Trout are finicky feeders. To attract their attention, and get them to bite, requires presenting the right bait at the right time. Knowing which rig to use, under what conditions will make the difference between landing that trophy trout, or getting completely skunked.

There’s a perfect trout rig for just about every situation. However, there isn’t one trout rig that’s perfect for all situations. That’s why it’s imperative you master rigging for trouts and learn which rig to use for a give trout species and when to use it.

There are three basic rig setups for catching trout. They include (1) rigs that present bait suspended underneath a float, (2) rigs that present bait at the bottom of the water column near the bottom, and (3) rigs the allow you to cast and retrieve an artificial lure.

The following fishing rigs are ideal for trout fishing. Review each rigs to determine which will be most effective for the type of trout your targeting and fishing conditions.

The drop shot and float rig are your go-to presentations when trout fishing with spinning gear. They’re ideal for fishing lakes and slower flows. For fishing streams, creeks and faster flows using fly fishing gear, the double dry fly and dry fly dropper are your go-to dry fly rigs. When fishing flies subsurface we recommend the double nymph rig.

Drop Shot Rig

Drop shoting for trout is unquestionably one of the most popular methods for trout fishing in freshwater. It’s simple, straight forward, and most importantly, it catches trout. A drop shot rig presents bait just off the bottom where most freshwater trout tend to hold during the warmer months of the year.

The drop shot rig is created by tying your hook(s) to line using a dropper loop knot above your bell weight that is attached at the tag end. The use of the dropper loop allows the bait to move freely in the water creating a more natural presentation. It also allows the hook to easily be swapped out for another hook without retying the loop.

A sinker weight is attached to the tag end of the line about 8″ to 12″ below your hook. You can use any strong knot such as a uni knot, surgeon’s knot or improved cinch knot to attach your weight, but we recommend using another dropper loop knot. Attaching weight to line using a dropper loop knot allows you to easily swap weights without retying your knot.

The drop shot is ideal for fishing still water, when it’s windy, if you need to switch out hooks and bait easily, when fishing deep water, or when fishing with beginners. Drop rigs are also great to use when there are a lot of anglers fishing and surface pressure is high.

Drop shots can be used to fish a variety of baits, including powerbait and worms, as well as soft plastics and other artificial lures. The drop shot is a great rig for vertical jigging soft plastics and getting into the strike zone quickly.

Use a clear leader for your rig, especially if fishing in clear water or on a sunny day. 6 lb test monofilament is ideal but you can go down to 4 lb or 2 lb test if the trout are fairly small. Up your line test to 8-10 lb when fishing current. This will keep you from loosing your rig.

For your sinker, a drop shot weight or bass casting weight in the 1/8 oz. to 1/2 oz. range is ideal for targeting trout—depending on the distance your casting. The key is to use the least amount of weight as possible so your presentation is appear more natural.

For your hook, go with a a #14-#8 egg/caddis hook, or baitholder. If you’re not getting bites, you can move to a smaller #18-#16 size hook.

Float Rig

Float fishing for trout using a simple float rig composed of a bobber, sinker, swivel and hook is becoming a mainstay for trout anglers that fish low to medium flows—such as lakes, ponds and slow moving streams. Using a float rig to drift powerbait, worms, salmon eggs or plastic eggs allows you to control depth and see bites instantly. This rig also tends to reduce snags which is a big plus.

Another benefit of the float rig is it’s simplicity. It’s one of the easiest presentations to rig and fish. It’s a great setup for beginners.

There are 4 components required for your basic float rig, a float (bobber), sinker, swivel and hook. Attach your float to the main line. Adjust the distance of the float to your line a the distance from your bait hook that represents your desired depth. Affix your float to the line by placing two adjustable bobber stops at either end of the float. Add an ant size baby swivel to the tag end of your main line and from there run your leader line (a light weight 2-4 lbs fluoro) to your hook. The last step is to add some split shot to your line just above the swivel to provide for casting and to get your bait to line to sink.

But, if you really want to keep it simple, you can get away with just a fishing line, a medium-size transparent slip cast spin bobber, and your hook. This is the setup I used as a kid to catch everything from perch to lunker Rainbows. It’s rudimentary, but it works. Attach a 1-1/4″ to 1-1/2″ transparent slip cast bobber to your line a the distance from your hook that represents your desired depth. To attach your slip bobber to line, create a bow in your line and feed the bow through the hollow stem of the bobber. As the bow exits the other end of the stem, wrap the bow back around the bobber until it stops against the fishing line. Now pull the tag end of the main line to extend the bow down the side of the bobber to create a linear display. Sounds a bit complicated, but it will be intuitive what to do once you’ve fed the bow through the stem and wrapped it up around the bobber.

Now just add your hook to the tag end of your main line using your preferred knot. To fish this setup you first want to fill your slip bobber with water until it’s about half full. This is accomplished by partially removing the stem from the bobber while the bobber is submerged. This will allow water to enter the bobber. A half full bobber will continue float while providing the necessary weight to your presentation to make some great distance casts.

Double Nymph Rig

Hands down one of the best fishing rigs to use with a fly rod is the double nymph rig. Why is this rig such an effect trout catcher? Three reasons. First, this subsurface rig gets your presentation down where 90 percent of trout feed. Second, it presents two food options, doubling your chances of presenting something of interest to finicky trout. Finally, the double nymph rigs allows you target different sections of the water column at the same time.

The double nymph rig is particularly effective during cold winter months when hatches and surface insects are scarce, and trout tend to hold near the bottom. Add a drop shot weight to your line and this rig will get your flies down deep in the stike zone where trout are more likely to bite.

The most common setup for the double nymph rig includes a strike indicator on 3x-5x 7-8′ leader, followed by an anchor fly on a 4x-6x 8-18″ tippet, followed by a dropper fly on 4x-6x 8-18″ fluoro tippet. Slip shot can be added for additional weight when you need to go deep. The anchor fly is typically in the #12-16 range and the dropper fly in the #18-20 range. The anchor fly should be larger than the dropper fly.