Oregon’s Rainbow Trout Fishing Tips with a Professional Wildlife Guide

Watch 👀 our video for a look at this PROFESSIONALLY GUIDED trout fishing experience with Troy Miller of ADVENTURE OREGON at Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon! He offers MANY other activities, including BIRD WATCHING by boat, and the wildlife refuge there at the lake is a fantastic area for Oregon bird watching! Troy shows what to use to catch trout, including a BAITING TECHNIQUE we had never seen before! Whether you are interested in Redband Trout fishing for beginners or if you are an advanced fisherman, make sure to contact Adventure Oregon for one of their guided trout fishing trips!

Adventure Oregon: https://adventureoregon.net/
Discover Klamath: https://discoverklamath.com/

It’s important to remember that Redband Trout are a native species of fish and there are regulations on the size and limits that anglers must follow when fishing for them. Most anglers will choose to do catch and release, while others will choose to keep their fish for the smoker or BBQ. Anglers are allowed to keep 1 Redband per day that is a minimum of 15″ in length on Upper Klamath Lake. Regulations are subject to change and anyone planning to fish Upper Klamath Lake or any of its tributaries should check with the ODFW first, and make sure they are aware of all current regulations.

Tips

  1. Use a #6 lbs green line like Maxima ultragreen. Redbands get spooked if they can see the line and using heavy lines seems to cause Redbands not to bite. Using a lighter rig with your drag set for the fish to be able to take extra line will help you land those Giant Redbands. Keeping your drag set too tight might cause your line to snap if the fish pulls too hard, resulting in losing the fish.
  2. When fishing with worms, use an egg or bullet type sliding sinker, and a #10 bait holder, with 24 to 36 inches of leader.
  3. Pump up your worm to make it float using a worm pumper or hypodermic needle. This way your sinker sits on the bottom while your worm floats 2 to 3′ above the bottom where the fish can see it.
  4. When fishing with worms, leave a loose line and don’t set the hook too soon. Redbands tend to play with their food before they eat it. Getting too excited and moving your rod too early while the fish is starting to bite can cause it to get spooked and move on.
  5. If the fish swallows the hook and you intend to let it go, you should not remove the hook but instead cut the line as close to the hook as possible. This will make sure the fish doesn’t bleed to death, and the hook will dissolve within a couple of months.
  6. Fish after a new moon, and avoid fishing the morning after a full moon as fish tend to feed during full moon, and are hungrier after a new moon or nights that have no light because of cloud cover.
  7. Fly fishing is one of the best ways to catch Redbands on Upper Klamath Lake and its tributaries. I know fly fishermen who can land 5 fish per hour on a good day.

🕶 Tips!

Put your feet up and let us do the hard work for you. Sign up to receive our latest Travel Tips directly in your inbox.

We’ll never send you spam or share your email address.
Find out more in our Privacy Policy.

Leave a Comment