Reddit reviews The Orvis Guide to Prospecting for Trout: How to Catch Fish When There's No Hatch to Match, Revised Edition

I fish for trout almost exclusively and don't really use bait at all. For a Panther Martin (I use quite often) and other lures, my favorite is the Mepps XD (extra deep) http://www.mepps.com/product/xd/144, I've found that the retrieve speed is delicate. I've been in situations where I've been nearly skunked and my brother has had 20 fish afternoon. Essentially it comes down to finding the depth the fish are sitting.

Other lures I love are the classic Dardevel in red and white (other colors are awesome too), the Blue Fox vibrax, and a Jake's Spin-A-Lure.

Colors I use are almost exclusively metalics and black.

For trout and especially stream fishing you should pick up "The Orvis Guide to Prospecting for Trout" http://www.amazon.com/Orvis-Guide-Prospecting-Trout-Revised/dp/1599211475/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320161835&sr=1-1.

A few things I have on my list (being fairly new myself)

http://www.amazon.com/Orvis-Guide-Prospecting-Trout-Revised/dp/1599211475/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323023476&sr=8-1

and

http://www.amazon.com/Orvis-Guide-Reading-Trout-Streams/dp/1558219331/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323023530&sr=1-1

Which streams/rivers did you try? The water in North Idaho hasn't been bad lately, a few rivers are still running higher than normal but the water clarity has been good. I would read this. Its a pretty good read about what to do when there is nothing obvious. I agree with the other guys though streamers are a great way to catch fish, especially large ones. Personally I like to swing streamers after I've gone through a good spot with dries.

Ok, that makes sense. The Rogue is probably the closest decent option from Lansing. It's just that compared to some of the better rivers further north, it doesn't have as good of a population of fish, and it sees a lot of pressure due to being so close to Grand Rapids.

I think the closest blue ribbon trout river to you would be the White River, near White Cloud. Google maps says that's just under 2 hours from Lansing. Other options would be the PM, Upper Manistee, or South Branch of the Au Sable. All of those are between 2-2.5 hours from Lansing.

In any of these rivers, with their larger fish populations and better insect hatches, success isn't guaranteed. This time of year in particular can be tough. The fish have seen a whole season's worth of flies going past, and a lot of the insects that would normally get them feeding have already hatched out.

Don't get discouraged, though. I fly fished for 2 whole seasons before I finally figured out how to catch trout. Tom Rosenbauer's book Prospecting for Trout was a HUGE help for me.

Good luck out there!