How do You Catch Trout in Salmon Waters?

[Silverexpress]

Hello Everyone!

I was on the Muskegon River in SW Michigan yesterday doing a days worth of fishing. It was the first time ever for me on this river. My focus was to try out the new Sage Z-axis 6 wt on trout, and maybe if I got lucky a steelhead, but for this post I'd like to focus on the situation I came upon.

I was surprised that there were still post spawn salmon on beds going through the motions.
I came upon one bed with salmon and what looked like various sizes of trout tailing directly behind (5-10 ft). I would assume that the trout were feeding on eggs. At this point in time the salmon where probably "spent". I tried yarn eggs, nymphs, and even midge pupae. I even managed to snag a jack that broke off my tippet, but after an hour or so no trout came to the calling.

If anyone has been in a situation such as this, how did you go about it? What type of setup did you use as far as line, leader, tippet, and fly?

Also, do you guys and gals who fish salmon rivers find it difficult to fish for trout in general?

[PaGuy]

ahh fishing for rainbows in salmon ifested water, I usually use 9ft leader, 2-3x tipit with egg patterns or flesh patterns dead drifted.
If the salmon are in their thick you will not be able to get a good drift so go home, or put up with the fact you are going to snag a couple acidently.
but if they are thining out and the salmon are spawning you will have a great time.

oh and these things work great for egg imitations

http://troutbeads.com/

[Silverexpress]

Thanks PAguy. I will see if I can head back out there this weekend, and give it another shot.

I'll fixate on using egg imitations as you have suggested.

[PaGuy]

Trout love eggs, most of the pictures of these big Fat Alaska fish are caught on eggs. Most of the time the trout will inhale the egg so fast you wont know what hit you. have fun and post pics when you get back

[jeff98390j]

PaGuy,

Dont forget to take a few egg sucking leeches along with you. I have had times where the trout have seen and eaten so many eggs, they are very reluctant to take an egg patter. However, in these situations something like the ESL will not only attract the interests of their hunger, but also their instick to hit moving objects that enter their space. You can swing them in front of trout you can see, or behind the salmon if you do not see the trout. I have also had good luck with an egg sucking zonker and an egg sucking sculpin in these situations as well. Dont forget to enjoy the beuty of seeing the salmon doing their thing. I will always remember the best day of trout fishing i ever had, as i was able to watch a pair of 50# kings lay some eggs, fertilize the eggs, and chase a large rainbow trying to sneak in for an easy meal. Almost felt like a peeping tom!

Enjoy the day.

Have fun, Jeff

[NderdaFilm]

Another fun pattern for trout, feeding off the reds, is the egg sucking stonefly nymph. Orvis has one of those. You may be surprised.

Then again, maybe Stoneflys are not in your system, come to think of it. Oh heck, try it anyway couldn't hurt.

[nick0danger]

Unlike the west coast, east coast and great lakes salmon dont die after spawning, they return back to the larger body of water, they came from. So a flesh pattern would likely not work as well as it does on the west coast just and FYI

[Fall Creeker]

Unlike the west coast, east coast and great lakes salmon dont die after spawning, they return back to the larger body of water, they came from.

This is not entirely accurate.

The Great Lakes are stocked with Pacific Salmon (King Salmon, Coho, Pink, and maybe some others) that do die after spawning. I can attest to fishing on the Salmon River, a tributary to Lake Ontario in New York, and standing in a river with plenty of dying King Salmon. Quite a smell.

The Atlantic Salmon, which are a native fish, are also stocked in order to maintian population size. These fish do not die after spawning and generally return to spawn 3 or 4 times during their lives.

Regarding the original post, I find that egg sucking leaches, and small woolly buggers work wonders on the fish that are staying behind the reds.

[brookid]

...take a stroll along the banks of the Pere Marquette river in Michigan this time of year...you'll find that great lake salmon do die in the river...

as for the original question...we did real well this past weekend picking off egg munching browns...we used a variety of patterns and colors and most if not all took fish

[alaskanfishguides]

O.K. I'm going out on a limb and suggest something that is extremely contraversial and yet exceedingly effective.

Unless the water is fly fishing only, peg a bead, matched to the hatch for color and size, about 2" above a bare #2 hook. Use enough shot at 18" above the bead to occasionally touch the bottom. Fish nymph style with or without an indicator (another extremely volatile issue); then hold on!!!

I have found that glo bugs are indeed inhaled, but frequently ingested deep and in the gills.

I have fished beads extensively in salmon streams, almost always catch the fish in the lip (as long as the bead is pegged no more than 2" above the hook), and have never hooked a fish too deep.

Give it a shot...