Best Trout Lures in 2022

It goes without saying that the best trout lure to use will vary from situation to situation depending on a number of factors including the type of trout your targeting, time of year, size and species of local forage, weather, temperature, time of day, the body of water, and a host of other factors as well.

With that being said, there are some lures that you can feel pretty confident will catch you fish almost anywhere. With that in mind we have compiled a list of what we consider to be the best lures for trout in 2022.

Best lure for Rainbow Trout

Fire Tiger Rooster Tail Spinner

The best lure for Rainbow Trout is the Fire Tiger colored Rooster Tail Spinner. It’s our top pick because it is very effective and can catch rainbows year-round. While spinners in general are very effective at targeting rainbows, the Fire Tiger colored rooster tail is a very similar color pattern to that of an actual rainbow trout which drives rainbows crazy. In addition, the tail on the lure better mimics a fish than traditional lures and also helps to hide the hook which also can help with the bite when fish are being extra skittish.

One of the main advantages of using a spinner, not just a rooster tail, is that they are very versatile and can be used to troll, cast, and even jig. Another advantage is that spinners allow you to cover a lot of water which means a great chance of putting that lure in front of an opportunistic trout.

In addition to versatility, fishing with Rooster Tails is also very beginner friendly. It’s as easy as casting and reeling in your bait. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the cadence of your reel. Switching up the cadence of your reel speed can make a night and day difference in whether or not you catch fish.
Rooster Tail Spinners come in a number of other colors and sizes as well.

The sizes that we recommend using most of the time are 1/8th or 1/16th ounce. Besides the Fire Tiger color, there are other colors that work good too. We have found the best colors to use including gold, silver, black, yellow, orange, and green.

Best Lure for Brown Trout

6th Sense Provoke 106X Jerkbait – French Bone Pearl

The best lure for Brown Trout is the 6th Sense Provoke 106X Jerkbait in the French Bone Pearl color. When most fishermen think of fishing with jerkbaits they probably think about fishing for Bass or other large predator fish. However, you would be surprised at how often you can catch a large Brown Trout on a jerkbait.

As you may already know, Brown Trout are one of the most aggressive trout species there is. With that in mind, it shouldn’t be very surprising that a jerkbait can catch a lot of browns.

In my experience the best color to use is the French Bone Pearl, a pattern that is almost completely white. With that being said, it is always a good idea to select a color and size that best simulates the species of local baitfish in whatever what you’re fishing. While there are plenty of great jerkbaits out there, I specifically mention the 6th sense provoke because they’re one of my favorite brands due to their high quality lures and life like action.

When fishing this lure, try to cover a lot of area along the shoreline, jerking and pausing the lure in different intervals. Keep in mind that most often the fish will hit the lure on the pause. However, if the fish are being a little more hesitant to bite, another productive way to fish the lure is by simply reeling it in.

This will cause the lure to waddle back and fourth as it swims through the water. Just because a lure says it’s a jerkbait doesn’t mean that is the only way you can fish it.

Best Lure for Lake Trout

White Tube Jig

The best lure for Lake Trout is white tubes. I have found the most success catching Lake Trout by tipping my white tube with a piece of native fish meat and then jigging off of the bottom.  Lake Trout generally stay towards the bottom of the lake so it can be very difficult with a lot of other types of lures to get your bait in front of them.

When jigging for Lake Trout, I have found that a 4-6” tube with a 1/2 -3/4 oz weighted hook is ideal. The colors that seem to work is white but glow in the dark and chartreuse work well too. Some fisherman like to suspend their tubes 3 – 5 feet vertically off the floor bottom. However, I have found that if you give a horizontal presentation, this better mimics a fish. I have found better success by keeping your tube jig on the floor bottom and jigging it up approximately 2 -3 ft and letting it fall back down to the floor.

As you do this, pay attention to when the tube is falling. In my experience the fish will typically grab the tube on its descent. If you are expecting your line to go tight and it remains slack, its likely a fish so set the hook.

Jigging for trout can be done in open water but it is also a really great option for ice fishing. Another way to use tubes is by casting them out in open water and letting them sink in the water column and then slowly reel while moving your rod tip up and down. This does a great job of imitating a dying fish and from my experience it drives other species like Cutthroat trout and Rainbow trout wild.

One other method to get down to them would be trolling with a downrigger but it can be difficult to keep your bait above the lake floor without occasionally snagging and snapping your line. That is why jigging in my opinion is the better option. Plus, I think it’s a lot more fun!

Best lure for Brook Trout

Regular Gold – Panther Martin Spinner

I wanted to specifically mention the Panther Martin brand of spinner because the way the blade moves is different from other popular brands such as Rooster Tail, Blue Fox, and Mepps. While I prefer to use Rooser Tails in most situations because I think they get more strikes, one of the issues I have noticed with these types of spinners is that the spinner often gets stuck, preventing the blade from spinning. This can be especially true when fishing in lakes or ponds that have a fair amount of moss.

However, the way the Panther Martin’s are designed, I have never had an issue getting the blade to spin. So, while the Panther Martin may not get quite as many strikes as a Rooster Tail, it is a more reliable option than any of the other spinner brand of landing a beautiful brook trout.

Best lure for Cutthroat Trout

Mack’s Wedding Ring

The best lure for cutthroat trout is a Mack’s Wedding Ring tipped with a nightcrawler. Take the head of the nightcrawler and string it on to your hook so that the worm is straight. The way we recommend you fish this is by trolling with it which will cause the rest of the worm to flutter as it glides through the water. The colors we have found to work the best include yellow, green, or pink blades and bodies.

If you don’t’ have nightcrawlers, there are lots of other baits you can add to your wedding ring such as corn, power bait, wax worms etc… A lot of fishermen like to customize their wedding rings and will often add a trailing hook or a larger hook in order to add more bait to their setup.

Best lure for stock trout

Trout Magnet

The best lure for stock trout is the Trout Magnet. If you haven’t heard of a trout magnet, you need to give these a try. They are essentially a small plastic grub with a split tail threaded on a lightweight jig head and are fished below a float.

You can fish the trout magnet in lakes or ponds by slowly twitching your rod and reeling in your line. Alternatively, if you are fishing in a stream, make sure ethe current is slow and that you’re slightly jerking the lure as it drifts.

Keep in mind that because trout magnets are quite small, you will want to fish this with an ultralight setup. It is recommended you use 2 – 4lb line and a small float. As the trout magnet drifts moves through the water, give it slight jerks with the tip of your rod to provide action to the lure.

Other effective Trout Lures

Nymphs (Euro-Nymphing)

Flies aren’t typically what you think of when you think of lures but we felt like we needed to add Nymphs to this list regardless. They have become one of the most effective ways for fishermen to catch fish. Using flies is so effective, fisherman have created an entirely different way of fishing to use them. That way is called Euro Nymphing.

Euro nymphing has gained a ton of popularity in recent years and it probably the most common way to fly fish. This is because euro nymphing has proven to work quite well. It involves using a long (10+ feet) sensitive rod with a long liter (approximately 20 feet), no indicator, and very thin fly line. It allows the

fisherman to use nymphs to float along the bottom of a river or stream with no slack in the line, creating better contact with the fish to sense even the most subtle of strikes.

If you think about it, nymphs are an insect that most species of trout regular consume including rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, tiger trout and cutthroat trout. This means that once you have mastered euro nymphing techniques, almost every species of trout (maybe not Lake Trout) is now accessible.