I for one love trout fishing and it really does not matter if they are lake or stream trout as long as they will measure up to my frying pan.

As trout grow larger, they eat fewer insects and crustaceans, and more fish. All trout eat some minnows, but a big brown relies on fish for most of its diet. If minnows are scarce, a brown trout will not hesitate to eat its own kind.

A fisherman using baitfish stands a better chance of hooking a big brown trout than an angler using other live baits or artificial flies. Stream fishermen catch browns on lip-hooked shiners, dace and fatheads weighted with only a small split-shot.

On some mid-western streams, anglers seeking trophy browns still-fish deep pools with 4-to-6 inch sucker fillets. They leave the skin on to keep the fillets on the hook.

Following ice-out, Great Lakes fishermen catch brown trout as large as 25 pounds. Some anglers still-fish or slow-troll with alewives and smelt in shallow bays and near power plants discharges. In summer and fall, browns and rainbows school around Great Lakes piers and tributaries, where they are caught on slip-sinker rigs with alewives.

Sculpins take many trout in western streams. They can be lip-hooked or fished with a double needle hook. Plug-cut herring are widely used for huge rainbows in high-altitude lakes of the west.

How to rig a Sculpin:

Step #1 of 3
Tie 6-pound monofilament line to the clip of a #4 or #6 double needle sculpin hook.

Step #2 of 3
Push the tapered end of the hook into the fishes vent, through the body and out the mouth.

Step #3 of 3
Attach the clip to the hole in the shank to complete the rig. The hook should swing freely on the clip.

Remember to sharpen your hooks.