Fish food for thought

[miltiades]

I used to fish a pond that was stocked but the fish were fed every night so they were hard to catch on just about anything. I finally tied a few "dog Food" flies out of spun deer hair. Throw in a handful of pebbles and cast that puppy out and viola, catchin fish again.

 

[jayL]

Grey wrote:

quillfly wrote:
best stocker fly for me has always been the spun deer hair pellet
hook (any egg or caddis or curved emerger )
tread (the one you use the least, have most , have on bobbin at time)
entire fly-deer hair clip to resemble pellet

when asked on stream state it is a midge cluster pattern similar to GG 🙂🙂

The pellet fly has always been a mystery to me. I've been to a couple hatcheries through the years and the food fed to the trout was always a very small round pellet variety (smaller than a pea) and sinks as soon as it hits the water.

I would assume that this is what is fed at all PA hatcheries, but am I wrong? Are they sometimes fed larger pellets that float?

I highly doubt that hatchery trout have developed selectivity over the pellets. I would assume that a pellet imitation doesn't really have to act like the real thing to get eaten. Hatchery fish are conditioned to eat stuff that plops into the water, because the stuff that does is food with nearly total certainty. The environment is also highly competitive.

That's how I think about it.

 

[JackM]

I think what Jay thinks. 😎

 

[Chaz]

To elaborate on my previous answer, 2 guys I fish with use power bait exclusively at the camp, it being on a stocked stream. They the same powerbait on wild trout streams and often out catch me. So I have no doubt that they'll work on our limestone streams. All you have to look at is how well a greeen inch worm works on limestone streams to know that powerbait will work.

 

[PennKev]

jayL wrote:

I highly doubt that hatchery trout have developed selectivity over the pellets. I would assume that a pellet imitation doesn't really have to act like the real thing to get eaten. Hatchery fish are conditioned to eat stuff that plops into the water, because the stuff that does is food with nearly total certainty. The environment is also highly competitive.

That's how I think about it.

I completely agree.

As a side note, anyone who fishes Spring should stop and feed the fish in the outflow Benner Springs Hatchery if you haven't yet done so. Those fish will eat anything that lands in the water. If you want to see a 4lb trout eat half a hamburger in one bite...

The point is, fish in these man-made environments are conditioned to try eat anything. If it drifts by it is food until proven otherwise.

Kev

 

[1wt]

Hatchery fish are conditioned to eat stuff that plops into the water

I agree. And they go through a learning curve!
It seems that when any creek is stocked, Muddy or Conewago or Breeches, the first few days the trout will hit anything! I use big black buggers and smack them pretty good. As time goes by, I have to downsize to tiny nymphs and use fluorocarbon. After getting hooked by all the fly fishermen, they get pretty smart.

 

[1wt]

willscreek wrote:
Would powerbait work on the famous limestone streams

If you want to see a 4lb trout eat half a hamburger in one bite...

A few days ago, I was watching a guy put a video camera in a waterproof box and put it right under the walk bridge at the start of the Yellow Breeches run. Just before that a experienced guy with top shelf gear and realistic flies fished that spot for a half hour..... not a stinkin' hit! He used midge nymphs and realistic top water midges. A perfect cast with a perfect drift but nada!
When the guy stood on the bridge, he started the camera and tossed a powerbait ball and a cheeseball into the water. The trout would swim ten feet to gobble the stink baits as soon as it hit the water...... the trout swam downstream, so they couldn't smell it? We were watching from six feet above in the bright sunshine!!
Trout are stupid and they will eat powerbait any day over a dyed chicken feather fly.

 

[Grey]

1wt wrote:

Trout are stupid and they will eat powerbait any day over a dyed chicken feather fly.

That's what I'm sayin'.