Salmonid
Rainbow Trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss — also called Bow, Steelhead (sea-run)
The most widely stocked gamefish in America. Rainbows tolerate hatchery culture and warmer water than other trout, which is why they show up in tailwaters, mountain lakes, and put-and-take ponds nationwide. Wild rainbows in the Rockies are a different fish entirely — strong, smart, and selective.
- Range
- Native to Pacific coast; stocked nationwide in cold water and tailwaters.
- Size
- Typical 8–14"; trophy 5 lb+; world record 48 lb.
- Spawn temp
- 44–52°F
- Best seasons
- Spring, Fall, Summer (high elevation)
Best baits for rainbow trout
- PowerBait (stocked fish)
- Nightcrawler
- Inline spinner (Mepps, Panther Martin)
- Streamer fly (woolly bugger)
- Dry fly (Adams, Elk Hair Caddis)
Season by season
Spring
Spawn time. Fish stage below redds (don't fish ON redds). Egg patterns and small streamers work as fish gorge on dislodged eggs.
Summer
Move to cooler, faster water or deeper lake basins. Early/late dry fly action; mid-day nymph fishing.
Fall
Fish push back into riffles to feed up. Streamer season — strip a woolly bugger or sculpin pattern through deep runs.
Winter
Tailwaters fish all winter. Small midges and scuds under indicators. Slow, deep, technical.
Local secret
On tailwaters, find the seam where fast water meets slow. Drift a nymph or small streamer through it. On stocked ponds, PowerBait on a slip sinker is hard to beat.
Top US waters for rainbow trout
- Madison River, MT
- Bighorn River, MT/WY
- Green River, UT
- San Juan River, NM
- White River, AR
Want a real-time pattern for your lake?
Open fishtrapp.app and ask ZIP — our AI fishing guide pulls live conditions, water-body data, and lake-specific patterns for any US water in seconds.
Open the app