I am some what new to the trolling aspect for trout. I have had some success with Wedding Rings, Dodger and lure/fly combos or just a simple Flatfish 100 ft behind the boat. I am looking to try some newer techniques, if you dont mind sharing. This opener I will be trying two. A Weding Ring behind a Dodger and a Dick Nite also behind a Dodger.

What do you use or perfer to use and what sizes?

A bit more info would be helpful. I troll for trout frequently and have found that each variety of trout has specific habits that affect presentation. Lake Michigan has resident populations of Lake, Brown and Steelhead trout and each fishes differently. I have never had any luck catching Browns while trolling. Lakers are usually found near the bottom and my best bait has been a white dodger/fly or lure like a flatfish trolled near the bottom at slower speeds, say 1.5 to 1.8 MPH groundspeed. The Steelhead on the other hand are usually caught in the upper 1/3 of the water column, often on the surface at much higher speeds using a spoon. It is not uncommon to catch Steel trolling as fast as 3.5 MPH. Hope this helps some.

Erabbit and I use spoons with a downrigger. We use this st-up for browns, lake trout, steelheads, rainbow and landlock salmon. We fish the cold water lines and where we spot the bait pods & the fish themselves. Erabbit (Ed) has been fishing lake Senica for many years and has tried several style flies with dodgers and Dipseys. This is a link to just some of the action he has had!

http://www.nafcohiochapter.com/view...0&start=30

I've use dodgers and peanuts or flys, xmas tree rigs with flatfish, & spoons off a downrigger. Spoons, wormharness rigs off of a dipsey diver and jet diver. This coming season I've set up a rod and reel with lead-core and will give that a try. I have alot to learn but have had the great fortune of fishing with the likes of erabbit,turnip and fishingeagle.

I have been looking at the Dipsy Divers. I am thinking of getting a few in 20, 35 and 50 ft ranges to use with Needle Fish and other light or thin lures and spoons.

Peg, as far as more info, trolling lakes in California targeting Rainbows( not sure what to provide)in Pine Flat, hume, Court Wrght, Wishon. Hume is the shallowest at 48 feet deep, but is above the 5k foot mark. Pine Flat, lower in elevation can run as deep as 300 ft. Most of the fish I have caught from there have been caught using a 1/2 oz bannana weight with the dodger/flasher about 100-150 behind the boat. Depth of the water was 120-125

Thanks for the tips and ideas

Must be the Lk Mich fish that like the topwater. In 10 years of fishing Lk Mich I can't recall ever catching a steelhead (same as rainbow) deeper than 20 feet even though they are often found in 180' of water.

Jeremy, most of our trout caught trolling on Wishon, Shaver, Courtwright or Mammoth Pools have been caught on wedding rings tipped with night crawlers. I like to use whole Canadian crawlers found at Walmart. They're a little smaller, so you get a little more per container. Besides, a long crawler is only apt to provide a lot of short strikes. However, a piece of 'crawler doesn't seem to get enough strikes. I will usually troll them on the upper 10 feet of water, early in the morning. I have a couple of downriggers on my boat, now, but I'll only send my rigs about 15 feet down. I do well.

Scott, try a dodger/flasher about 36-48" in front of the wedding ring.

I prefer downriggers and depending on time of year and depths I would use a christmas tree or dodger and then lures or spoons. A Flatfish iis a favorite for a slow troll condition.