Have you ever been to a sporting goods store with a large fishing section? The selection of fishing lures is amazing isn't it? It boggles the mind to think that all of those funny looking contraptions can catch fish.

But catch fish they do, some way better than others, and some on certain days while still others will work on different days. Trout can be finicky, so a lure that works on a sunny day may not work on a cloudy one and vice versa. One type of lure may be made for surface fishing while another is best fished deep.

A type of lure that is synonymous with trout fishing is the trout fly. Flies are tied to resemble some natural prey of the trout such as insect larvae, adult insects, small rodents, bait fish or other favorite trout meal. There are literally thousands of different configurations of trout flies, and I'm sure that each of the fishermen that tied them will swear by their ability to catch fish.

Flies are usually categorized as wet or dry flies. Wet flies are used with weighted line that causes them to sink underwater to attract trout that are holding in pools and other deeper areas of a body of water. Split shot can also be used to get these flies down to a desired depth for casting or trolling.

Dry flies are fished on the surface of the water. Trout like to wait just outside the current in a stream and snag a meal as it floats downstream. This is one way of fishing dry flies - cast them upstream and let them float down and entice a waiting trout. They can also be cast near cover such as floating logs and large rocks and along banks and other places where trout may be hiding and waiting for an insect to land on the surface.

Fly fishing has its own gear and it is quite different from spinning equipment. The long rod for the whip-like action and the weighted line allow the angler to get the fly cast to just the right spot to entice a trout with a tasty pseudo-bug. The reel is a more simple spool-like design to allow the fisherman to manually strip line off the reel and work the cast correctly.

Another popular type of trout fishing lure is the spinner. This lure is basically a piece of wire attached to a hook with a shiny, spinning piece of metal attached to the wire. It may have beads or other decoration along the wire. A "dressed" spinner will have a tuft of hair, feathers or other material over the hook to make it look more attractive and give it some resistance to getting snagged on underwater objects.

The spinner works in two ways. It uses flash and vibration to appeal to the hunter instinct in a trout and often causes him to strike it. The flash of the spinner also mimics the look of small baitfish swimming around, tempting the trout for an easy meal.

Spinners come in different sizes depending on the size of fish being fished for. They often come equipped with a treble hook, a three-pronged hook, but can also be found with single hooks.

Spinners are most often used with spinning rods and reels. Spinning outfits are easier to cast then fly rods so they appeal to more fishermen, especially beginners. Spinning lures can, however, cause your line to become hopelessly twisted, so a swivel is recommended for use with them.

Jigs are another common trout fishing lure. A jig is essentially a weighted hook to which is attached some type of body. The body can be hair or feathers, but often some type of soft plastic is used that resembles a local baitfish.

Because it is weighted, the jig is best used for luring trout out of deeper areas where they be holding, such as below dams and in deeper pools in streams. They are also great for lake fishing and trolling.

Still another type of lure is spoons. These are made in such a way that they wobble when reeled in. This action mimics the way a wounded baitfish would swim and obviously would tempt a hungry trout. Many configurations of spoons are available.

There are many other lures available in addition to those mentioned. Suffice it to say that if a lure resembles either some type of insect, local creature such as a frog or crayfish, worm or a baitfish the trout preys on, there is a good chance that it will be at least partially successful in catching trout.