Of course, when trolling for trout, the night crawler is a tough bait to beat.

In many places, anglers wouldn't think of using a night crawler if it wasn't tipped with a piece of white corn. A worm tipped with a Pautzke Egg is also an old-time favorite that still produces. Other lakes find trout hitting best with a piece of sand shrimp tail added to the hook, just below the night crawler.

Some trout -- and trout anglers -- prefer popcorn, or salad shrimp, those skinned, precooked tidbits you can pick up at a local grocery store and add to your hook. These are great baits in combination with worms, but they also fish well by themselves.

Before he leaves home, my dad puts the shrimp in the microwave for about 20 seconds. That seems to toughen them up, so they stay on the hook better, and at the same time, they release more scent. They are still a fragile bait, but one of my favorite for trout, especially when trolled slowly with a bright flasher.

When you're targeting trout, going light on the trolling gear not only increases rod sensitivity, but will let you feel the fight of the fish all the way to your net.

THE DEAD DRIFT
To steal a technique from the fly-angling world, dead-drift fishing for trout in lakes can be very productive. The idea here is to cast out your terminal gear, then let the wind carry your boat, followed by your lines, over the fish.

This is nothing new to salmon and winter steelhead anglers, who cast upstream and let the current carry their boat and terminal gear downstream, over the fish. In rivers, it's called dragging or boon-doggling.

With dead-drifting on a lake, wind is a must, for without it, there's nothing to move your boat.

A motor can serve, but this approach is typically not as effective as using the wind to move the boat and the gear naturally.

The setup for dead-drifting is simple. Tie a hook on the mainline, tip it with your bait of choice and add the desired amount of split shots a couple feet above it. You're set!

How much weight to use depends on the depth you want to fish -- and how fast the wind is moving you across the lake's surface.

For the best results, on your first pass, try different amounts of weight on each rod. See who gets the first bite. For your next pass, put the same amount of weights on the other rods.

One key to consistently catching fish while dead-drifting is positioning the boat so that the wind hits it directly from one side, at a 90-degree angle. This ensures that your boat travels at a consistent speed, letting you more effectively judge the amount of weight to use.

When dead-drifting and trolling light for trout, a depth finder lets you see where the fish are at and what depth you're working with.

A line counter on your reel is another key for fishing at consistent depths. Cabela's Ripcord, a color-coded, braided line, also lets you hit target depths consistently.