Trout river fishing with vinyl lure
Fishing with spinning or "light casting" vinyls is a booming modality nowadays, this is due to its great versatility for catching trout in rivers or demonstrating a high effectiveness compared to rigid lures used years ago.
In our opinion, it is an important evolution in sport fishing, and below we add a small guide to fishing techniques and characteristics of our star vinyls (Kisu Shad and Happy eel) ideal for this type of fishing in fresh water.
Lure qualities
We are going to explain the different advantages that, from our point of view and after years of using them in different rivers and reservoirs in the North of Spain, these vinyls offer us in fishing action:
1. GREAT MOBILITY. We mean that they have movement throughout the body, creating different vibrations and providing maximum naturalness in the imitation of a natural fry fish.
2. ADAPTATION TO THE FISHING SCENARIO. In this important aspect it is unbeatable, it is able to work in any layer of water, fish currents, let it go deep and look for fish in deep pools, fish on slow boards without current, in holes in the fall, etc… any hole or area of the river is useful and swept in fishing action.
3. POSSIBILITY OF VARIATION OF WEIGHTS. Depending on the weight we decide to use we can decide more effectively the chosen fishing area and be able to present the lure more naturally in front of the fish. By changing the weight of the vinyl we can make the variation of weight that we need, the less weight we use the more natural it will be in the fall.
4. TEXAS ANTI-SNAGGING MOUNTING. Thanks to this vinyl mounting system we obtain important advantages since we avoid 90% of the snags in fishing action, allowing us to introduce the vinyl without fear in all the holes we want and scrape the bottom in the wells and boards.
For us it is a very important factor, the effectiveness is multiplied since we can pass a lure through places where the rest of the types of lures cannot because they would get caught on any obstacle.
5. DIFFERENT VIBRATION. The vibration that it transmits under water is totally different from all the rigid lures used for years, its main advantage is that it does not emit metallic noises, it is a totally silent vibration.
6. EXACT SILHOUETTES AND SHAPES WITH RESPECT TO NATURAL FISH. Due to the super realistic finishes that we can achieve in vinyls today, we can imitate as much as possible the shapes that natural fish have, achieving maximum realism of the imitation. (fins, scales, shiny guts)
Different movements that we can use
* Casting upstream: the vinyl has the ability to work correctly without having a current against it, we cast upstream along the banks as if a wounded fish were going down the currents fleeing.
* Fan casts: this involves casting parallel to us and creating a counter-current fan, using the current to retrieve more slowly and even without retrieving on our part (approximately a 90 degree angle).
* Yerking: we cast the vinyl in front of us or downstream and make sawtooth movements to excite the trout as if it were a wounded and nervous fish (we get the predator excited).
* Linear retrieval: in many cases, making linear retrievals by retrieving very slowly can be very effective in any position where we clearly see that there may be a predator positioned.
Recommended Equipment
Based on our experience, we recommend a spinning rod with measurements from 1.50m to 2.40m to be able to move easily through the river and provide the equipment with the maximum possible maneuverability.
Reel size should range from 1000 to 3000 to give it the maximum possible lightness.
We recommend using braided line with diameters between 0.06 mm and 0.16 mm and adding a fluorocarbon leader or monofilament leader between 0.14 mm and 0.25 mm. (You can also fish with monofilament or fluorocarbon directly)
One of the advantages of braided line is that it transmits better tension to the lure, allowing you to better feel the movements and possible bites.
The leader should be between 1 and 2 meters, this being a choice based on the fisherman's taste.
Weights to use
Depending on the fishing scenario, we should start by using the lightest weight possible, we can use from 1 gr to 15 gr depending on the size and flow of the river.
Here is a list of lures with which you can practice this beautiful and innovative fishing technique.
Happy eel sizes and weights:
