Casting
Casting is a very popular technique for brown trout. Many anglers will use spinning gear and even baitcasters when fishing lakes, rivers and streams for these fish. Some of the common lures to cast are spinners, spoons and crankbaits. Whether you are fishing in a lake, stream or river, plan on making a lot of casts throughout the day to catch some fish.
Drifting
Drifting can be effective when fishing for brown trout. Some anglers drift down with the current in rivers and this works well as you present your baits to a lot of fish. In lakes, it’s not as popular, but if you are in a good spot and you want to present your baits to a lot of fish, but you don’t want to fish as fast as you would if you were trolling, then drifting can be a nice way to fish. Most anglers that drift in lakes will do so with live bait.
Drop Shotting
Just because most anglers don’t use a drop shot rig does not mean that it isn’t an awesome fishing rig for brown trout. Use it shallow, deep, in rivers, streams and lakes. It’s a great rig and you can use live baits and artificials with it.
Jigging
Jigging isn’t very popular for brown trout, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be effective. If you find some deeper pools in rivers where brown trout congregate, these would be good spots to break out the vertical jigging technique. There are some areas in the Great Lakes also where brown congregate in large numbers. It could be a harbor and the fish are coming in to spawn. It could be the mouth of a river or a warm water discharge area. There are some areas to break out the jigs to jig up some of these fish, but it definitely isn’t the best technique for them in most situations.
Still Fishing
Still fishing is actually very popular for brown trout. Many anglers will find some better pools in the rivers with deeper water and still fish with live nightcrawlers and other baits. It can be very effective this way. When the big brown trout move into the harbors from fall through early spring on the Great Lakes, still fishing can also be effective.
Trolling
Trolling is very popular for brown trout. Most anglers that troll for them will be trolling bigger lakes or the Great Lakes. Because you may hook up with a bigger fish at any time, you are going to want to use heavier tackle. Medium heavy to heavy action rods work great with the trolling tackle you are going to be using. Spoons, crankbaits and the dodger and fly are the most popular lures used when trolling for brown trout.