Trout Fishing After Rain: Expert Guide Tactics And Tips

Trout fishing after rain is often one of the best times to be on the river fishing, which is why a lot of good anglers will make the extra effort to be on the water shortly after a rain. After a rain, many of the biggest trout will start feeding, so we want to take advantage of the potential short feeding window that occurs.

The main reason for good fishing after a rain is:

• More Insects and more bugs in the water
• More baitfish activity
• Decrease clarity, which makes larger trout more active
• More oxygen content

But the fishing is not always good after a rain. It really depends on the amount of rain, the type of river, and how well you can adapt to the changing conditions.

I’ll give you the tips and insights I’ve learned from 37 years of fishing and 22 years of guiding for trout. These tips have helped me put a lot of big fish in the net for my clients after it rains.

Trout Fishing After Rain Means Lots Of Food

I have experienced days when the fishing was very slow for hours, and then immediately after a brief but heavy rain shower or thunderstorm, all of a sudden, it seems like every trout in the river is actively feeding.

My experience shows that the reason for the increase in insects is that the rain knocks insects off of vegetation near the river, or it even knocks insects out of the air, and all those bugs end up in the river, causing a feeding frenzy.

I’ve used a seine, also known as a bug net, before and after the rain and I have seen the number of insects increase by over tens times. Many of the extra insects in the net are land and air insects such as ants, flies, beetles, bees, mosquitos, etc. Not to mention the trout’s favorite food, worms.

The extra runoff along the ground also brings in a lot of this extra food and insects that weren’t in the river before.

More insects, more runoff, and possibly more oxygen can start a chain reaction in the food cycle, and all trout will start feeding more.

The bottom line is more active trout, and more bugs, can make for some fantastic fishing.

This is great for fly anglers, bait fishermen, and lure guys, which I’ll explain below.

As a fly angler, this works to your advantage because you have a box full of flies, and often after rain, all kinds of flies can work, especially beetle patterns, worm patterns, grasshopper-type patterns, and most medium to large streamers.

Spin anglers can still take advantage of fishing for trout after rain because you can fish flies, worms, and other baits to these agressive trout. Go to my page, How To Fish Flies With Spinning Gear: 2 Best Methods

Reduced Water Clarity Can Be Good or Bad

The runoff from clay banks, farmer’s fields, and other areas can cause the water to start to become less clear, and this can be a good thing when fishing for trout because big trout tend to be less cautious and more aggressive.

However, if the river gets very muddy, the trout can not see the food, and this makes it very hard to catch them. I have some tips for muddy water below.

During this muddy time, you’re not likely to catch any fish so it’s best to wait until the water starts to drop and clear up a bit, which can be a time when the fishing is excellent.

Big Fish Feed After The Rain

Not only are there more bugs in the water, but there are more baitfish for the bigger trout, which is why streamer fishing and lure fishing can also be fantastic and why so many large trout are caught after a rain.

What happens when all these extra bugs and other debris or food enter the river is that baitfish will also start becoming very active and feeding on everything, and while they are feeding they become easy targets for large trout.

I work as a full-time guide, so I’m often already on the water after it rains, but I have buddies who will actually wait for rainy days to call in sick, just so they can fish in the rain and after the rain. The reason is because they catch the most big fish at this time.

Streamer and lure fishing can be fantastic for large trout after a rain.

So take advantage of rains on rivers that do not get too muddy after a rain.

Best Tactics For Fishing For Trout After It Rains

Depending on the river the best tactics for trout fishing after a rain will be different. Fly fishing with small flies and big streamer patterns can be a great method. In fact, streamer fishing is my go-to choice when trout fishing after it rains because it produces some of the biggest trout.

Float fishing with baits like worms can also be very productive because the trout are looking for food.

Spin fishing with lures can produce some big fish after rain.

Best Lures For Trout Fishing After A Rain

When the water is off-colored or dirty and the visibility is lower, it’s better to use lures that are slightly bigger and ones that make noise, like the Vibrax Spinner or a crankbait with a rattle in it.

The fish will be able to detect the noisy lures with their lateral line and move in close before they even see the bait.

A larger lure gives trout a bigger target in the dirty water, but brightly colored lures can also be a great choice in off-colored water since the trout can see it better.

See Best Lures For Trout Fishing

Best Baits For After Rain

After a rain, the fish can be feeding on anything but there are some baits that might work better.

Worms are an excellent bait because there may be a lot of natural worms out at that time. For advanced tips and advice on fishing with worms, check out my page, Fishing With Worms For Trout and Steelhead: 10 Guide Tips

Pink plastic trout worms are my go-to worm when fishing for trout after a rain and I find that these 3-inch plastic worms will fish better than live worms most of the time. I prefer the 3-inch trout worms from Berkley or the Mad River worms. I have also done very well with red worms when the water is off-colored.

• Berkley PowerBait Floating Trout Worm 3” – Get them at FishUSA.com or at BassPro Shops – HERE
• Mad River Worms – Get them at FishUSA.com – HERE

Larger baits and bright-colored baits that stand out more in the off-colored water can also be a good idea. Even baits like spawn bags, trout beads, or baits with a lot of scent like Berkley Powerbait can be good options. Check out my pages Fishing With Beads: 5 Guide Tips For More Fish and Spawn Bags – Guide Secrets For More Fish

As mentioned earlier, flies are an excellent choice after rain. Large flies like Woolly Buggers, stonefly nymphs, and Egg-Sucking Leeches can be a good option. The larger flies stand out more amongst all the debris and other bugs coming down the river.

Best Flies For Trout After Rain

These are some of my favorite flies for trout after rain:

• Worm Fly – Check it out at Bass Pro Shops -HERE
• Roe Egg Fly – Check it out at Bass Pro Shops – HERE
• Prince Nymph

Bonus Tips For Fishing Dirty Water After A Rain

When the river gets really muddy, the trout simply can not see your bait, so catching trout can be almost impossible. But, since I’m a trout guide, I always have a backup plan, so I can keep my clients catching fish.

When the water is this dirty, you can keep on trying, but I often move to another river that stays clear after big rains, or I will try to find clearer water on that same river, which in my area is often further up the river above major run-off areas.

Tailwater rivers are often very clear below the dam when other rivers are muddy, so if you have a tailwater river near you try there.

My bonus tip is to try to find clear water near smaller creek mouths that enter into a bigger river. Sometimes, these small creeks won’t get dirty after a rain, or they will clear up quickly, and the outflow of the clear water just below where the creek enters the bigger river can be clear enough, and it can often hold some feeding fish.

I have caught a lot of fish at these creek mouths when the main river is too muddy to fish.

Tight Lines

Graham