subject: The Famous Rooster Tail --- Sorry This is About Fishing [print this page] The Famous Rooster Tail --- Sorry This is About Fishing
So you are headed out to do some river trout fishing. Packing your tackle box with the goodies you feel the fish will be devouring today. Don't forget "old faithful"; the Rooster Tail lure. It's been around for almost sixty years and with all that experience it really knows how to attract the trout with its colorful and playful tail.Rooster Tails provide great variety with over seventy colors and several metallic finishes. There are several fluorescent colors plus many color patterns that mimic the natural food of trout in both rivers and lakes.Rooster Tails are available with brass, silver or painted blades. The blade color will sometimes be the difference between catching fish or not. Some days a silver blade will be the real producer; on another day or even at a different time of the same day, only a brass or painted blade will work. As with other types of fishing it pays to be flexible and prepared; try using a "three-cast-no-fish time to switch lures" method until you find what is working.The Rooster Tail is equally effective whether you are river trout fishing from the bank or from a boat. From shore, cast upstream into the current. Many times fish will pick up the lure as it is drifting downstream. Keep your rod tip up and the line straight so you can tell if the lure stops which could mean a trout has taken the lure into its mouth. Don't yank, raise the rod tip and then set the hook if you feel a fish. As the Rooster Tail resumes its drift downstream, slowly lift your rod tip and give it a light tug. This spins the blade. The spinner will then brush across the lower portion of the drift, as you retrieve it back to the bank where you are standing. Don't get impatient and begin reeling in too soon as a trout will often wait for the lure to be at the very bottom of the swing before it attacks.If you are fishing for trout on the river in a boat, you will want to stay close enough to cast up against the bank. Be ready for a quick strike as the splash and flash will often provoke a trout to attack your lure right after it hits the water. Trolling behind your drifting boat can also be an effective technique. It helps to give the rod a light tug to get the blade spinning.Finding the right depth where the fish are feeding is crucial when you are trolling with a Rooster Tail. Because the Rooster Tail's body is already weighted, it will sink on its own and adding weight may not be required when the fish are at a shallow depth.Start counting as soon as the lure begins to sink; if the lure reaches bottom on the count of ten, on the next cast begin reeling in at the count of nine. On the next cast start the retrieve on the count of eight and so on. By doing this all levels of the lake are covered.In the excitement of catching a fish, don't forget your count. You probably will be able to hook several more fish at the same depth. Always give your rod a quick pull to start the blade spinning. Also be sure to "work the rod" --- meaning move it from side to side or up and down as this will create the attractive, lively action of the hackle tail.
