Professional question: RT don't rise to Ltl black stoneflies? Really?

[Mike]

Shhhhh...there are no hatches on the Jordan and if there were, trout would certainly not rise to them, especially in the Whitehall/North Whitehall stretches in May.

 

[Mike]

Thank you for all of the input. At best the result is a draw, which needs to be weighed against the advantages of stocking RT in late Feb and March in FFO areas: RT are larger; RT hit better (did not say rise better) than Browns in cold water; and RT display statistically significant better residency/survival than BT and ST in late winter and early spring.

 

[krayfish2]

They hit better? So now you guys are into stocking abusive fish?

 

[geebee]

krayfish2 wrote:
They hit better? So now you guys are into stocking abusive fish?

not necessarily, they could be trained in self-defence...Mixed martial arts etc.

 

[TimRobinsin]

Its been my impression that the RT are poor risers in streams where there are also BT. If theres a hatch the BT are on top feeding and the RT are hitting the nymphs. It seems 50/50 on the swing.

Interesting observations

 

[JeffK]

Over in NJ this is a complicated question. In general, the regulation stocked fish do not rise well in mid season and seem to hit the nymphs rather than the dries. While wild rainbows are certainly a fast water fish, the stocked rainbows seem to prefer slower moving water - about the speed of the hatchery raceways. However, they will move to faster water by mid summer.

There are exceptions though. In NJ we sometimes stock the culls in the fall and winter. These 5" to 7" rainbows rise all winter if there are midges around and are suckers for a dry fly when the LBS start. In addition, there is a tail of one pool near me where the stocked rainbows seem to rise every day of the year. I have no idea why, but it is a great place to find rising fish. Finally, sulphurs are the most reliable hatch by me and typically bring up the rainbows as well as the browns.

Now for LBS. Where I fish they crawl to shore and then climb into streamside bushes to mature. Therefore, there is no "hatch" and my most effective technique is to drift nymphs through the shallowest water the fish feel comfortable in en route to the bushes, especially if the bottom is dark and warms up earlier. This is sort of like iso nymph fishing only with smaller flies and slower drifts.

Dry fly action happens in two cases. Where gusts of wind blow the flies onto the water and they motorboat back to shore (when this happens a swung dry fly works great) and when they are egg laying (where less action is called for). LBS can't be entirely relied on, but most years it is the first dry fly action of the year for me. The problem is that with the cold water and the sporadic bugs on the water it is usually the smaller, more aggressive juvenile fish that hit. If I want better fish I would fish nymphs, but it is fun to get early surface action if it happens.

 

[duckfoot]

I caught 3:1 rainbows to browns this past year on top. Was actually getting bored of seeing rainbows, wanted to catch some brookies.

 

[pcray1231]

huh, imagine that.

I catch relatively few rainbows overall. They probably only represent

 

[Stenonema]

Do RT rise to EBS? Yes

Compared to Brown trout, I don't know for sure. By the time I fish over any RT it is trout season and trout season some years is too late. My first trout and my largest trout on the surface have come on this hatch. One of the keys to finding rising fish to this hatch particularly is quite simply finding them. Because you are on the stream and see many flies and no rising fish does not mean they are not rising somewhere else on that same stream. Like any hatch there are keys to meeting it and fishing it. This has to be the most misunderstood hatch there is. I remember when it was called a caddis by everyone and even listed as a caddis on the hatch charts. Check an old Mid-Atlantic if you have one. My advise is to cover water in search of risers. Once found remember to fish it again in following years and then figure out why that spot is producing rising fish. Then it can be repeated and with those reasons in mind search for other such places to see if your idea on why it is good holds water. With any winter fishing there are windows of opportunity. The largest trout for me to this hatch have come when there were few or no other trout rising. Cover water is the name of the game for me. Good luck and happy hunting if you decide to pursue the secrets of this great hatch.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Over in NJ this is a complicated question. In general, the regulation stocked fish do not rise well in mid season and seem to hit the nymphs rather than the dries. While wild rainbows are certainly a fast water fish, the stocked rainbows seem to prefer slower moving water - about the speed of the hatchery raceways. However, they will move to faster water by mid summer.

Dry fly action happens in two cases. Where gusts of wind blow the flies onto the water and they motorboat back to shore (when this happens a swung dry fly works great) and when they are egg laying (where less action is called for). LBS can't be entirely relied on, but most years it is the first dry fly action of the year for me. The problem is that with the cold water and the sporadic bugs on the water it is usually the smaller, more aggressive juvenile fish that hit. If I want better fish I would fish nymphs, but it is fun to get early surface action if it happens.

This.

It is in my experience though that adult rainbow trout rise with a much lower frequency than adult brook or brown trout. I don't know why. I also agree that palaminos almost never rise during a hatch.

I have had some great days slamming fish with LBS on limestoners by skittering a black elk hair Caddis.