PUT-N-TAKE TROUT

Put-and-take trout fishing requires more thought than most anglers believe.  Sure it is possible to catch them with little effort.  Consistently getting results after the first few days is a little more difficult.  Finding fish requires knowledge of their habits.

Rainbow trout are the prominent stocking fish.  That is because they are the easiest trout to grow.  They take to the food, the overcrowding and the polluted water a little bit better than other trout.

Trout fishermen in the classic sense typically throw very small flys to these sight feeders.  The reason they can do that is that the fish’s vision is very acute.  Conditions cause the fisherman to use certain flys.

Just because anglers prefer to use dry flys because it is more fun it is not the only way.  The trout’s eyes are mid-range.  They are comfortable looking up for food as well as down making them multi-directional feeders.

In the first few days away from the hatchery, trout seek their food on or near the surface like the food pellets they eat in the hatchery.  Gradually they revert to normal food sources in the water such as small minnows, crustaceans and insects.

Trout in the wild like cold moving water with a rocky bottom.  They can survive in pond water but on a more limited basis.  They prefer water in the 40 to 55-degree range.

On rivers where water levels change during the day, they survive through adaptation.  When the current is fast, they will be near the edges of the river system.  As water levels lower and current decreases they go more toward the middle.

Trout relate to structure only to conserve energy and preserve calories.

Trout have a lateral line like all fish and respond to movement, vibration and sound.  The lateral line will allow them to pinpoint the direction from which those things emanate.  They move toward the sound and then use their sight to zero in on it.

Trout have tiny scales because they live often times in a moving water environment.  This coupled with their slime coat allows them to go nose into the current with less energy.  They are also very slippery to handle while landing.

When removed the hatchery and placed in any body of water there are two things to remember about trout.  Where did that truck back up to? And what do you have a lot of in your tackle box?  For about 3 days they are stupid.  They spend some time where they are released trying to get acclimated.  They will bite anything until accustomed to the habitat.  They do not have the instincts and intuition of a wild trout because they have never had to do anything for their meals.

In most instances most manmade lakes have an area where maybe there is a little bit of a spring.  When builders dug down perhaps they found a little spring trickle.  If the fish find that area they hang out there and feed to survive.

Stocked lakes do not usually have a trout kill.  Anglers and local predators remove most of the trout.  In warmer climates, the remaining fish tend to die in hot weather.  Every once in a while someone catches a whopper in a lake where they have been stocking them for a number of years.