Trout Funk

[Tyler Holm]

It was a great feeling to pull up to our spot about 45 mins before sunrise. Rubgy was jittery as he had recently hit this spot and done very well. I was excited because he was pumping me full of the goodness from his previous outing. At the first glimpse of light we crept down to the stream.

One perfect hole after another and NO FISH. The trout were just in a funk this morning. Lots of flashes, and lots of bumping and nosing our lures, but very, very few takers. Almost all of our actual bites were short and missed.

We threw our entire arsenal at them and couldn’t come up with an answer. The confidence lures failed, old faithful failed, new untried tackle failed, even a TV trick I picked up didn’t entice them. It was just one of those days on that stream.

We did catch a few dinks (<11”) and Rugby had a 15+”er that shook off at his feet, but compared to the # of flashes we had and follows it was a tough morning in terms of the fish.

We saw a few trout rising and feeding on the surface, but not that awfully many. Why would these fish tear after our lure, then stop short or just nose/bump it? If they are going to expend the energy to chase down a lure, what causes them to not hammer it?

Frustrating beyond belief… Should have stuck to plan A… Oh well, there’s lots to learn from mornings like this one.

[chosenvalley]

Tyler,

I'm willing to guess the fish you were after had seen your presentation before. Was it a "popular spot" that you were fishing. Alot of the time fishing Trout run, a stream in which I would call a "popular spot", that same situation would occur to me. After switching lures and not having success, I changed line and went without a swivel. This seemed to help. Berkley Vanish, 6-8 pound line with no swivel and a smaller presentation really started to pay off for me, especially this time of year when fishing pressure has seen it's peek. Other wise, just like any other fish species, you need to match the size of the forage fish in the stream with your lure size.

[Hooked_on_Salmo_Lures]

You make alot of good points chosenvalley,...I fish trout year round primairily with Rapala count downs,..and found in the middle of my first season that removing the split rings from the nose of the lure, and tying directly to the lure itself, no quick clasps or swivels did wonders for those reluctant followers, short biters, and what ever other tricks trout like to pull. I also found that if they follow more than once and maybe give you a quick bump or short strike that stoping your retrive dead the second they short strike may entice them to commit to finishing the job they set out to do!! Theres one stream i have fished for the last three or four years now that has some auwsome smallies and rock bass in it,..i have to hand the credit to them for teaching me the stop tactic,...they would always short strike,...and i was getting frustrated!!!! they where huge hits,..from big fish,...but the water was a lil to murcky to tell what it was,...so after one of the 5-10 short strikes i turned to my dad who was fishing with me, to ask him to come throw a few casts where i was to see if a dif lure would do the job, in doing so i stopped reeling,...and BOOM!!!! fish on!!! she stripped a bunch of line on me and put up a heck of a fight,...she was about 19" and out of season,...so i didn't keep her out of the water for to long so she could go back and dump the load of eggs she had to be carying,...i have used that trick several times since,..and got many nice fish,...it also seems to be the only way to get the bass to leave your lure alone so the trout have a chance at it!! the only other thing i can think of is that there sure seems to be alot of dif bugs emerging lately with the recent rains and warmmer weather we've had,...maybe they're gettting there fill on insects??? Did you use any live bait? I've also caught a few bounus trout while fishing for carp with corn,...shocked the heck outta me,...well just my two cents,...good luck!!! ,....by the way,..what was plan "A",...Diynamite ,...isn't that usaully plan "b" lol

[Tyler Holm]

Quote:

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by the way,..what was plan "A",...Diynamite

,...isn't that usaully plan "b" lol

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Good Old Fashioned Catfishing!

You guys make great points. I don't fish live bait for trout unless we're talking Foster Arends and I'm looking to keep a few.

I never use a snap/clasp because I know it can hinder the bite. I’ve removed a few of my split rings from my countdowns and tried those and that didn’t seem to help on this particular day. I might have to give the pause trick a try.

Both RugbyGuy and I agreed that these fish were fairly “educated”. I never really tried a tiny (#3) Rapala like choosenvalley mentioned, but that will be in my bag of trick for the next occurrence of this funk.

For line I’m using the Fireline crystal 4 or 6lb test. I don’t remember, but the line diameter is tiny. I wonder if I should be rocking the Vanish instead???

Thanks guys. Now I’ve got a few more ideas on how to handle these finicky buggers (<- no pun intended).

[Paul_Kramer]

I don't know if you fly fish but that sometimes works. Even if they refuse minnowbaits and spinners, there's a good chance of them taking a tiny little fly on 3lb tippet drifted in front of them. Or just a more subtle bait like a Powerbait trout worm, Mini-mite, or a small hair/marabou jig might help. And there's always nightcrawlers if they're allowed on your stream. Good luck!

[WxGuy]

Guessing by the time you were fishing, trout were likely keying on tricos. They're a really small insect that fish key in on during their spinner fall...it happens after the insects mate over the water, lay their eggs, and die shortly after, and mornings are when trico spinner falls occur.

You guys still need to join me for a morning on the water. Andy, you need to quit working so much in the summer, you're a teacher!

[Rugbyguy]

Randy, I don't have to work next week (20-23), pick a day and I will gladly get out on the stream with you. It's my last week of summer so I plan on fishing a few days!