all.
- Top Choices: Nightcrawlers, red worms, or mealworms are the best.
- How to Rig It: Hook a small piece of a worm onto a size 6 or 8 bait-holder hook. Add one or two small split-shot weights about 12-18 inches up the line to help you cast and get the bait down into the strike zone.
By stocking your tackle box with these five options, you are prepared for nearly any trout fishing scenario. Choosing the right offering is a key part of the strategy we introduce in our Complete Guide to Trout Fishing for Beginners.
-Captain Sal
