Northwest Fishing Reports

whose had luck with them on trout?

They work for trout too. Caught one a couple weeks ago when fishing at Kitsap Lake for bass.

I catch a couple trout on crankbaits every spring, and sometimes during the summer. A couple this spring from 13" to 17". A few about 6" each spring.

My son pulled in a trout on a crankbait while we were fishing for bass a few weeks ago.

Never, won't work, don't try them.

I have! Go onto Bass Pro Shops and find the Wally Marshall Cranks! They are made for Crappie but work for everything!!! Trolling them is great! They have a nice rattle and are not very expensive or too big. I have caught Bows, Largies, Smallies, Perch, Crappie, Bluegill on them!

its not a crankbait, but i saw my friend catch trout on a floating rapala

returnofthefish wrote:its not a crankbait, but i saw my friend catch trout on a floating rapala

we have actually purposely trolled rapalas for trout and it works really well!

Cranks have nailed every species of fish that swims in our waters, you never know what you'll come up with. Good at triggering strikes!
I don't leave home without them. 25 inch trout was the biggest trout I've taken on a crankbait.

Crank baits can make a slow day fun if you ask me. I've had 'em trigger strikes so many times. Caught a trout or two off of 'em as well.

Biggest rainbow I've ever taken (8 pounds, 4 oz.) was at Waitts Lakes in Eastern Washington while trolling a diving Rapala behind a Giant Cowbell. The fish tasted terrible. I'll never harvest another one that big.

i use'em early on when the trips get planted. Those pigs love small perch rapalas!!!!!

Hot lips and hot shots kill trout. Other plugs that work are original rapalas, flatfish, and I have heard good things about Daiwa DC shiners. Any small plug/crank will nail stocker trout and most plugs/cranks will catch bigger trout if the lake supports a population of big fish (witch is coming less and less common)

While not something I practice often for trout, there have been a few times cranks have triggered strikes on days I probably would've gone home empty handed.

Never hesitate to try something "new" or "different." There is no written rule on what can or cannot catch fish.

I'm not so sure fish generally eat huckleberries or sour gummi-worms, but I've caught fish with both of those too!

returnofthefish wrote:its not a crankbait, but i saw my friend catch trout on a floating rapala

The F7 silver and black Rapala works great when trolling for trout. I have also caught a bunch of trout while bass fishing with jointed Shad Raps....

A trout can and often will eat things a much a 1/3 their body length. The bigger the trout, the more likely they are to do it.

Some species are more likely to eat big food, with Browns and Tiger trout at the top, Snake River Cut Throats following, Brookies near the top, and rainbows near the bottom. Still, caught a 10" bow (wild) on a Shad Rap last week and saw a ~4 pound bow (wild) caught on one the day before.

Last saturday i nearly had a trout at american lake on a rapala jointed shad rap in shad color. It wouldnt bite, it just kept chasing it.