Trout Survival and Food Types

[JasonC]

Would trout thrive better based on food types? Meaning, would they thrive more if they only had terrestrials to feed on versus insects or would they adapt so well that it wouldn’t make a difference at all? And would there be any difference among trout species based on this?

 

[Fly-Swatter]

The one variable it the question of food types you did not address is abundance. By that I mean biomass of food available to the fish. Is it implicit in you question that in scenario #1, terrestrial insect food source, the total biomass of "available (lands on the water)" insects is equal to the total biomass of aquatic insects?

I ask b/c the real determinant of survival and thriving (incl. procreation) is based on energy balance, all else being equal.

 

[JasonC]

Yes, sorry, my question implies there is an adequate, abundant amount of food for each type.

 

[jifigz]

I'm a little bit confused by the question and initial post but I'll do my best. First of all, this is merely my opinion. Trout will probably do the best with variety. A good trout stream will hopefully have good hatches and flow through areas conducive to terrestrial insects. It should also have minnows, crayfish, etc. This provides ample food for trout year round.

If they only had terrestrials does that mean that they would only eat from May-November?

 

[PENZZZ]

During a public meeting in Union County PFBC stated that stocked fish, including fingerlings, have about a 1% chance of surviving more than a few months. My experience fishing Union County C&R waters indicates otherwise. I have many photos of holdover rainbows, "chain" spotted browns, and trout with torn pectoral fins.

Trout stocked in warm water streams, and streams with few aquatic insects, likely have a very low survival rate.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

To answer your question somewhat bluntly, let me ask you this. Do you ever see grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars etc in the winter? Since you don't what would trout eat during this time of the year. It was stated above, the best trout streams have an ample supply of different types of food. For example some of the better streams typically have great aquatic insect life along with strong minnow populations and at certain times of the year the system may see an influx of terrestrials. That said some of the highly infertile mountain streams that brook trout can live in is quite amazing and in those situations terrestrials provide a major food source to fatten the trout up during the summer.