Larger Baits for Trout

I’ve told the story of my son’s first fish over the last several years to everyone I know. Not only because it was his first fish and the great experience of it all, but also because of the size of the fish a, 22” trout. When I worked in a tackle shop many years ago it was always interesting to see what types of bait people used for different species of fish. More often than not, when it came to trout lures, they always seemed concerned about not getting something too large. They would lean toward 3” grubs and smaller poppers and top-water lures. When they discussed live bait they always spoke of shrimp, live mudminnows and small finger mullet. I always tried to explain that trout have a large mouth and are not shy about hitting a larger bait. I also explained that often times the bigger trout will hit a larger bait, but the smaller fish will as well.

When I was working for Luden’s Marine Supply in Charleston, I made deliveries to the shipyards and at one particular yard I got to know some of the guys really well. They learned I liked fishing and they kept telling me stories about a guy that worked with them that was always catching huge trout and bringing in pictures. Finally one day I asked this gentleman about his trout fishing and he immediately clammed up. I explained that I was not looking for his spots, but just wanted to know what type of bait he was using and what type of conditions he looked for. Somewhat surprised I was not trying to hone in on his spots he began to tell me all about his techniques and he was a firm believer in using larger baits. When he used artificials he would throw Mirro-Lures and larger stick baits. When he fished live bait he preferred some type of croaker or pinfish and would go to great lengths to make sure he had a few in the baitwell as he was catching his bait.

I started using Mirro-Lures and found the fish were more aggressive when they hit it which was really fun, and I caught some really nice trout and I caught trout slightly larger than the lure itself. Over a per