how long does it take for stocky to take the natural source of food

[FFChineseman]

As the subject, I was fishing in a local stocked creek. No luck on nymph, streamer, or dry fly, but caught three rainbow on a black wolly buggeer.

my question is how long it takes to have the stocked fish realized there are different source of food such as flies and nymphes. They seem only take wolly bugger which i believe they might think that is a minnow. maybe i will have more luck on other kinds of flies when they are in the water longer?

 

[JackM]

The same instinctual impulse that lets a stocked trout think that a baitfish is food will tell it that a nymph or fly is food. Once they are dependent upon the stream to provide food, they will figure it out for themselves rather quickly. I once visited a stream shortly after a stocking when the trout were still in bucket-dumped clumps and caught them without interruption on various gaudy dry flies that must have resembled pellets enough to cause them to sample them freely. Since a woolybugger resembles nothing they have been fed in the raceway, they must be acting on instinct when taking them-- should be no different for other furry baits.

 

[klingy]

I assisted in stocking an Adams county stream this spring, and within five minutes of emptying the stocking float, two trout were already rising in a deep pool. Guess they wouldn't have been too picky at that point to try to catch, though I'm not one of those "anglers" who would try to catch the trout out of a stocking bucket if I could, but to answer your question - it doesn't take long!

 

[David]

Until they get hungry...

 

[PennKev]

The real question is how long does it take for stocked trout to determine what is NOT food. They will try to eat everything they see when they are initially stocked.

Kev

 

[JackM]

Good point PennKev. I have a whole theory of trout selectivity which depends upon the concept of "NOT food." But, as you noted, the initial instinct of feeding is indiscriminate. As the trout attempts to use "learning" to become more efficient at feeding, it immediately starts acting very stupid in excluding food as a result of the erroneous conclusion that it is NOT food.

 

[Fishidiot]

FFCman,
It's not uncommon to see trout feeding almost immediately after they are dumped in the creek, we're talking within minutes. Nevertheless, I usually prefer to wait a day or two before fishing a recently stocked stream. I'd suspect the fish hit your WB because it was large and got their attention whereas the other flies were too small or drab colored. Try again in a few days and I'll bet the small drab stuff does better. If not, go back to the WB or try something bright colored like an orange egg fly or greenweenie.

 

[MKern]

Just because they are feeding doesn't mean they know what they are doing or that it is on purpose.

 

[JackM]

Not sure if your comment was a shade on mine, but, the terms "on purpose" do not require as exacting an intellectual function as "to know." Instinctual behavior could be considered on purpose, even though non-volitional, since it is a behavior designed to accomplish a specific goal, i.e., feeding.

 

[goodfortune]

IME so far, it takes fresh stockies a few days to get oriented to thier surroundings, and to recognize "real" food. For the first week or so after stocking, try "Junk Flies" in addition to Buggers. Junk flies are bright, colorful, and sometimes flashy looking flies like Bead-Head Green Weenies (#10, #12 or #14) and pink San Juan Worms.

Fish these flies just like you would other nymphs you might use. These flies will also work well after the stockies get used to thier new homes. Hope that helps...

 

[MKern]

Stockies are used to anything that is in front of them as being a food item. Because they are surrounded by competetors they have to attach it if they want to eat. This is why they eat anything/everything in front of them onces dumped into a stream.

I just think it takes them awhile to recognize that bugs are food and sticks aren't.

I probably varies on the particular fish, species, and water temp too.

 

[Chaz]

Stocked trout are seldom in the stream long enough to learn anything let alone what is food and what is not. However, being unfed for a few days will stimulate them to attack things that resemble what they ate in the hatchery. So they will hit flies and lures.
My solution used to be a very simple fly, on an # 18 hook, use black thread, a little lead free wire wrapped around the hook and some peacock herl. Weight the hook with a few wraps of the wire, tie the wire off, wrap the hook with the peacock herl and whip finish. I'll garrentee a hit within three casts in any stocked stream that has fish.

 

[BelAirSteve]

I think in general, fish act on instinct like most other animals. I was fishing with my brother on a stream in central PA and he was fishing a chartruese/white clouser. While there is nothing in the stream that resembles that fly, fish react to it much the same way a cat reacts to the quick movement of a feather or a string. It's how they are wired.

 

[jayL]

BelAirSteve wrote:
I think in general, fish act on instinct like most other animals. I was fishing with my brother on a stream in central PA and he was fishing a chartruese/white clouser. While there is nothing in the stream that resembles that fly, fish react to it much the same way a cat reacts to the quick movement of a feather or a string. It's how they are wired.

Yep. If a fish only ate something that it has successfully eaten before, they would never eat anything. In other words, there is a first time for everything. This is the whole idea behind attractor patterns.

Just watch them attack a cicada. Most fish have never seen one when the "hatch" happens, but they react quickly. Trout, like any other wild animal, are in the business of finding and consuming food. If it looks and acts like food, even in a real impressionistic way, they don't care what it is. Your kitten has never seen a ball of feathers or a string before, but he sure knows what to do when he crosses paths with it!

 

[jdaddy]

Your kitten has never seen a ball of feathers or a string before, but he sure knows what to do when he crosses paths with it!

Hell ya he does! FINISH HIM!!!!

 

[osprey]

One thing i think we should all realize is that , insects , especiallly midges are present even in the hatcheries not to mention the other insects that get blown into the pens or even spend their lives in the pens , in other words even stocked trout have seen and eaten many insects in their lives and know what they are..........FOOD

 

[osprey]

PennKev..........that pig looks "really" happy .........he wouldn't be so happy cause he's in s*** would he?

 

[pcray1231]

As was said, they'll eat right away. The real question is at what point do they get into the "rhythm" of the stream's ecosystem. When a fish is first stocked, yes, they'll refuse things and eat others, but it seems highly random. In time, they'll somewhat focus on the most abundant food items in a stream at a given time.

How long it takes to do that, I suspect, is a function of a whole host of factors:

1. Abundance and type of food in the stream.
2. Habitat (water temperature and quality, structure, feeding lies)
3. Fishing pressure
4. Many more factors I'm sure.

For instance, stock fish in an infertile stream and they may never focus on anything specific. Put that same fish in a ridiculously rich stream and within days it'll ignore everything except yellow sulphur spinners with a broken left wing at dusk.

 

[JackM]

I agree with pcray (welcome back), but want to emphasize one slight distinction I would draw: I don't believe trout are without faculties to distinguish food items from just junk. They will respond and may even "mouth" non-food items, but they don't go around picking up pebbles and sticks until they "figure out" what is food.

As was noted, they are "wired" a certain way with instinctual behavior. It is a falacy to think this can be "bred out" through hatchery regeneration or that the trout have it "erased" because hatchery feeding is exclusively handfuls of pellets thrown into the raceway at 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM. The instinct survives because it isn't dependent upon any form of imprinted memory capacity that trout have.

I think they would be inspired to attack a real minnow over a white wooly bugger poorly presented, and would likely strike a real mayfly than a fake one poorly presented. But it is true they are easier to fool, because though impelled to the natural by nature, they are likewise impelled to the imitation reasonly presented. They can even be drawn to cigarette butts or small pieces of stick flipped into the stream. You can even draw wild fish to the surface by flicking small bits of stick into the drift.

 

[MKern]

Jack,

Wild trout eat, or at least mouth pebbles, sticks and other debry.

It's like you picking up items at the grocery store and placing them back on the shelf; deciding you don't want them.

The difference is trout don't have hands, just mouths.