Welcome to the forum Craig, all those hours of fishing and no catching, the dedication!
Anyway, here are some of my suggestions. The fishing rod you have is not too bad, personally I prefer one that is a bit lighter. I always recommend a rod that rates between 2 and 6lb test for these small stocked trout. Even though a spinning rod with this rating is pretty light, you can actually use it to target many other species without too much of a challenge as well (anadromous trout and char in the Fraser River, pink salmon, small coho salmon, carp, bass, etc).
Make sure your float is small, and I tend to go for a slender/long one rather than a round one. The surface area is smaller when the float is long rather than round, so it tends to get pulled down more easily therefore bites are more easily detected.
Keep track on when fish are being stocked as well. While the lakes don't get fished out, fishing definitely slows down a week, two weeks, after each stocking. There are less fish, and the ones left over are more "educated", so they are harder to entice. You definitely want to try being at the lake the few days after it is stocked.
Bait, try shrimp and krill which I've used in some of the videos. Krill can be quite smelly, but cooked deli shrimped bought at the supermarket can work just as well. I find these two types of bait work best when you are float fishing.
Timing, be at the lake around the right time. Middle of the day can be tough, especially if it is sunny. It also tends to be breezy during the day, so harder to fish. Early morning and late evening are when fish become more active. I usually prefer fishing the lake around one hour before dark until I can no longer see my float. It's also the time when most people are having dinner, so the lake is usually pretty quiet.
If you'd like more specific suggestion on individual lakes, you're welcome to email me at
info@fishingwithrod.com too.
Good luck!
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Topic: Beginners tips? (Read 7015 times)