Trout Food

      Trout love to eat little bugs. They eat just about anything that falls into – or flies near the water. They eat ants, and beetles, and grasshoppers. They eat mayflies, and caddis and midges. I break my fly boxes into five basic groups: Stoneflies – mayflies – caddis – terrestrials – and nymphs.

     In my terrestrial box I have things like ants, beetles, and grasshoppers. But I also put in things like San Juan worms and crayfish.



Mayfly



    My mayfly box is obviously for mayflies. The caddis box is for caddis flies. My nymph box has nymphs – but also midges as well as small flies that work better for lakes than for streams.

   Stoneflies are a staple. I do so well with stoneflies that I keep them in their own box. I have stone fly dries as well as nymphs. I even have a few “madam x” because they can look like a big stonefly or salmon fly.

     When I get to a river I start looking around and observing. What is in the air? What is in the water? What is on a rock or a tree branch? If I can grab a bug out of the air, I do.

     Mayflies are usually slow and easy to catch. I check them for size and color in order to find the best match. Mayflies are small and fragile. Their bodies often curve up like a sideways “j”. Their wings are folded neatly, straight up.

   Caddis can be a little trickier to catch. They usually fly a lot faster. But they have a distinct look in the air. They tend to be larger and “meatier” than the dainty mayfly. And their wings are a larger “blur” than the mayfly. Caddis can often be, or look like a moth. If you catch one, or see one on a tree branch, their wings are folder straight back – kind of making a tent over their long, straight bodies.

Caddis



   Stoneflies are easy for me to recognize. You can usually find their “shells” all over the rocks from when they have molted out. But that tells me adults are in the air and nymphs are in the water. Stonefly adults look a lot like some caddis adults. I’m no expert, but they may even come from the same family. Don’t hold me to that. But they sure look similar.

    I recently discovered http://www.troutnut.com/. Check it out and you can see good pictures of mayflies, caddis and stoneflies.

    

Nymphs are just ‘infant’ stages of caddis and mayflies. Caddis nymphs often look more like a caterpillar or worm. So, if there are NOT a lot of bugs flying in the air (a hatch) – then chances are, a nymph will work. In fact, they say trout feed under the surface of the water 90 percent of the time. Most of the time they are eating nymphs. So if you play the percentages, nymphing is a highly productive way to fish.



Stonefly



    When nothing else seems to work – try a terrestrial. Try an ant – just to mix things up. Trout might see it as a rare opportunity, and go for it. If you see crayfish along the river bottom – toss one of those out. Worms, beetles, and grasshoppers all make nice alternatives that trout just might hit. So don’t forget to go to your ‘terrestrial box’ from time to time too.  



Stonefly shells



The bottom line is – look around. Notice what is happening. Is there a hatch? Should you nymph? What alternatives do you have? What size and color are the bugs? Observe what is going on – and adjust accordingly. Make a good presentation, and chances are you’ll have some luck.

Truckee River Crawfish