I live in New England and do a lot of freshwater bass fishing, mostly from the shore. What's the approach for shore fishing for trout? What do I use for bait (powerbait, etc.), what size hook, what sort of rig (was thinking a dropshot might work)?
Peter_AZ
I fish trout from the shore 2000 miles west of you. With bait, fishing for 8-12 inch stocked fish, the most common rig is a "sliding sinker rig" (Carolina rig to the bass guys) with a very light leader (2 pound test) and a small hook (8, 10, 12), buried inside the bait. The bait depends on where you're fishing -- worms, powerbait, whatever -- check at a local tackleshop. This is still fishing -- cast out, and put the rod in a holder and wait. I've also caught them with worms under a bobber.
But mainly I fish artificials -- small, shiny lures like Kastmasters, heavy enough to cast a long ways, retrieved at various depths and speeds until I see what's working. Spinners like Mepps, Roostertails, or Panther Martins work as well, but it's hard to cast them far enough if the lake is shallow near the shore.
2 to 4 pound test is sufficient -- trout aren't all that strong, and have small, soft mouths so you don't need a hard hookset like you do with bass.