Let’s talk about what lures or hooks if you will, work best for Brown Trout all over the world. When I target Brown Trout I usually will tie up a plug first thing. The reason for this is simple; Brown Trout love to eat baitfish. They do not eat baitfish because they are necessarily hungry, the will also eat baitfish mostly because they are very territorial. When a Brown trout hears or takes sight of a baitfish imitation moving through its territory, it will aggressively strike at this baitfish to protect its territory from this predator, YOUR LURE. I have several presentations I like to use when I target Brown Trout.
One is, when fishing a river I will cast the lure at a ten o’clock position and slowly reel the lure across the river finishing at a three to four o’clock position. Another method which is one of my favorites is, cast your lure directly upstream and retrieve the lure downstream towards where you stand. The fish are looking upstream to find their food so this presentation is the most natural looking to the fish. I like to use the Rapala Brown Trout pattern when fishing for Brown’s. The Berkley Frenzy has produced some of my biggest Brown’s as well.
This lure has a silver under body with a black top. Looks like a silver shiner. And finally when all else seems to fail I will use what’s called a Buzz Bomb. This is also a baitfish imitation with a kick, its loud noise or “buzzing sound” attracts big fish wherever they hide. Also try the Zinger made by the same tackle company which is the Buzz Bomb & Zzinger lure company.
14 comments
Skip to comment form
What type of spinner bait works the best in the Bow River?
Author
That’s a good question Tanya. I will list three of my favorate spinners for you that work awesome on the Bow River. (1.) The Panther Martin sonic spinner, you pick the color. I find silver/yellow works really well all year. Silver with the blue slashes on the blade is also very productive. And believe it or not, black salamander works dynamite for both the Brown’s and Rainbow’s. (2.) The Mepps XD series spinner in either the Brown Trout pattern or the Rainbow Trout pattern; even try the straight gold, excellent spinner. (3.) The Rooster Tail made by Wordens, try the brown or the yellow colors. Also the white is very good as well. So there’s your three top spinners I use when fishing the Bow River. Try them and let me know how they worked for you. Mike.
You’ve mentioned the Berkley Frenzy in several of your posts and I’m curious which of these lures is the one to try. I’ve looked at the Berkley website and there are quite a few lures under the Frenzy listing. Are you using the Firestick Minnow and if so, are you using the 2.5″ or 3.5″ size. By the way, this is a great blog site. I’m just starting to get back into spinner fishing after a few years of fly fishing only.
Jay
Author
Hello Jay, glad to hear you are getting back into the spinner fishing, both ways work very well. The Berkley lures I speak of are indeed the Firestick Minnow (Shallow) 3 1/2 inch size. Try the floating silver shiner or the floating black gold color pattern. This size of hook 3 1/2 is perfect for the river as the 2 1/2 inch lures are to small and do not have the proper action I look for.
Thank you for your complement Jay and hopefully the advice helps you catch that monster you are looking for. Please stop by often and we can share our stories here.
Take care and happy fishing,
~Mike.
Author
Mike:
Thanks for the information. I was wondering what kind of rod & line combination you use on the Bow. For spin casting I use a light rod, 5.5 feet long, with 4 lb test line. That works fine in the small foothills streams. The short rod is easier to manage through bushes and trees and the light line is fine since most of the fish I get are 10 – 12″. It looks like I’d need something a bit heavier for the Bow.
Jay
Author
No problem Jay anytime, the rod and reels I use when fishing the Bow River are as follows. I prefer a medium action rod 6’6 in length or even 7’0 feet is good. The rods I am using at this time are the Berkley Series One rod and the Berkley Precision Tech spinning rods.
The line is also important as well when fishing a large river like the Bow. My personal choice is two types of line made by Berkley. I use either the Berkley XT from 6-8 pound depending on the season or the Berkley Sensation in the 8 lb low vis green, only in the spring or mid summer. I still love the Monofiliment over the braided lines that are out there.
I believe you must put something in your hands that works for (you) as we all have diferent tastes. This is just what works for me !!!!! I have tested over ten types of line and the same amount of rods and this is what I like to use when I fish any river around Alberta. For that matter almost all the lakes in the province.
Hope that points you in the right direction Jay !!
~Mike
Mike: I wanted to thank you for this site. I’ve been reading it for a bit and decided to try your tips. I’ve been down to the river twice in the last two weeks and both times I got fish!! I got a nice 16″ brown trout on a Berkely Frenzy and three days ago got an 18.5″ Rainbow on the same lure. I also pulled in a couple of smaller Rainbows on Mepps XDs.
My fly fishing buddies are jealous (they didn’t get anything). Plus, I’ve been on 5 guided floats on the Bow and caught a grand total of 1 Rainbow and 1 Whitefish. Yep, I was skunked on three of those trips!!
I’ll be heading for the Bow more often now that I’ve found a way to get into some fish. Plus, the hike along the shore on a warm spring day can’t be beat.
Author
Hi Chris, your very welcome my friend. I am really glad to hear the advice I send out here is working for you, that makes me feel as though I am doing some good for some people.
Some days the trout will smash the Berkley and those spinners by Mepps and other days they will be sipping flies all day long, never the less you can usually get the trout on your hook even if they are munching on flies!
I’m sure glad this has energized you to make it to the river bank more often, I as well as you have a serious passion for fishing and no one or no thing will ever keep me away from that. I will expand my list of Tips & Advise entries so we can all hook into fish and feel the rush. Watch for the newest Blog entries in the next couple of weeks.
Keep up the good work Chris and may all your adventures at the river bring you good fortune and a plethora of Trout.
~Mike
Mike: It was great to meet you yesterday and I wanted to thank you again for the tips you’ve putting on this site. I’ve been using the Berkley Frenzy and having great success (a 20″ Rainbow yesterday). You mentioned you’d been using spinner type bait like the Panther Martin. Do you have a specific size that works well on the Bow?? I’ve got a selection of PM’s, Mepps and Rooster Tails but they’re mainly small (#0 or #1). What do you recommend for size and weight in those lures?? Also, what do you charge for a float trip?? (You can answer that one directly to my e-mail if you prefer).
Thanks, Chris
Author
Hello Chris, it was very nice to meet you as well. You seem keen to learn and try new things while fishing on the Bow, this my friend well most always hook you into fish. Nice work on the Rainbow yesterday Chris, a 20 inch fish is awesome for sure.
Your first question on sizes of spinners, when I fish the Panther Martin I use only size #9 or size #15 Chris, when I float I only use size #9. The Rooster Tail’s I tend to go with the larger sizes like the 1/8 once only on the Bow, some of the smaller sizes I will use when I fish smaller streams.
You can see the answer to your second question in the PAGES section of the Blog under “Guided Fishing Trips” Thanks so much for your questions Chris and It was a great pleasure meeting you yesterday. I am truly glad the information here has helped you catch more fish. I look forward to floating with you and you buddy this spring after run off.
Have a great night,
~Mike.
Hi Mike. It was cool seeing you floating by on the river yesterday. I recognized you and your raft from all the pictures on the website. And thanks for the “streamside” advice. I was having success with the black/gold frenzy in the early morning but it had slowed to nothing by the time I saw you. You sugggested I try a silver panther martin but I didn’t have one so I changed to a silver Frenzy and started getting fish again!!
Here’s a question. Where are you getting your Frenzy lures?? I’ve pretty much cleaned out every fishing store and Canadian Tire in Calgary and can’t find anymore of the gold/black or silver Frenzy lures. Do you order them online from Berkley?? Also, are you still using the Vibrax minnow spin?? I ordered some from Bass Pro Shops but the biggest ones are only 2.5″ and don’t seem to produce much action. Did they stop making the larger ones??
Good seeing you again,
Chris
Author
Hi Chris, great too see you as well. I am glad those quick tips helped you hook into some trout. As per your questions, I was also in Canadian tire recently and found no Berkley Frenzy’s anywhere, I tried all the locations and came up empty.
I will now order directly from Berkley via their website, their prices are actually better than Canadian Tire. Cutting out the middle man helps I guess.
As far as the Minnow Spinner goes, yes they did discontinue the larger 7/16 size lure. It seems as though all the major tackle companies like to discontinue the hooks that work the best. I would love to write half of the manufactures and ask them why they do this? It baffles me to no end.
I have been using the Rapala lures and having good luck with those lately Chris, try scooping some of those proven trout catchers up and I am sure you will hook into the large trout.
I hope to see you again soon Chris, it is always my pleasure my friend. Hopefully you will book a trip to float with me some time soon!
Thanks again and much success to you Chris,
~Mike.
A float trip is definitely in the plans!! Your tips and advice have helped me a lot and I’m sure some one on one time on the river will fill in a lot of blanks. I just need to find time between work and family vacations already planned for this summer. I’ll contact you through the blog.
– Chris
Author
Hi Chris, if you can find the time in August you WILL NOT be disappointed. Massive Browns and hungry Rainbow’s will be awaiting your hook impatiently.
I promise you will be glad you made the trip.
Thanks again for stopping by and commenting.
See you again soon,
~Mike.