IMPORTANT NOTES ON TROUT BEHAVIOR
| Sysadmin Note |
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Click here for Part 1. This is Part 2 in the series |
These notes will cover the trout feeding behavior as it pertains to the PMD hatches. Trout feed on insects that are found drifting in the current. As the nymphs mature and the time of hatching draws near, the nymphs begin to drift off the bottom on the way to the surface. The trip doesn’t happen all at once, nymphs start drifting off the bottom up to an hour before the actual emergence. At first the trout begin to feed on the bottom. As the nymphs ascend toward the surface the trout will follow them up, feeding on the nymphs because trout always take advantage of easy, available food forms. As the nymphs get closer to the surface and the emergence becomes more eminent the trout begin to feed almost exclusively on emergers.
This is when as Neale Streek author and exceptional guide says, “Now there can be hell to pay. PMD Emergers are the nemesis of many western anglers” Small Fly Adventures in the West, published in 1996. Neale also states that this is perhaps the most perplexing hatch puzzle on western waters.
PMD Hatches, selectivity and spring creeks go hand in hand. Early in the PMD hatch period, the trout seem to take the duns more eagerly than they do later in the hatch period. Remember, under normal conditions the emerger hits the surface and the dun hatches quickly and leaves the water surface. Under these conditions the trout turn to the emergers. The angler always finds emergers a problem. Are they on top of the film or are they in the film or were they just under the film? When the PMD is emerging it is at its most vulnerable and the trout feed heavily on them. During the emergence nymphs float to the surface. As they rise close to the surface their bodies begin to expand with gases. Now everyone believes that the PMD nymphs all float to the surface and emerge. But that is not 100% true. Sometimes they will begin to emerge from their pupal shuck 3 to 6 inches below the surface, and then they pop to the surface. This is why I believe there are so many stuck in the shuck and become cripples during a PMD emergence.
That is why it is more important than ever for the angler to take time to observe what is going on and watch what the trout are doing. Over the years I have been able to spend ample time watching and studying the hatching PMD emergers and the way the trout feed on them. One of the critical observations that I have made is that even though there may be several trout that appear to be feeding on emergers, what the casual observer will miss is that the several feeding trout may all be feeding on different forms of the emerging insect. The solution calls for careful observation on a fish by fish basis and a fly box filled with many different emerger imitations!!
On those perfect days when the hatch is heavy and the air is cool and/or moist, the duns will then ride on the surface for a long period of time. During those conditions the fishing can be fairly easy and straightforward.
There are times before and after the hatch that the trout will feed in an opportunistic manner on PMD’s. The angler needs to be aware of the differences between opportunistic feeding and selective feeding, as both are important to the trout and the angler.
“The late Charlie Brooks rated knowledge of the fish as the top factor to an angler’s success, followed closely by knowledge about insects.”
The savvy angler will have many questions to consider when dealing with feeding trout on rich, hatch-laden waters. There are times when the trout will feed in an opportunistic manner. But what is opportunistic feeding? What is selective feeding? How does the feeding activity change? Can it change with the age of the fish, the time of year or the time of day?
What is opportunistic feeding? This means they eat whatever happens to float by. During times early in the hatch or during sparse hatches, the feeding can be quite opportunistic where the trout feed on just about everything that floats by. During this period the trout will usually accept a pattern that is general in appearance and suitable to what may be found in the stream being fished.
However, trout can switch from opportunistic feeding to selective feeding as the abundance and availability of the insect forms increase. Therefore, the angler’s best tool for solving the problem of selective feeding is observation and knowledge!
When a trout becomes selective it locks into the size, shape, action and color of the natural until that insect is no longer on the water and available. To be effective under these conditions the angler must match the same characteristics of the natural that the trout is feeding on! Determining what stage and the characteristics of the insect that the trout is feeding on is the first step to catching a selectively feeding trout. Now, what causes a trout to key in on one particular stage and form of the insect is not truly understood. The truth of the matter is that no one really knows why trout become selective during feeding activity. Often during bouts of feeding selectively not all of the trout will be selective to the same stages and styles of the insects. The challenge is between you and the trout not between yourself and the other anglers.
There have been many studies on the feeding behavior of trout. One of the studies that I found out about was done by Robert Bachman of Penn State, The Foraging Behavior of Free-Ranging Wild and Hatchery Brown Trout in a Stream, published in the transactions of the American Fisheries Society. One of the bits of information that I picked up is that a younger fish will feed more often than an older fish.
I have also noted that after a heavy hatch and feeding, small trout will move in to prime feeding lies to pick up the leftovers, so to speak. When you see anglers who are enjoying success when you are not, don’t be afraid to stop and observe or even ask what they are using. Why not find out why someone is having success when you are not? This isn’t a game of ego, but a search for knowledge.
Hatch fishing for selective trout is not for everyone. Some find it too frustrating and move on and find other trout on easier waters!!!
Next week we will move on to fishing tactics as they relate to fishing the PMD Hatch.
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| Click here for Part 3 |