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Show by Dave Mueller Test the waters for clues to what the fish are eating One of the handiest devices a trout fisherman can carry is not related to hook, line or sinker, nor waders, net, creel, insect repellent or sunscreen. It has to do with the choice of fly; or if you are a bait fisherman, the bait. Almost every experienced angler will carry a small piece of screen wire or other small-gauge mesh to literally seine the water he is fishing for the naturally occurring food forms on which the trout are feeding. Depending on the water and its surrounding terrestrial features, 85 percent to 95 percent of a trout's diet will be made up of aquatic insects. The majority of aquatic "bugs" that the fish look for have a life-cycle that finds them attached to the bottom of the stream in a sedentary position for most of the year. At various intervals the hatch occurs; the insects break from their chitinous coverings, rise or swim to the surface and then fly (in most cases) into the air above the body of water to mate, lay eggs (on the surface of the water) and die in a few short hours. Fly patterns originate as imitation of these insects in a specific life-stage. Sampling with the screen wire allows the angler to make a good estimation of what the fish are feeding upon at the precise moment he is fishing. Then it is up to the fisherman to imitate as closely as possible whatever dominant insect activity he finds. Of course, if you are experienced you may not have to do this every time out: The more familiar you are with a certain section of water the more you improve your chances of a good match through repeated recognition. But everyone gets on an unfamiliar stretch of water now and then and that is when good sampling is well worth the few minutes it takes to carry out the procedure. Remember, too: Trout streams change their characters over and over again; what may be found on the bottom of a fast riffle will not necessarily occur in deep, slow water. The fish will change their feeding patterns accordingly. Good sampling requires a steadfast approach if it is to give accurate information. You've got to be a bit of a scientist. First, angle you screen crossways against the flow, barely under the surface. This way you are only sampling for the freshly hatched or nearly hatched adult insects that have made their way to the surface film of the water. They have to stay there for a period of time to allow their wings to fully expand and dry in order to fly, the same as a butterfly fresh from its cocoon. Fish feeding on insects in this stage provide the classic rise, and the choice for the fly fisherman is almost always a dry fly. Next, find out if there is any insect activity in the middle zone, that section of the flow between the surface film and the bottom. Many times the fish will be feeding on insects as they rise through this zone and they will ignore the floating members of the same species. Make sure you dip your screen quickly under to avoid taking film-riding insects and middle-zone insects together. If there is little or no insect activity at this point, you are still not altogether out of luck. Then it is time to sample the bottom, directly. Place the screen wire on the bottom of the stream and disturb the rock, gravel or mud immediately upstream, the wire catching whatever you happen to knock loose. This tells you what insect species are native to that water, present year-round in numbers sufficient for the fish to be constantly on the look-out for an unfortunate creature that might be pulled free by the current on its own. It also pays to examine the bottoms of larger rocks for retiring insects that spend most of their time underneath heavy cover. You won't need your screen for this procedure. If you are fishing from a boat in a lake you may want to drag your screen with a length of line, first on the surface, then down deeper, with the aid of some weight to try to determine what open water food forms are around. The trouble here is that the insects in open, still water usually are well equipped to swim and if your sampling screen is not formed into a scoop (like a butterfly net) you might not come up with much. Even from shore I have sampled the surface of a lake by casting the screen out and retrieving quickly to trap some surface insects. You don't need much screen. A 12-inch by 24-inch piece is large enough. Plastic mesh has good utility in that it can be folded and tucked into a pocket or creel. An old rectangular piece of mosquito netting serves the purpose. With a small hook you can bait fish with much of your catch, and this approach can provide some fine fishing when a worm is almost useless. So if you are on an unfamiliar lake or stream or if you are just beginning to fly fish, you have a better option than just guessing which fly may work or even asking someone what may work. Trout food farms and appetite change hour to hour and day to day; the more you learn about what you are doing and what is taking place in the water around you, the more enjoyment you will have in your fishing. |