Season in put and take

If you want to know when fishing is best, water temperature is the only meter you really need. Rainbow trout likes cold, oxygen-rich water and is most active around 10 to 14 degrees. That explains the year: spring and autumn are peak, summer is slow, and winter is its own branch with ice fishing.

The year in short

• Spring — peak. Cool water (6–14 °C), hungry fish after winter.
• Summer — slower in the heat. Fish early and late, and deep.
• Autumn — peak again when the water has cooled.
• Winter — ice fishing where ice forms, open water in the ice-free south.

Bite times in the day

Dawn and dusk are usually best, but the most important rule in put and take is that freshly stocked fish can take at any time. More in bite times.

Weather

Cloudy, cool weather often stretches the active periods compared with blazing sun. Wind that ruffles the surface adds oxygen — look for the windward side. In heat the fish go to the coolest, most oxygen-rich water, at inlets and in the deep.

Read on: spring, summer, winter, bite times. How the season steers fly choice: flies in autumn.