Skip to content
Karl's Fishing & Outdoors Logo
Fishing Trout Jigs: How To Catch Trout On Little Jig Heads

Fishing Trout Jigs: How To Catch Trout On Little Jig Heads

Trout are cold water fish, through and through. They are some of the only species that have the tenacity to bite while 1) swimming through moving water and 2) being in cold water. Besides the token dough bait on a small hook for stock trout, you can find trout fishing anglers casting cranks and spoons at trout nationwide. When they really need a bite, and want to use their own skills to deliver it, however, it’s time to break out the trout jigs.

Fishing Trout Jigs 101

Fishing with trout jigs requires an accurate cast towards your desired strike zone, followed by lifts and twitches of the rod. You’ll want to use a weight (usually somewhere between 1/64 to 1/8 ounce) that will hit the bottom in whatever current you are fishing, without getting carried away in a river or creek or swept under rocks in a lake.Lively colors that stand out like a typical piece of forage work best, with black, white and brown being the most common. Trout on the bottoms of these bodies of water feed on whatever comes available from rocks and moss, so natural colors even leading towards mossy hues will get bit. I opt for 6 lb test, but 4 lb works as well.

Catching Fish On Trout Jigs

To catch fish on jigs, cast upstream, and just past where you think trout are hiding out. Seams and eddies in the river are typical strike zones. Cast past your strike zone, and reel back somewhat quickly, at the pace of the current or a notch faster. Mix in lifts of the rod and twitches of the tip, where you can make the jig dance to entice a bite.Get ready for some fun on the ultralight tackle when you’re jigging for trout, as they hit moving baits hard. The reason is opportunistic, they know the bite is on the move and may not come back for another shot. Whatever the reason, fishing with trout jigs is what makes catching em so fun. Finessing a bite on your own skill and getting a hard fighting fish on a light rod makes for a great time on the water. Oh, and they taste good too.

Updated September 28th, 2020 at 9:36 AM CT