There are anglers, and then there are trout anglers. Me? I’ve always been drawn to bass and catfish. I’ve given trout fishing a shot, but it just doesn’t give me the same thrill as hooking into a smallmouth.
But as April rolls around, trout season is about to kick off in most states—and my longtime friend and die-hard fisherman, Maddie M., can hardly wait. She’s been at it since she could walk—about 20 years now. Her father, an avid angler himself, played a huge role in shaping her love for the sport. “Since he only had daughters and loved to fish, of course, he had to take us with him,” Maddie told me.
She primarily fishes creeks and streams in eastern Pennsylvania, wading through the water to get closer to nature—and more importantly, to find the best honey holes. When I asked about her go-to bait, her answer caught me off guard: canned corn. “I may use other baits, but I never go fishing without a can of corn,” she admitted. While most states allow corn as bait, chumming with it is illegal in some, including California (except Salton Sea), Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada (except Lake Mead), North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah (except Lake Powell), and Vermont.
As for adapting to different water conditions, Maddie had some solid advice:
“It’s all about adjusting your split shots. If the water’s low, use less weight and cast more in front of you rather than upstream. If it’s low and slow and you cast up, your line’s just going to get stuck on the bottom. Nothing’s worse than thinking you’ve hooked a monster only to find out it’s just a rock. In deeper, faster-moving water, add more weight and cast upstream so your bait has time to sink. The current will naturally carry it past you.”
Maddie might be a trout fanatic, but her tips work for any angler. At the end of the day, fishing isn’t just about the catch—it’s about the experience, the time spent on the water, and the stories you bring home.
