Are trout really that picky?

[redietz 0]

They might take that randomly in the midge seasons yes. The difference is you might catch a fish or two in the course of the day but 20 by midge fishing. A size 20 hairs ear can be a good second option sometimes but not generally speaking. And soft hackles can work at times too.. But here is the thing in still water with chironamids. They stack up under the surface by the thousands, look like black and white candy cane sticks in the water upright 6 inches to a foot under the surface. And the trout come swimming through them basically open mouthed, you will see the backs porpoising and occasional heads and tails and swirls of water.. You know there is a ton of activity taking place just under the surface and you want your emerger in that, standing upright like the rest.. As the fish approaches you give tiny twitches, tiny, like and inch or two and wait, your floating tippet will move away, set the hook then. He's got your pupa and probably 8 other naturals in it's mouth. It's very different fishing, patient fishing and productive fishing.. If you wade the water and get in the hatch all you have to do is look in the water around you and you will see the little candy canes of pupa shucks left behind. My midge pupa have a tiny piece of very fine lead tied along the hook shank under the thin wrap of black rabbit, really mostly thread and I candy cane an off white piece of thread for the rib, It looks very close to the naturals. I grease up my leader but the last foot of tippet and cast that out there. This allows the pupa to hang upright under the surface. You spook every fish in the area trying to cast a float out there, it's useless to try.

 

 

Since I fish mostly tail waters and spring creeks, I've got a fair amount of experience with midge hatches (albeit not in still waters.) I've certainly seen plenty of trout feeding just as you describe. And, yes fishing the way you describe will catch fish, but I can usually find two or three other ways of taking the same fish just as effectively (of course, not always -- "always" and "never" don't apply to fishing.)

[Dave G. 0]

 

 

Since I fish mostly tail waters and spring creeks, I've got a fair amount of experience with midge hatches (albeit not in still waters.) I've certainly seen plenty of trout feeding just as you describe. And, yes fishing the way you describe will catch fish, but I can usually find two or three other ways of taking the same fish just as effectively (of course, not always -- "always" and "never" don't apply to fishing.)

 

Sometimes in rivers a big old royal wolf has gotten me fish in the middle of a strong size 16 caddis hatch. Or a big stimulator for that matter. Well hey, that's why it's call fishing I guess. Still water midging is kind of it's own phenomenon but around here in some ponds with prolific midge hatches it may be unique to some but to those who get into it it's the key to success in those seasons. Incidentally the fall season should be right now but we have been way too warm here for it to get up and running just yet.

[rstaight 0]

I guess what it comes down to is, does it look like groceries that day.

[Flicted 0]

The age-old question. If the color and size really matter, then why did that cheese-chucker just catch a huge brown on a ball of Velveeta, corn, marshmallow, PowerBait...

My first time out I had several mayfly imitations and there were caddis everywhere. I couldn't get a rise. Switched to a wooly worm and caught 6. I had a similar experience a few months later with stone flies. I smashed up a Dave's Hopper and it caught several whitefish and rainbows.

This was an interesting thread to read through. The only thing we're missing is a series of interviews with the trout. We can only make assumptions about what our experiences are telling us. I read a compelling example. But did the size 16 parachute ant float differently than the size 14 ant that gave the fish a sense that it could be caught, was it placed more delicately? I have watched fish strike and miss a mayfly that floated right over them. I believe heavily fished trout are more experienced and more easily spooked than those that will quickly eat any fly just because it looks like food. One guy said there are too many variables to give a straight answer. I agree. Fish eat. But they have to be able to see the insect. It has to be in a lane where the fish can see it, make the decision, and then easily catch it. If an insect rides high in the surface film and can easily escape, maybe it will get passed up waiting for a more guaranteed bug. Flies that are crippled, have trailing nymphal shucks, midge clusters all are very productive flies fro a reason. I believe that if there are 50 blue winged olives floating by and one looks sick or crippled, it is more likely to get eaten than a perfect replica that matches the other 50.

[Mike West 0]

Are trout really that picky?

Yes they are and at other times they will hit a beer pull tab.

Yes Im old I remember pull tabs and have actually caught fish on them.

[dadofmolly 0]

Years ago, fishing for brookies in beaver ponds, using nothing but a plain gold hook; no feathers, no yarn, no floss, and no worms, just the hook. And yes, we were catching fish after fish.

[redietz 0]

But did the size 16 parachute ant float differently than the size 14 ant that gave the fish a sense that it could be caught, was it placed more delicately?

 

In that in that specific instance, both flies were tied by me, with the same dubbing and parachute post material, and hackle from the same neck (appropriately sized) and tied on the same evening. I did consider the possibility that shortening the tippet by a couple of inches may have made some difference, which is why I went back to the larger fly as an experiment. The fact that the slightly larger fly got consistent refusals indicates that placement wasn't the problem. It's possible to speculate that passing clouds made a difference, although IIRC, it was a bluebird clear day.

 

I'm reasonably confident (90% or so) that size alone made the difference, but even it it wasn't, it doesn't change the fact that trout can be sensitive to very minor changes.

[redietz 0]

Years ago, fishing for brookies in beaver ponds, using nothing but a plain gold hook; no feathers, no yarn, no floss, and no worms, just the hook. And yes, we were catching fish after fish.

 

I personally like a plain red hook; I've done well with those at times, but I've even caught enough fish with hook that used to be a fly before it came completely apart to know that trout will sometimes eat anything they can fit their mouths around. (If you're wondering why I would be fishing a bare hook, it because it was upper fly in a team of flies and stripping the remaining material off hook to keep fishing the other fly was easier than re-rigging the team.)

[Flicted 0]

My post wandered a little so don't get me wrong. I agree that trout are selective at times, not so selective at other times. Sometimes they bite on instinct from the flask of a spoon or spinner, a bare hook, or a ball of floating chartreuse clay. Figuring out why would be just as valuable information as what makes women tick.

[flychuker 0]

Trout are like Women. The minute you think you have them figured out, they change their minds.

[spiralspey 0]

If you're talking hatchery trout, like the OP was, then I don't think they're picky, I just think they just don't know how to act like a wild trout. They rest in places wild trout wouldn't and often hold in groups, unlike wild fish. I've seen hatchery trout rise to, and consistently refuse, naturals but race over to a twig or pebble tossed into the river. So just because you're not catching fish doesn't mean they're not there or that you're doing something wrong, it could just be hatchery fish are there and don't know what a natural meal looks like.

[Poopdeck 0]

The thought that hatchery fish don't learn the rules is far from the truth. I believe the difference between acclimated hatchery fish and wild fish is only in the minds of anglers. More specifically, dyed in the wool trout fishermen seem to like making this distinction as a matter of angling hierarchy and not fish reality. This train of thought is never applied to stocked walleye, musky, striped bass or any other planted fish. it seems its only applied by trout fishermen to trout.

 

I can agree with this notion from freshly planted hatchery trout but the survivors survive because they learned the rules just like any wild trout out there. I've seen hatchery trout swim around in a group shaped like the bucket they were poured out of but after a week darwins theory wins out. I've seen a lot of trout but I have yet to master identifying stocked vs wild when they are swimming around in the water still. I've also seen native trout, in non stocked streams, chase and eat all kinds of crazy things including what was on the end of my line. So much so that I attribute trying to eat non food things as more of a trait associated to wild brook trout making the native brook trout the hands down easiest fish to catch. The same can't be said about wild browns, if there is such a thing,

[tjm 0]

Not many places have actual wild native trout. Not sure that I have ever seen any. Suckers are way more picky than trout and can spit the fly out faster.

The reason we fish for trout is quite simply because they will take our flies.

[Flicted 0]

There are many places with wild, native trout especially out west. Even Nebraska has wild, native trout. (Not many places I'll give you that) There are still places out west with very little stocking input.

[j8000 0]

In my area, I've noticed it's tough to catch on the fly within the first month of freshly stocking. Bait fishermen seem to do all right, but not so much on the fly. After that they seem to be catchable like the rest. I usually avoid a freshly stocked area for three reasons: They are tougher to catch, it brings in bigger crowds ( stocking truck groupies), and I don't think the flavor of the fish is as great. But like I said after a month all three reasons seem to disappear.

 

I do fish some purely wild streams that have never been stocked before containing local Redband trout, most of these streams are catch and release only, but the satisfying of catching a non-stocked stream is greater than having to release all of your catch.

 

Jeff