This article will focus on the best trout lures and baits. I have fished for trout nearly all my life and got started by in small streams and creeks in Pennsylvania. The water was clear and cold. The woods were strikingly beautiful. But you want to hear about the best lures and baits, don't you?

First off, there are nightcrawlers and red worms, which are a smaller worm that are better for smaller trout. It is vital to hook these worms correctly, looping the hook through the body multiple times, or using a rig with two hooks. Worms don't keep very well, so they may die somewhere throughout your expedition. However, they are very reliable and steadfast, and you will pretty much always be able to catch trout on worms as long as the trout are there.

There are also other live or semi-live baits, such as salmon eggs. Salmon eggs are by far my favorite trout bait for smaller sized trout. You must use a very small hook, tie on a salmon egg and let it drift downstream. Hopefully a trout gobbles it up, you reel him in, and then later that night you gobble him up. Minnows are like salmon eggs for larger trout. It can be difficult to catch trout who have survived in the wild for several years using artificial baits - they are very suspicious. For these larger trout smaller minnows, preferably of a species that live in the creek you're in, are the best.

Small spinning lures and jigs can work well, depending on the conditions. Small spinning lures are by far the best lure for catching trout (well, besides flies, but we'll get to that in a bit). These in-line spinning lures work best when the trout aren't hungry or are lazy, in this way you can agitate a fish into biting the lure when they aren't attacking natural baits. Jigs tend to work best with a slow presentation, and in the colder months.

Fly is another method of trout entirely. The line is weighted to allow you to cast, because you have to use a very small lure. The lure itself is called a fly, which is essentially a hook with small feathers, colored strings, and other things tied onto it in order to make it emulate a natural insect. When you cast out the fly, it drifts across the surface as it is

carried downstream, looking a lot like an insect to trout beneath the surface. This is a very effective method of trout fishing, and the one preferred by many. You can even make your own flies, a delicate process known as fly tying!

There are also some artificially created pastes, nuggets and gobs that are sold for the purpose of trout fishing. Some of these work and some of them don't, however I wouldn't recommend using them unless you plan on eating the trout, as they often get swallowed immediately. Releasing the fish with a swallowed hook is a bad thing to do, as the fish will die within days. The trout seem to like the taste of this powerful bait, and I have used it from time to time, however the cost can be a bit prohibitive. That being said, they do work well, so I won't speak ill of them.

That's about it, for all of the best trout lures. Of course we're talking about small to medium sized freshwater trout - not huge lunker lake trout or ocean species of trout. You'll have to check out some future article to find out what I use for those.