Northwest Fishing Reports

Hello, everyone! Hoping to find some guidance here. I will be fishing Mineral Lake this Sunday. I have never fished this lake before, so I had a few questions. I was thinking it would be fun to try something different than pure bottom fishing with a two rod endorsement. Figured one rod could sit while the other used a lure. I've seen Rapalas before but have never used them before. The lake is mostly full of rainbow and brown trout. Which Rapala would be good to use? (And how should I set it up?) Looks like the depth of the lake is 20-38 feet for most of it. I will be fishing from a small rental aluminum boat. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Hi Cambo! I am not familiar with Mineral Lake but I have used Rapalas for rainbows before, though usually when trolling. For what it is worth, here's what I'd recommend: I have found that Rapalas work better for trout when waters are a bit cooler (October through mid-june). This time of year, they seem less inclined to chase anything and so bottom fishing seems generally best. When I do use Rapalas for Rainbows, I find a smaller one (#4) in rainbow markings works best. I also remove all treble hooks. These are generally too big for their mouths and especially a 2nd treble is overkill. If you do hook a rainbow, a 2nd treble will usually hook in the body, ensuring you land it but harming the fish needlessly if there's a chance you want to release it. A single trailing hook (#6) is sufficient. On this, something with scent/texture (e.g. fake maggot, piece of worm, power bait nibblet, etc.) seems to encourage more than a single hit, if he's not hooked the 1st time. Good luck!

Cool, I will try the suggested size and hooks then. If it doesn't pan out (not likely from what you say), there is always next year when the water is cooler!

Size 5 gold, perch, firetiger, or silver countdown rapala, for deeper water, the size 7 deep runner rapala is killer for browns, troll fast dont cast and retrieve.