“Summer is when I get away with using my largest baits. The feeding fish are looking for a big meal. They are active. They aren’t afraid to chase big baits at high speeds and they are feeding more consistently, too,” Nielsen said.

“That’s the beauty of summer. If they aren’t biting on something they normally would, you can try other stuff. Try odd colors. Summer is the time to use those kind of lures.”

If you are looking to catch trophy fish, don’t restrict yourself to one area of the lake. Try fishing offshore and use your fish finder to locate active trout. You might have better luck approaching single, suspended trout rather than large schools of fish.

“Even though most people fish on structure, I’ll look for suspended fish,” said Nielsen. “Those fish have been pulled away from shore and are out there feeding. I find a lot of big trout in the summer months away from shore and out in the open water, suspended.”

Seeking out suspended fish is easier than it might sound. Suspended fish aren’t near the surface feeding, nor are they hunkered on the bottom or pinned close to structure.

A suspended fish isn’t always a sign of a trout that’s active or feeding, yet it’s a good indicator that the fish is in that portion of the water column to feed. For the most part, it’s likely there to chase down schools of bait or smaller trout.

“When I see suspended fish, I’ll drop my downriggers to the exact depth I see that fish,” Nielsen said. “And I might make a few passes at that fish before I move on, because I know that fish is suspended because it’s hungry.”

5) AVOIDING PRESSURE
Common advice in trout fishing is the famous saying, “Don’t leave fish to find fish.” However, when fishing pressure becomes high in the summer months, trout can be overwhelmed and might develop lockjaw.

This occurs when too many boats are dragging lures through an area, or when the shoreline is packed with anglers tossing spinners, spoons and soaking bait repeatedly in one portion of the lake.

When this happens, my advice would be to search for a different water to target in your area. This might mean having to drive further, but it can also drastically improve your fishing experience.

Too much pressure can put a damper on fishing, and you don’t want to get caught up on this situation. So many waters in California, Oregon and Washington harbor trout year ‘round that you won’t have a problem finding spots with less fishing pressure.

Another option would be to move to different portions of the water you are currently fishing. Articles in Web sites, newspapers and magazines often refer to a single hotspot, and that place will get overrun by anglers.

But there are always more than just a few great spots to target. Locating sections of the waters that haven’t been advertised lately is a sure way to find aggressive trout.

Keep in mind, trout aren’t restricted to one part of the water. During the summer, you’ll have them around springs, near dams, off ledges, close to inlets and outlets and near marinas and launch ramps (because they are stocked here). Therefore, any of these spots are go-to areas when anglers are overrunning other areas of the lake.