There are different opinions out there, and they are just opinions. Each angler who has ever picked up a rod can tone in on this one. The best method of trout fishing is…

The most efficient way to catch trout is with a nightcrawler. You can argue that your method is better, but I said most efficient. You can catch more trout with worms than any other method.

Many years ago, I went from numbers to targeting the largest trout in a run. Just catching scads of trout did not do it for me. Big trout are scared away by that little guppy you just drug through the hole.

Fly and spin fishing involve more targeting of singular trout. These two methods require reading the water and making educated guesses where the big dogs are lying.

Then comes matching the hatch. I think matching the hatch is overrated. I have fished with many excellent fly anglers through the years. None of them fished with less than a 4x leader. None of them matched the hatch. None of them used less than a 4-weight rod.

You would find meat on the ends of their line. Meat means minnow imitations like Giant Buggers and Hornbergs. Mix in a Clouser or a Turkey Leech. Don’t forget the San Juan Worm. Winter, summer or fall, the big browns of The Driftless want a main course. The myth offing us tiny stuff in winter is for the non-trout hunters.

Spin anglers using big spinners and stickbaits target big browns differently. Spinners are for reactionary browns. Stickbaits require a little more finesse. The stick baits are not just ripped through a good lay; they are danced and stopped and ripped. They target finicky, large browns.

Brook trout have declined in numbers drastically in the last 10 years, so there’s no need to chase them these days. I do not target brook trout anymore.

Spin anglers use stout rods and line. The stout rod helps with pinpoint casts. Spin anglers target the trout that eat the little ones the dry fly anglers are seeking. That caddis hatch makes a spin angler smile even more than a fly angler. The appetizers are being served. That chub or tiny brown eating those midges is ringing the dinner bell for the monsters I seek, and they are the main course.

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