Canada’s 11 all-time top lures for brookies, browns, cutthroats, lakers and rainbows

Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub

Everything about the Fuzz-E-Grub screams fish, from the soft-plastic body to the bulging eyes to the seductively waving marabou tail. With this bait, it’s all about subtlety—where other jigs rely more on antagonizing fish to bite, the Fuzz-E-Grub teases, and few trout can resist its charms. It’s often thought of more as a bass or walleye bait, but experienced trout anglers have long recognized its effectiveness on reluctant trout. While the jig is available in a wide range of colours, trout anglers lean toward the all-white, crawfish orange and black/chartreuse versions.

Catch: Brook, brown, bull and lake trout

When: Spring is best, but it produces all year

Where: Target structure and undercut banks on streams and rivers; shoreline cobble and rocky humps in lakes

How: Fish it vertically, or cast toward structure and slowly bump it back along bottom

Panther Martin Spinner

It might be hard to imagine that a lure as small and unobtrusive as the Panther Martin can be such a reliable producer of trout—including big trout—but history doesn’t lie. The in-line spinner’s unique through-the-blade shaft ensures a consistent spin at nearly any speed, and its relatively large blade gives it plenty of fish-attracting “thump.” Many anglers think of the Panther Martin as a stream lure, but it’s hefty for its size, meaning it can be cast effectively on lakes and even trolled. Available in dressed and plain models, the go-to versions for trout anglers sport the black body with yellow spots and gold blade, and the yellow-and-red body with a silver blade.

Catch: Brown, bull, cutthroat, golden and rainbow trout

Where: Streams, small rivers and lakes, and ponds

When: Throughout the open-water season, effective in stained or clear waters

How: Cast across moving water, allowing the spinner to swing with the current, then retrieve at a consistent speed. Cast and retrieve or troll slowly on ponds and lakes