How To Catch A Rainbow

Some people may think I'm talking about some "airy fairy" new age subject when I title my article - How To Catch A Rainbow - but that's not what's going on here. I'm speaking of the beautiful Rainbow Trout. Otherwise known as a rainbow for short. So how does a person go about catching a Rainbow? That's what we're going to discuss here.
For our purposes I'm not writing about the "darts" that we all know and love. A dart is a stocked trout. We've all seen them. All of their fins have been rubbed off from swimming in a tank with so many other fish. It makes them all but finless. And they thus resemble a "dart". The other name that fits these genetic anomalies well is "finless wonders". In any case, that's not what we are going to be discussing here. We're going to focus on a true Rainbow Trout that was born in a body of water and has been swimming free for years just as God created it.
The first thing you have to do is locate a Rainbow. Rainbow Trout like colder water temperatures. They prefer water from 50 to 60 degrees and will tolerate temperatures up to 75 degrees. With that little tidbit of information, we obviously want to start looking in the northern part of the United States. Rainbows inhabit both lakes and streams, as long as the water temperature is cold enough. This obviously means that on hot summer days, as the water temperature in a given body of water is reaching it's peak for the day, an angler isn't going to have a ton of success fishing for rainbows.
Fishing success is typically greatest in the spring and fall. Rainbow trout are voracious feeders and strong swimmers willing to hit a wide variety of lures, baits, and flies. Many anglers prefer weighted spinners. The wobbling spoon is another fine rainbow lure. Fly fishers find that streamers, muddlers, and egg patterns fished near the bottom can be depended on to do the trick; black and red, especially fluorescent red, seem to add something of value to the presentation.
If you're more of a bait fisherman, the good old earthworm or power bait are great bets. A bottom rig is the way to go when fishing on a lake. For those who aren't familiar with this technique, start with a 1/2 ounce egg sinker. Slip it onto your line then tie a #10 barrel swivel onto your line. Now tie another section of line onto the other end of the barrel swivel. You want this length of line to be the length that you want your bait to float off of the bottom. Now attach a small hook to the end of the line. This is where you will add a ball of Power bait that will then float off of the bottom. This technique will work in most lakes throughout the country, especially if there are stocked trout swimming around.
But as I said before, I don't want to focus on stocked trout.
When river fishing with bait, live bait will be your best bet. The synthetic baits have never worked well for me with "native" trout. "Native" trout are trout that were born and continue to live in a particular stream or river. Thus becoming "native" rather than planted from an outside source. In any case synthetic baits have never performed well for me for anything other than stocked trout. So you're best bet to catch a rainbow in moving water will be some form of live bait, whether it be worms, minnows, crickets, crayfish, mealworms, etc. You'll want to use something for bait that the rainbows are used to eating. The more natural the presentation, the better. You may want to consider employing a set of pre-tied gang hooks to achieve a very natural presentation. The bottom line is that you want your live bait to appear as natural as is possible. The more natural the bait appears, the more rainbow's you will catch. It's that simple.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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How Important Is Your Monofilament Fishing Line?

An anglers fishing line is perhaps the most important piece of equipment that they have. Amateur anglers may not realize this fact, but it's none the less true. I've seen many anglers who go for months if not seasons without changing their fishing line. To me going for an entire season without changing my fishing line seems crazy (especially seeing as how I change my line every month or so), but again it's none the less true.
This usually has to due with one of two factors. Either the fishing line being used is too heavy for the type of angling being done, or two you just don't pay attention. If the problem is the first one, your line is too heavy for the type of fishing that your doing, this little mistake is costing you bites, just by virtue of the fact that the fish are much more apt to see heavy line. If the problem is the second, and you're just not paying attention, then you don't deserve the bites in the first place.
I personally use four pound test for 85-90% of my fishing. If my line is old or frayed in any way, it will cost me fish. The line is too light to be old in any way. Believe me; if I hook into a four pound rainbow trout with four pound test that's more than a month old, the fish will break my line, it's as simple as that. When the proper pound test is being used, it must be changed a lot, mainly because of fraying and stretching. When fishing line gets used, it becomes less strong as time goes on.
Here's a real life example for you. I was fishing with a friend last year and when he cast his line out, the line was coiled. It was coiled because it had been on the reel for so long. I made him change his line as soon as he could and this obviously alleviated the problem. If your line is coiled, like a slinky, for God's sake, change it! It's been too long. As far as paying attention goes, keeping an eye out for coiling is a big one. Another is keeping your eye out for frays in the line or brittleness. If you see either of these factors, it's time for a change.
The bottom line is that your fishing line is incredibly important to your fishing success. It needs to be changed often to keep it's strength. As I said, I change my four pound test every month or so. Anytime it starts to coil or fray, I change it as well. Never forget, your fishing line is as important as the type of bait or lure that you may be using, and you need to pay as much attention to your line as you do any other aspect of your fishing.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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How Do You Carry Water While Fishing?

This sounds like a simple enough proposition, but if you're anything like me, carrying water while fishing can be a bit of a pain in the butt. You see, a fishing trip for me involves a lot of walking. I like to hike along the river and explore new areas. This involves covering quite a bit of ground. In an average fishing trip for me, I would say I cover at least four miles round trip. This amount of walking requires that I carry quite a bit of water with me, especially on hot/sunny days.
I found that a single bottle of water just wouldn't cut it, so I started jamming my vest with as many water bottles as I could. This was incredibly bulky and uncomfortable, but it's what I did. Then a snowboarding friend of mine turned me onto the answer. It was so simple, yet I had never heard of this before. It's called a hydration pack. Snowboarders, mountain bikers, and cyclists have been using hydration packs for years, but they were still new to me.
So, taking the advice of my friend, I used a hydration pack on my next fishi8ng trip…..Problem solved my friends! It was awesome. I had water for the entire day, and got so used to the pack itself, that I forgot it was even there. You see, you wear most hydration packs on your back like a small backpack. But this backpack carries your water and even helps keep the water cold!
A hydration pack is, without question, the best way that I've ever seen to carry water while fishing. You should give one a try, because they sure beat carrying multiple bottles of water with you, and all of the problems that come along with it. I promise that once you give a hydration pack a try on your next fishing trip, the question of how you carry water while fishing, will be answered forever.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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How The Weather And Moon Really Impact Fishing

Let's start with the barometer. The barometer is a very effective tool for measuring the feeding behavior of fish. The barometer is an instrument used to measure ambient atmospheric pressure. Don't worry, I'm going to simplify it for you and cut through all of the scientific jargon so we can get to what really matters, catching fish. The measure of barometric atmospheric pressure can then be used to help predict the weather and more importantly for our purposes, the feeding behavior of fish. Haven't we all wondered why fish were so easy to catch yesterday, but today you can't even get a bite?
You see when a low pressure front is building, I'm sure you've all heard this term on the weather channel, the barometer is low and dropping and a storm is either present or on its way. When the barometer is high or rising, the weather is fair and dry. If you’re watching the weather on the TV, that's what the large capital L or H means on the weather map. The L stands for a low pressure system and the H stands for a high pressure system.
So what does this mean to me as a fisherman? Let me explain. The barometer is a very useful tool that will unlock many of the "mysteries" of fishing. You say, "Come on Trevor, is this really true?" The answer is yes, it is true. When the atmospheric pressure fluctuates, it affects the air bladders in fish. A fishes' air bladder is what it uses to stabilize itself at different depths of water. When a fishes' air bladder isn't feeling right it won't want to eat. Do you feel like eating when you have an upset stomach? Well fish don’t either.
When the barometer is low or falling, fish will spend most of their time equalizing their air bladder, and the last thing they're thinking about is feeding. When this happens you'll have a difficult time fooling a fish into eating. On the other hand, when the opposite is true, and the barometer is rising, your chances of catching a fish, is far greater, because they feel more like eating.
Fish and wild life know what to expect from the weather and can sense when a storm is approaching to a much greater degree than we humans can. You’ve probably noticed that when the weather is nice all of the critters outside are active and frolicking about. This means that the barometric pressure is stable or high. On the other hand when the barometric pressure is low, you won't see nearly as many animals around and the ones you do won't be frolicking anywhere. Even the cows in your local field will be lying down. At times like this it can get pretty quiet out on the lake or river too. The fish just aren’t active.
Understanding how fish adapt to changes in their environment allow an angler to better predict a fishes' movement and feeding. Finding out when a fish is feeding is what we're interested in because that's when you have the best chance of catching said fish. You may know that almost all saltwater fishermen check the tides before they head out fishing. And it’s a great strategy because the tides impact fishing. But you do realize what causes the tides to change, don't you? That's right, the moon. And the gravitational pull of the moon that impacts the changing tides is also pushing against some part of the earth all the time. So the pressure is always there but since water is more easily moved than the ground, water is lifted up towards the moon causing the tides to change. How high the high tide will rise or how low the low tide may go is largely determined by the position of the moon and sun.
Knowing and understanding this information isn't just important to the saltwater angler though. Freshwater anglers don't deal with tides like saltwater anglers, but the phases of the moon are very important to them as well. What the angler wants to focus on are the new moon and full moon periods on the calendar. The two or three days following these two occurrences will result in more fish activity. It's that simple.
I’ve been planning my fishing trips observing these same principles for years and it almost never fails. The moon phases are a very real factor in the feeding patterns of fish. I always have more success during the full and new moon periods, than I do at other times of the month and you can too.
What you as an angler wants to try to do is have both of these factors come together at the same time. The perfect weather situation combined with a full or new moon. When this happens, you will have a great day fishing, I promise. And if you just pay attention you can be out there fishing when this happens.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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How Do You Carry Live Worms While Fishing?

This may sound like a silly question, but I always found carrying live worms while fishing was a big pain in the butt. That was until my fishing mentor showed me how to solve this problem with an old piece of clothing. Yes, I said an old piece of clothing. You know how there always seems to be an extra sock hanging out in your sock drawer? Well, my mentor came up with a use for that old sock. That's right, a worm carrier.
Before you start to think I'm crazy, just hear me out. Simply take the old sock and grab a hold of the end that your toes would go in. Now simply measure four or five inches down and cut the sock off. You now have a worm carrier. A little bait bag, if you will. Simply use a safety pin and pin this little "pouch" onto the front of your fishing vest.
When you're ready to go fishing, simply take the live worms out of their Styrofoam container and put them into your new bait bag. Just the worms, no dirt. A sock holds about a dozen worms depending on their size. The beauty of this concept is that the worms don't crawl out! They simply sit in their new carrier and wait to be used. Once you begin using a worm carrier such as the one described here, you'll wonder how you ever fished without it.
The one downfall to the sock carrier is that a sock carrier is pretty small and certainly less that esthetically pleasing. If you're interested in the same concept, just bigger and much better looking, just check out JRWfishing. The bottom line is that whether you make your own or purchase a cool one, a worm carrier such as the one described here, is essential to your angling success. As I said, once you try it, you'll wonder how you ever fished without it.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
A Bait Bag: http://www.jrwfishing.com/bait_pouch.asp

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How About A Little Bottom Bouncing?

Whenever you wet a line in a river in an attempt to catch any fish, whether it's a trout, a small mouth, a walleye, or whatever kind of fish you're attempting to catch, the bottom is your friend. This fact is often overlooked by anglers, and it shouldn't be. My mentor used to say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place." I have found this point to be true in almost all river fishing situations. When I say river fishing situations, I'm referring to wading in a river attempting to fool a fish into biting your offering. I'm not referring to sitting in a boat trolling, although that fact was probably self explanatory.
When you are wading in a river doing what I described above, the goal is to have your bait bounce off of the bottom as it flows naturally downstream. And too accomplish this; the angler must adjust the amount of weight that is used. Too much weight and the offering will get snagged on the bottom. Too little weight and the offering will simply float over the bottom as it flows downstream, and look anything but natural. In the second case the angler never gets snagged, but catches very few fish as well. This is the reason that my mentor would say, "If you're not getting snagged, you're not fishing in the right place."
This is exactly why I say the bottom is your friend. Although in reality, the bottom is not only your friend, but also your worst enemy. Because when you go through those stretches when you've gotten snagged and had to break off and retie six times in a row, the bottom seems like anything but your friend.
The important thing to remember is that like most things in life, nothing remedies getting snagged like practice. The more 'bottom bouncing' you do the better you will get at it. And the better you get at it, you will not only get snagged less, but you will also catch more fish. Once you figure out the little nuances of 'bottom bouncing' you wont believe how effective the technique really is.
Bouncing the bait off of the bottom in a river or stream fishing situation is as good a technique as I've ever seen. If you really sit and think about it, it's as natural a presentation as there is. I've been using this technique for years and it flat out works!

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana!
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Have You Ever Shut Your Car Door On Your Fishing Rod?

Here's the scenario: You've just arrived at your fishing destination, ready for a morning of hard core fishing. You put your waders on, grab your fishing vest, and almost as an afterthought, you grab your fishing rod. At this point you're so excited about wetting your line, all you can think about is that flowing river in the background. As you start to shut the door, you remember that you need to lock the doors. You quickly lock the doors and slam the door shut. As the door is closing you see it happening. It's as is the whole scenario were in slow motion. When you grabbed your rod earlier, you leaned it up against the vehicle and now the tip of the rod is resting in the door jam. It's all happening too fast to stop it, and the next thing you know, the tip has been snapped right off of your fishing rod.
This exact scenario has happened to me on more than one occasion, and the result is always the same. You're rod has to be replaced. Oh sure, you can buy a new eye, and superglue it on the end of your rod, but the rod doesn't perform the same as it did. The rod is now effectively ruined because of your own stupidity.
Actually it's a good idea to carry an extra eye tip in your fishing vest just in case something like this happens, but replacing the eye is just a quick fix. It may save a day of fishing, but the action of the rod is so much different after losing it's tip that you're going to want to replace it.
Hopefully a scenario such as this has never happened to you because it's no fun to experience, believe me. And hopefully reading this article will remind you to slow down and take your time, so you don't do what I seem to like to do. This scenario is also the reason that I don't spend more than 50 bucks on a fishing rod. That way it doesn't cost me much to replace it when I break it. I came to the realization that a car door doesn't care if your fishing rod cost $50 or $150. The car door will snap that fishing rod just the same.

Trevor Kugler Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience and currently raises his 3-year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country... Montana.
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You Won't Be Disappointed

What do I mean by ultra light? Ultra light fishing simply means fishing with lighter gear, lighter gear than you may be accustomed to. That's it, there's nothing crazy about it. Basically, ultra light fishing means matching your fishing gear to the type of fish that you're fishing for. I've seen all to many anglers that use one rod and reel setup for all of there fishing expeditions, rather than having different set ups for different types of fish.
This is madness, unless of course you only do one type of fishing, in which case having only one rod and reel setup is all good.
For example, I use a four-foot rod and ultra light reel spooled with four-pound test for most of my trout fishing. I fish medium to small rivers and lakes and the biggest fish that I would catch in such waters is six to seven pounds, and that would be an outright monster. Many people see me fishing with my setup and think it's too small, but it's absolutely not. Think about it, four-pound test line is strong enough to hold four pounds of weight without breaking, how often do you catch fish this big when trout fishing? Besides, I've personally landed a seven-pound fish on four-pound test. I don't say that to be braggadocios, I simply want you to realize that most anglers use line that is entirely too heavy for the fish they're trying to catch. Using line that's too heavy will result if fewer bites as well. So as you can begin to see, ultra light fishing makes sense all the way around.
It also makes sense to use ultra light equipment by adding more "sport" to your fishing. Honestly, how much fun is it to winch a fourteen-inch trout out of the water with medium action gear, spooled with eight-pound test line? To me, that's no fun, but on ultra light gear that's tailored to the type of fish I'm attempting to catch; a fourteen-inch fish is a lot of fun.
So give ultra light fishing a try and I promise you won't be disappointed. If you ever have any questions about ultra light fishing, you can contact us at JRWfishing.com.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.....Montana!
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Gang Hooks Simply Catch More Fish

For those of you who have never heard of the term "gang-hooks", it's probably time for you to take a closer look. A set of gang hooks is fairly simple to tie yourself, or you can buy them, the choice is yours. What's important is that you begin using them for all of your live bait fishing. A set of gang hooks is, by far, the most natural way to present a worm.
Gang hooks are simply two small hooks tied in tandem. Hooks that are probably much smaller than you may be accustomed to. I personally prefer size 10 hooks. My preference is 2 size 10 hooks tied on four pound test. And I catch BIG fish with a setup that's this size. I consistently catch Smallmouth Bass up and Rainbow Trout up to five or six pounds on gang hooks setups exactly that size.
The only downfall to a gang hook setup is that some state regulations don't allow them. So check your state regulations before fishing with gang hooks. I know from experience that in Montana and Pennsylvania gang hooks are perfectly legal. Check your local regulations before using them though, just to be safe.
So how do you get a hold of gang hooks? There are two ways. First you can do a little research on knots, and tie them yourself. His is obviously the most inexpensive way. Research the "Snell knot". The other way to get a hold of gang hooks is to just buy them. Go somewhere like JRWfishing and you'll be good to go. My theory has always been, that you can make a hamburger yourself to save money or you can just go to McDonald's and pick one up. The choice is yours.
The bottom line is that if you begin employing a set of pre-tied gang hooks into your live bait fishing, you'll simply catch more fish. The natural presentation that gang hooks provide can't be beat. The days of the "worm ball" and threading a worm onto a hook are gone the moment you begin using gang hooks. With gang hooks, you simply hook the head on the worm into the top hook, the hook the second hook into the worms' body. Now your worm is rigged and looks exactly like it would if there were no hooks at all. It's a beautiful thing. Give gang hooks a shot, I promise that you won't be disappointed.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana!
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Fishing In Northwest Montana

Fishing in Montana is much like fishing anywhere in North America, other than the fact that the scenery is probably as good as it gets. Oh, I'm sure you could find various areas throughout North America that would offer beauty that would rival Northwest Montana, but I seriously doubt it would be better. And the trout fishing is as good as I've seen anywhere. There are some very large trout in the state of Montana.
I personally live within ten miles of Flathead Lake. Flathead Lake is easily one of the best lake trout fisheries in the country. The guides and locals in the area regularly catch twenty to thirty pound lake trout. Between the lake trout in Flathead Lake and the rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout in the rivers flowing through Northwest Montana, this area is truly a trout paradise.
In fact, if a person ventures over to a little town called Libby and the Kootenai River that flows within miles of the town, and goes into any gas station along the river, they will see pictures of truly unreal Rainbow Trout that have been caught. I'm talking about Rainbows in the twenty-pound class. Yes, I said twenty-pound class! The first time that I witnessed these pictures, I couldn't believe my eyes. I honestly thought I was looking at Steelhead. But everyone assured me that they were Rainbows, caught out of the Kootenai, below the dam. When I checked the area directly below the dam, it looked like an area you would see in upstate New York where big Steelhead or Salmon could be found. Old salmon eggs everywhere and old line that was heavy enough to land....... well a twenty plus pound raibow! It's quite a scene, but then so is a rainbow trout that big!
There's also some decent pike and largemouth bass fishing in the area. There's also quite a nice population of Lake Superior Whitefish in Flathead Lake. They run from one to five pounds and are delicious. And, in all honesty, they're fairly easy to catch. Once a person gets the hang of the little nuances, it's simple in fact.
So all in all fishing opportunities are quite abundant in Northwest Montana. The biggest drawback is that you only get about six months to enjoy them. The rest of the time it's too cold for all but the heartiest of anglers to spend much time chasing fish. And when it's not too cold to fish, the run-off kills another three or four months.
There are definitely ice fishing opportunities, but let's be honest about it. Does anyone really enjoy ice fishing? Sure the actual act of catching fish is fun, but I find the lead up to fish while ice fishing to be, well, painful (or at least just a pain in the butt). But yes, for those of you who actually know what you're doing or have the inclination, there are plenty of opportunities to sit on the ice and stare through an eight-inch hole. Errrrrr........ Spend some time ice fishing.
All in all, fishing in Montana, at least Northwest Montana, is pretty much as good as you'll find anywhere in North America, and the trout fishing is better. So if you have some time to kill, and like to spend your spare time fishing, Montana is not at all a bad idea.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country....Montana.
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Fishing Etiquette - Where Has It Gone

Fishing etiquette, sometimes I have to wonder if anyone's ever heard of such a thing. The word etiquette is defined as: The forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society.
So why is it that as soon as I get on a river, I invariably end up fishing near someone who has never heard the above definition? It seems as if as soon as people get into a fishing situation, all rules of society are thrown out the window and it becomes a free for all. I mean it says, right in the definition, 'ceremonial codes of polite society'. When it comes to fishing, especially on a river, one of those 'ceremonial codes of polite society' is to allow other anglers there personal space just as you would afford them in any other social situation. I mean, for God's sake, just because were out on the river fishing it doesn't mean that we have to become complete inconsiderate idiots, does it?
I'm of course referring to a situation that I got caught up in, not too long ago, on one of my local rivers. I had been fishing along a very nice stretch of water for about twenty minutes, when a couple of other fishermen came walking along the river. They kept there distance as we exchanged friendly glances, and they began fishing about fifty yards from where I was.
This is how things are supposed to work when two anglers meet on a river. But then I caught a fish. Then another one and this second fish was quite nice. A nice eighteen to twenty inch Rainbow. I released the fish and went on about my business, continuing to fish this nice stretch of river, which incidentally was no bigger, the average driveway.
The next thing I knew, the other fishermen were in my freakin' back pocket! I mean these guys surrounded me like I was trying to do something horrible to one of their children. Then the interrogation started. What are you using? How big was that fish? Do you always catch fish here?
This is what I'm talking about when I speak of fishing etiquette. When I'm out on the river, and I'm sure most people would agree, I want to relax, enjoy nature, and if I can mange it, catch a few fish. I don't need to give a fishing lesson to anyone. And, as far as I'm concerned, no one needs to give one to me. If I see you on the river and you catch a nice fish, good for you. I might give you a thumb's up or something, but that's all the information we need to exchange.
I've never understood why people think that if a fish is caught out of a spot, that's the only place on a given stretch of water that contains fish. And the spot or area that they're fishing doesn't! That's the only explanation as to why these two guys muscled up on me like a bully on the smaller kids in the schoolyard. They had to think that they had a better chance of catching a fish where I had just caught a fish than where they were originally fishing. And just to clear the air, this is not the case. It's a fallacy, and this kind of behavior needs to stop.
Give other anglers the space they need to fish when you're out on the river. Using a little fishing etiquette out on the water will make our sport better for all of us. As I eluded to earlier, just afford people the same courtesy you would on a busy elevator. Just because were standing in a river, it doesn't mean we can't practice basic etiquette.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and now specializes in ultralight trout fishing.
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