Your weekly online magazine for
Fishing and Outdoor Recreation
in northern British Columbia, Canada

Published each Monday

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Leeches are an important trout food. Leeches are always available, and the trout being opportunistic, just cannot resist that big mouthful. Trout seldom key in exclusively to the leech, but sometimes like to cap off a feed of chironomids with a dessert of leech. Leeches usually are dark brown, olive or black and mottled in color.

Short strikes

Getting short strikes is common while fishing leeches. As the trout flares open its mouth, a vacuum is created sucking the prey in; consequently the fly doesn't get drawn in far enough. Sometimes, the trout chomp down on the leech to make it recoil into a defensive ball, then will come back and pick up the now smaller mouthful. Experiment with the retrieve but don't strike too quickly.

Boatman

Water boatman are not encountered that often by anglers, but at times can provide some really exciting fishing. Water boatman are about one cm. in length. The two back legs are much longer and resemble a boat with the oars, hence the name. Water boatman are air breathers, therefore have to make many trips to the top to grab another bubble of air, before diving once more. They can fly at any time, but usually restrict the flying only in mating season. If you are on the water on an absolutely cloudless day, and there seems to be raindrops hitting the surface around you, that is the boatman hatch.

Escargot

Most anglers don't realize that trout like escargot. They like them just the way they are, but I like them better smothered with garlic butter. In summer months, when oxygen levels may be low, snails by the thousands will be found on the surface. Trout often pick up the snails off the vegetation, and you will see the reeds shifting as the trout search for their escargot on a stick.

Minnows

Minnows and forage fish are, of course, what big fish are made of. Really big fish cannot get enough calories from insects and turn cannibalistic. Cutthroat are particularly fond of minnows, but all the trout will focus on the fry as they emerge from the gravel. At times we have caught trout so gorged, that the fry are spilling out of the gills. Still the trout will feed gluttonously. Big trout also feast heavily on the 6-7 cm. year old smolts before the smolts head to the ocean feeding grounds.

(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE for your convenience)

Eggs

Trout love eggs, breakfast, dinner, or supper. Wherever fish are spawning in the spring and fall, you will find a trout trying to scoop up some of the wayward eggs. Trout can be observed running headlong into spawning fish to get an egg release. Egg or roe imitations are very effective on all trout and salmon streams. Remember that most rivers do not allow bait of any kind.

Insects

Land borne insects are not as readily available as those in the water, but trout love beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, jassids, ants and moths. These insects can get knocked into the water by wind or rain, sudden storms, during mating or just drop off streamside vegetation. In mid -June the large flying ants can provide fantastic angling.

Ants

Ants contain formic acid, which is like fish catnip. Trout can't resist a gorging of ants. Once, fishing a favorite stream, we had reasonable success but nothing like the usual. The stream was at the outlet of a large lake. We had neglected to stomach pump the fish that day, but finally at the end of the day decided it might be prudent. Their stomach was filled with flying ants.
We had not noticed any of the ants, but the large lake had collected all those ants and was now delivering them down to the eagerly awaiting fish. We couldn't tie on an ant pattern fast enough, even though it was time to pack up. We fished for perhaps another half-hour, with bites on nearly every cast. Like we say, it pays to give the trout what they want.

"University"

A trout's brain is about the size of a pea. Now that doesn't make you feel particularly superior when the fish can so thoroughly trounce us sometimes. Of course, they have had thousands of years of evolution to hone their instincts. Knowing what the trout diet consists of, how best to imitate what they want, and presenting your offering at the right depth and speed, makes the angling pursuit an open-ended university course. It is a journey, not a destination. You will never arrive or graduate, but guaranteed you will meet a lot of friends and have rewarding experiences along the journey.

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