Tackling trout with a split-shot rig and plastic worm

One technique I’ve found effective for wary trout over the years is running a simple split-shot rig and a plastic worm or fluke.

You can use a long worm hook and Texas rig a fluke, or just use a bait holder and pierce it through the nose. A plastic worm is wacky rigged on an appropriate sized Octopus hook. Add a single split shot 18 inches up the line. Where trout are busting minnows, cast a 3-inch fluke out and let it slowly drift down. Slowly retrieve it, with pauses.

Watch the line, and if it tightens up, set the hook. A plastic worm drifted through a deep hole has been the undoing of many browns and steelhead. Natural- or red-coloured worms are definitely worth a try.

For more on plastics see Split Shot for Walleye, pg. 50, in the 2015 Fishing Annual.