Sea Trout Fishing bait

Bait fishing for sea trout can be a successful way of catching fish, and the humble earthworm is the best bait for them. Worms from your garden will suffice, however Redworms and Dendrobaena worms, which can be purchased from tackle shops are the best.

Bait fishing for Sea Trout is best after the river has been in Spate or has had some fresh water. The optimum time is when the flood water is just running off. For some reason Sea Trout will take a bait more actively at this time. However with stealth & patience fish can be caught in low clear water.

Worms can be free lined, with little weight or no weight at all. This method allows you to move the worms slowly along the river with the current doing all the hard work, this can be a restrictive method, as no weight means short casts and a total dependance on the flow of the river.

Sea trout are shy so try to set up a rig which allows the fish to run with the bait without meeting any resistance. This will involve a weight attached to your main line with a swivel, the rigs below are my favoured set-ups for bait fishing.

Sea trout will take a worm in the same way that they take a fly. The take is either a great ‘thump’ or a gentle quiver. If your bite is gentle let the fish have a little line from your reel which should induce a stronger take!

Conservation is paramount in all aspects of Sea Trout Fishing. I strongly recommend the use of circle hooks when worm fishing, a deep hooked fish is unlikely to survive.

The Running Bullet Rig.

The benefits of this rig surround the nature of the weight. Bullets are round and will flow with a current.

The key to success with the method is the size of the weight, it needs to be balanced against the flow of the river that you fish.

A small weight fished in a swollen river will move too quickly and may not get down to the fish.

A heavy weight with little flow may become static, thus it is important to match the weight to the conditions of the river.

This rig can be fished upstream or across the current, as with all forms of bait fishing the resistance that the fish feels when it takes the bait, must be minimal. The running bullet provides the angler with direct contact with the fish.

As with all my bait fishing for sea trout, I only use a single worm, threaded head first onto a hook. The worm should be lively, and not to big, 3-6cms would be fine.

Dendrobaena tend to have more of a wriggle and are not as large as the lob or garden worm

Running Weight Rig

This rig can easily be fine tuned. Weights are attached to a length of low breaking strain line attached to a running swivel.

The amount of weight is again dependant on the river conditons (see Bullet Rig) however the benefit of this rig is that it can be fished very light, and changed very quickly.

The low breaking strain line means that the rig can be freed from snags easily, usually resulting in the loss of shot, not the complete rig

The hook lengths for both rigs must be considered carefully, i use fluorocarbon (Fulling Mill World Class) as it is less visible to the fish.

The hook length should be a light as possible, but consideration must be given to the fish, and an line that is too light will break too easily, resulting in a hook and line left in a fish.

Teifi Salmon -Alma House Beat

One caught on the Running Weight Rig, as the worm was lifted at the end of its track through a run


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			Bait fishing for sea trout can be a successful way of catching fish, and the humble earthworm is the best bait for them. Worms from your garden will suffice, however Redworms and Dendrobaena worms, which can be purchased from tackle shops are the best. Bait fishing for Sea Trout is best after the river has been in Spate or has had some fresh water. The optimum time is when the flood water is just running off. For some reason Sea Trout will take a bait more actively at this time. However with stealth & patience fish can be caught in low clear water. Worms can be free lined, with little weight or no weight at all. This method allows you to move the worms slowly along the river with the current doing all the hard work, this can be a restrictive method, as no weight means short casts and a total dependance on the flow of the river. Sea trout are shy so try to set up a rig which allows the fish to run with the bait without meeting any resistance. This will involve a weight attached to your main line with a swivel, the rigs below are my favoured set-ups for bait fishing. Sea trout will take a worm in the same way that they take a fly. The take is either a great ‘thump’ or a gentle quiver. If your bite is gentle let the fish have a little line from your reel which should induce a stronger take! Conservation is paramount in all aspects of Sea Trout Fishing. I strongly recommend the use of circle hooks when worm fishing, a deep hooked fish is unlikely to survive.
	The Running Bullet Rig. The benefits of this rig surround the nature of the weight. Bullets are round and will flow with a current. The key to success with the method is the size of the weight, it needs to be balanced against the flow of the river that you fish. A small weight fished in a swollen river will move too quickly and may not get down to the fish. A heavy weight with little flow may become static, thus it is important to match the weight to the conditions of the river. This rig can be fished upstream or across the current, as with all forms of bait fishing the resistance that the fish feels when it takes the bait, must be minimal. The running bullet provides the angler with direct contact with the fish. As with all my bait fishing for sea trout, I only use a single worm, threaded head first onto a hook. The worm should be lively, and not to big, 3-6cms would be fine. Dendrobaena tend to have more of a wriggle and are not as large as the lob or garden worm