Trolling depth for trout follows the water temperature. In cool spring water, trout hold from the surface down to about 30 feet, but warm weather pushes them deeper, into the 12 to 45 foot range. Find the band where you mark fish, then run Trigger Spoons, stick baits, and threaded crawlers through it. As the water warms and the spoon bite intensifies, you can speed up. Scent your spoons with Chrome Killer Scent to boost bites.
What depth do trout hold when trolling?
It shifts with season and temperature. In cool water, trout run from the surface down to roughly 30 feet. At Collins Lake this spring the fish sat 22 to 27 feet deep, and Cal targeted the 20 to 30 foot range with spoons, soft plastics, and threaded crawlers. At Lake Berryessa, Captain Nate Kelsch found trout from the surface to 30 feet, with his deepest fish at 30.
How does warm weather change trout depth?
As the water warms, trout drop lower in the column. Captain Nate reported Berryessa fish sliding from near the surface down into the 12 to 40 or 45 foot range once warmer weather set in. When you notice the shallow bite fading, follow the fish down and set your offerings deeper rather than grinding the surface.
What is the 30-foot trout pattern?
On a hot Berryessa morning, Captain Nate kept lines from the surface all the way down, and his deepest fish came at 30 feet. Thirty feet is a reliable target band for warm-weather reservoir trout: run a spread that spans from just under the surface down to about 30 feet until the fish tell you where they are stacked.
How do you find the right trolling depth for trout?
Cover the water column instead of guessing. Run offerings from just under the surface all the way down, watch your sonar for marks, and note the depth where you get bit. Cal leans on reports of exactly where fish are holding, then concentrates his spread in that band, in the 20 to 30 foot range when that is where the trout are.
What lures work at trout trolling depth?
Spoons and stick baits are the workhorses. Captain Nate runs Trigger Spoons, Trigger Spoon Juniors, and Optimizers in shad patterns, plus stick baits like the Big Nate Bait. Cal adds soft plastics and threaded crawlers. Match the offering to the depth where fish are marking.
Does scent help when trolling deep for trout?
Yes. Captain Nate smothers his spoons in Chrome Killer Scent and says it increases bites noticeably, no matter which spoons you run. Adding scent to spoons and soft plastics gives a following trout one more reason to commit once the flash and vibration have pulled it in.
Should you speed up as trout move deeper in warm weather?
Often, yes. Cal notes that as the season warms and the spoon bite intensifies, you can typically start to speed up. Deeper, more active summer trout will chase a faster-moving spoon, so once you find the depth, experiment with picking up the pace to trigger reaction strikes in that band.
Watch the technique
Trolling depth and depth control for trout FAQ
In cool spring water, trout hold from the surface down to about 30 feet. Collins Lake fish sat 22 to 27 feet deep this spring, so a spread worked through the 20 to 30 foot band is a strong starting point.
Warmer weather pushes trout down. At Berryessa, Captain Nate kept offerings from 12 feet down to 40 or 45 feet as the water warmed. Expect summer reservoir trout to sit deeper than the spring fish.
On the day Captain Nate ran everything from the surface down, his deepest fish came at 30 feet. He hammered a mix of rainbows and a king running spoons and stick baits across the column.
Trigger Spoons, Trigger Spoon Juniors, and Optimizers, often in shad patterns. Captain Nate stresses the scent more than the exact spoon, so pick a spoon you trust and smother it in Chrome Killer Scent.
Yes. Fish drop with warming water and shift with conditions, so the productive depth is not fixed. Run lines across the column, watch your marks, and adjust to the band where you are getting bit that day.
Good ones. Cal's Collins Lake reports have rainbows and lightning trout running up to 8 pounds in that 20 to 30 foot range, and Captain Nate has been loading bags of quality Berryessa trout down to 30 feet.
