trolling for a trophy rainbow

Question
Hi Kelly,
   I am after a trophy rainbow.  I want one to hang on my wall before I die.  I troll a small lake here in Idaho and they have been caught up to 19 lbs.  Do you subscribe to the large lure or plug theory or as some believe small lures?  Do you have any deadly guide secrets as far as scents or anything else you can share that can help me land that lunker?  Thanks for your time.
Regards,
Paul Carrico

Answer
Ok, as always, I will say, it helps to know the name of the lake that you are fishing. Any specific information that you give helps a lot, and often times, I know someone who has fished that water before.

Now, as for your question... The best advice I can give you is this, don't reinvent the wheel.

If you are catching lots of smaller fish, don't start over with a whole new setup and tactic just yet, but adjust what you already know to fit the lifestyles of larger fish. If the fish are biting worms, for example, use bigger worms.

Large fish are slower and more laid back. They don't dart around and attack lures just for the fun of it, as do smaller fish. The first change I would make is switching gang trolls like ford fenders, to a single blade dodger, like the sling blade. Next experiment with different lures. Apex "kokanee killers" work well, as do kwikfish, flatfish, and rooster tails.

Another completely different tactic is to use a single larger plug, without the attractor. A K10 kwikfish, or u-20 flatfish would be perfect for this test. Don't use bait, but keep the lures very clean, and add just a VERY small drop of kill oil to cover your scent. Troll this setup very slowly.

Large plug vs. small lure. Now THERES an ongoing debate. I generally subscribe to the small lure theory. BUT... there are times and places where larger is better.

Do I have any secrets as far as scents or ANYTHING else? I could spend a week talking about general things that help catch fish, so I can't go into too much detail, but I will do my best. Remember that there is a literally endless number of different conditions that we face as fisherman, and there is no one "secret", it's just a matter of doing everything we can to give ourselves the best chance.

Working on each of these will help your success. Not by order of importance, but by the order they popped into my mind...

1 Keep your lures and gear CLEAN. carry soap and a brush in the boat to clean your scent off of everything. wash your hands often. (I wear latex gloves all day on the boat)

2 Pay attention to who is catching those large fish that you are trying to catch. If you have to, write down everything you see or hear, and look for patterns.

3 Pay attention to your depth finder, always. Note places you see fish, and places you don't. Pay particular attention to the depth of the fish. You need your gear to be about 0-5 feet above the fish, NEVER below. Fish hunt food from below.

4 Make changes ONE at a time. This will narrow down what works and what doesn't. If you change line, weight, color and speed all at the same time, and stop catching fish, how will you know what you need to work on? This is probably the most important rule in fishing. I have even been known to put the old bait from one lure on a different one, to make sure that lure color and not just fresh bait had started the bite again.

4 tackle shops and guides know what work, they see it day in and day out. And the best part is, they both would love to tell you. So if there is a local tackle shop, ask them the same thing you asked me. If you see a guide on the water, follow him, he's used to it and wont mind as long as you don't interfere.

5 Keep a journal of conditions, each time you fish note water temp, color, light, time of day, date, what gear you used, how you fished, and anything you see or do. That way, you can refer to it the night before a fishing trip and try to match what worked during those same conditions. It's amazing how many patterns you'll find.

6 try scents, but only tiny drops, don't soak a lure in scent. Also, wash lures often, use lemon joy, and scrub hard. Krill, anise, and shrimp are the three "go-to" scents for trout. Try smelly jelly's "special mix", the  bottle, not the jar. That's my favorite.

It's late, and I better get to bed. Tell me if this helps, and please, feel free to ask more specific questions, I would love to know where you are fishing, and how you are doing.

Thanks!

Kelly