Lures for Rainbow Trout

I’m trying to learn how to use lures for rainbow trout but I’m having trouble figuring out what color and type of lure to use. I’ve done some research and I’ve only been able to find tips that talk about all trout as opposed to RT. I’ve looked into some minnows and spinners so far.

Does anyone have any tips on what lures to use for rainbow trout?

I don’t know about rainbow specific but there are lots of ideas here.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=75462.0

Kastmasters are always a good everywhere, gold and chrome are my go-to.
You really just have to put in the time. The link traildad gave is a good start.
I've also used trolling flies in orange and green.

There are better anglers than I, but here are my two cents.

Trolling, I use a lot of different lures. J-7and J-9 Rapalas, needlefish, kastmasters, cripplures, brads super bait cut plug (2.5 inch kokanee sized), krocodile spoons.

If I'm casting it is usually small kastmasters and spoons as well as small spinners, aka panther martins.

I try to keep my colors close to whatever the bait fish is. If they are eating shad in a lake, I go with some of chrome and white combo, or any shad color. They also eat smaller rainbows so gold/brass with rainbow patterns are good as well. I usually have two rods ready so I tie on something bright and ugly, usually something in firetiger, and something either in their bait fish color or rainbow patterns.

I fish mainly in lakes, but when I have fished streams and rivers, panther martins in white or black and yellow have done the best for me. Check out the surface bugs, if there is a predominant insect, try to match that color and go.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, this is just my experience, and there are more experienced anglers that could probably give you better advice than I.

The link traildad posted has some great ideas also. I have that linked bookmarked actually.

I carry a variety of colors in Rooster Tails and Panther Martins. Rooster Tails first so if it’s a snaggy bottom I’m not loosing the expensive spinners. I’ll also use Berkley nymphs (rubber baits) on a snelled hook with a sinker salmon style just way lighter. Of course I’m a little farther north then most of you. Just my $0.02

All trout lures in all colors are effective for rainbow trout to at least some degree.  Spoons, spinners, plugs, flies, jigs...they all work.  But you can narrow down your search for the "best" lure on a given day by answering a few basic questions.  How deep are the fish?  What's the season, water clarity and temperature?  Are these holdover/wild fish or fresh off the hatchery truck?  Are these fish actively feeding or am I looking for a reaction bite?

The answers to the above questions will describe literally dozens of different scenarios.  It's not always as easy as "if the fish are in the top ten feet, then I need to troll." If those fish are hot on a blood midge hatch, then good luck trying to get one on a plug.

Where are you fishing?  If you provide a bit more info, folks here can give you more site-specific advice.

I've had better luck with 1/4oz Kastmasters than anything else. Silver, gold, silver/blue.

After 30 years selling fishing gear, I can honestly say that question is difficult to answer. There are basically thousands of lures that will become the best lure for that particular day.
Start with a few choices suggested above, and be willing to try new things.
Remember,
Each body of water is different, and even that changes by the hour. Listen and learn from the locals and others who fish there often.
Also,
Look for quality lures, not the knock off store brands (XPS, etc) as they generally don't have the same action as the original was designed with.
You can save a little $$ buy scouting out yardsales and flea markets, or if you are heading to GS, I'll be having a gear swap/sale at the Tides Inn with a LOT of Trout gear
Either way, good luck
;0)

Kastmasters and Dick Nite spoons.  Buy a bunch and change colors often

Kastmasters are my go to lure at Bay Area Lakes with stockers.  Pics are in the last 3 months.  I only troll.  My last trip yielded 21 lbs total weight.  I always change the hooks to Owner or Gamakatsu Trebles, the factory hooks bends to easy.

@Clayman I’ve been fishing a quite a bit at Lake Temescal where most of the water is around 10 ft deep and San Pablo Reservoir where it’s as deep as 20-30 feet where I fish. Are there lure colors that I should gravitate towards in sunny and cloudy conditions?

@Clayman I’ve been fishing a quite a bit at Lake Temescal where most of the water is around 10 ft deep and San Pablo Reservoir where it’s as deep as 20-30 feet where I fish. Are there lure colors that I should gravitate towards in sunny and cloudy conditions?

Youtube has some great tips specifically for SPR.  We've had good luck with rainbow, chartreuse, and garlic powerbait there.

Try these!

@Clayman I’ve been fishing a quite a bit at Lake Temescal where most of the water is around 10 ft deep and San Pablo Reservoir where it’s as deep as 20-30 feet where I fish. Are there lure colors that I should gravitate towards in sunny and cloudy conditions?

Copy that.  I've never fished Temescal and only fished SPR when I was a kid, so I don't have any local intel for ya.  But you're fishing for stocker fish, and they generally behave the same regardless of where they're planted.  They don't have any established feeding patterns, so with lures you're looking for a reaction/curiosity bite.

When the water's dirty and dark, fluorescent orange can be a great color.  The fish pick up on it real well in dirty water.  I've found bright orange lures tend to outfish the other colors in those conditions.  Firetiger is another good color combo--it capitalizes on color contrasts, which fish can pick up really well.  All those lures you see that are a 50-50 color, like orange/silver or chartreuse/gold, all capitalize on color contrasts.  So keep that in mind when fishing a dark day or in dirty water.

Bright sun and clear water is when you want to bust out the "shiny" stuff.  Silver, gold, brass, copper.  The stuff that'll catch the sunlight and sparkle.  This will catch a curious trout's attention and incite them to bite.

A lot of ways to skin this cat, but the info above is gleaned from many years of trout fishing.  Trout were my bread-n-butter target species before I moved to the Oregon coast.  I'll add that some internet research on your target water can shorten the learning curve immensely.  Most of those Fish Sniffer/Western Outdoor News/NorCal Fish Reports will mention time-tested lures and baits for a given water body.  I'm sure you could find that type of local info on Temescal and SPR with some Google searches.  Go get em!

 

  My success with landing trout has been by using Rooster tails mainly.  Each one, after I remove from its packaging though gets a hair cut.  The hairs over the hook have always been too long and I've had short hits due to the hair.  So, each one now gets the hair cut right at the hooks.
  I've never had any luck landing trout using Rapelas (Plug baits) spinners are my goto.