Northwest Reel Life March 2025 Volume 4 Issue 5 - Flipbook - Page 8
They say an angler is a
man who spends rainy
days sitting around on
the muddy bank of a river
doing nothing. Because his
wife won't let him do it at
home.
Once I made a rainy day
road trip through Central
Oregon early in the spring.
I didn't fish much, but I
talked to anglers, most of
whom were doing nothing.
Here's a sample of the folks
I met and how they were
fishing.
One guy had the door of
his Mercedes propped
open while he fished
the Deschutes at Warm
Springs. He had tied a hook
direct to the end of the
main line and had a worm
on it. No swivel. No leader.
No split shot. Just a hook
and worm. He couldn't
figure out why he couldn't
cast farther than the end
of his rod. I couldn't figure
out how he had generated
enough brain activity to
afford a Mercedes.
At Taylor Lake in The
Dalles, a father and son
were sitting in a Chevy
watching their poles. I
walked up about the time
they reeled in. They had
split shot crimped on main
lines, big snap swivels, and
short, heavy snells on big
No. 4 worm hooks. Okay
for catfish, maybe, but not
for trout. They told me the
trout weren't biting today.
When they went home
they probably said, "The
fishing was good; it was
the catching that was bad."
News Flash: It ain't ever
gonna be good.
feet out from the bank.
Call me old fashioned, but
I think people when they
go fishing for trout, should
know how to rig for trout.
Here are three easy ways to
catch 'em.
PASTE BAITS/JAR BAITS
Use a paste bait, particularly
when the water is cold in
the early season. Slide a
bullet sinker onto the main
line and then tie on a barrel
swivel. Then tie on a 30inch four- to six-pound test
leader terminated at a No.
12-16 treble hook. Pinch a
bit of the paste bait (Power
Bait, Gulp! or similar), roll
At a kids-only trout pond in it in a ball and cover the
Bend, I saw a man and wife hook with the dough. Cast
in their 90's fishing with fly
out, let the bait sink to the
rods. They were seated on
bottom, then leave it. Set
lawn chairs right next to the the rod down and watch
sign that said Fishing For
it. When the line starts to
Children Aged 17 and Under. move, pick up the rod and
Tied to very short leaders,
reel in. This rig catches fish
they had huge Spin-N-Glos and it kills them. So don't
with nightcrawlers on 2/0
plan on fishing for sport, for
trebles. Too big for anything catch-and-release. Use this
smaller than a 30-pound
method when fishing for a
Chinook. Their baits lay
fish dinner.
on the bottom about two
