Whether you are just learning how to catch trout or are a trout fishing veteran there is one aspect of trout fishing that I have learned over the past two decades of fishing for trout has a bigger impact on catching trout than any other. That aspect is the weight of your fishing line, and in this article I will do my best to explain why this is the case. Light line is extremely important to being a successful trout fisherman and in my experience is the biggest reason why many people simply don't know how to catch trout.
Although recent developments in fishing line technology have brought fishermen many other types of fishing line, I have always found traditional mono-filament fishing line to be the most effective when it comes to trout fishing. While there are many different colors of mono-filament fishing line available, I prefer to use line that is "clear/blue" in color because this color is visible to the fisherman out of the water, but is invisible to the fish beneath the water. Being able to "see" your fishing line is important with many trout fishing techniques. As far as the weight of the line is concerned no line heavier than six pound test should be used when fishing for trout (in most trout fishing situations). In my experience four pound test is the perfect weight to use when fishing for trout.
If you think that four pound test is too light to catch large trout consider the fact that I regularly hook and land trout in the twenty inch range using four pound test mono-filament. So why is it that using light line is so important when fishing for trout. There are many reasons for this fact with the most important being that light line is much less visible to the trout you are attempting to catch than heavier fishing line. Because trout have very keen eyesight this simple fact means that you will get more bites simply by using lighter fishing line.
I think the best way to illustrate this point is through a real life story. I was trout fishing about six years ago in a river where trout over twenty inches are caught regularly, so I decided to use six pound test fishing line because of the extremely large native trout population. Because of the possibility of catching a really large trout, I figured six pound test was in order. I caught a trout or two a day for about three months when one day I decided to change to four pound test just to see what would happen. Within a half an hour I began catching a trout of two an hour (sometimes more) and this pattern continued for the rest of the season. I went from catching a trout or two a day to a trout or two an hour so from that time on I knew how important light line was to trout fishing.
In order to use light fishing line effectively it's important that you use a quality ultra light rod and reel as well. This will make the line perform as it was designed to perform. I know from experience how important light line is to catching trout, so if you are wondering how to catch trout the truth is that it begins with using light fishing line.
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