RAINBOW TROUT: A FEW FACTS

The rainbow trout is native to America and enjoys a wide range and is considered to be one of the great gamefishes of the United States. Nonmigratory rainbows show a wide variation in outward appearance. Those found in clear lakes lack spots, are blue or green on the back, silver on the sides grading to whitish on the belly when immature. River dwellers tend to be heavily spotted on the body, upper fins and tail. Mature fish become darker in color and have a red lateral band. The rainbow trout has no hyoid teeth and the anal fin has no more than 12 rays. The maximum weight of rainbows exceeds 50 pounds.

The temperature tolerances of the rainbow trout is from below 32 degrees to over 80 degrees with a preferred temperature level below 70 degrees. In lakes, trout can be found near the surface when water temperatures are below 70 degrees, but as the upper layers of the water column warm, they tend to seek a temperature level between 56 and 60 degrees. They will also tolerate a wide PH level between 5.8 and 9.5 or from acid to highly alkaline conditions.

LIFE HISTORY

Inland populations of rainbow trout spawn from January to June and some times into August in the higher elevated cold water lakes. By selective reproduction in hatcheries, strains have been developed that can spawn throughout the year. Generally speaking, wild strains of rainbows will spawn early in the spring. The spawn in streams where females dig their redds in riffles or at the lower end of pools, in an inlet or outlet stream when found in a lake environment. During the spawning act, both the male and female settle on the redd at the same time with their vents close together and deposit eggs and milt at the same time. The female immediately covers the eggs with loose gravel. They continue to spawn until the female is spent which could be as long as a week. There is no parental care of the young and the post spawn female drops downriver and can lose up to 1/3 of her body weight.

The lifespan of a rainbow trout is from 7 to 11 years depending on the strain and locality. Although 7 years is considered to be the maximum, 8 and 9 year olds have been recorded.

ANGLING TECHNIQUES

There are as many ways to catch rainbow trout as there are methods. To be candid, rainbow trout are caught on all sorts of baits from artificials such as small spoons to a wide array of live, frozen and fresh baits. However, many of the different techniques are of local importance only. The majority of anglers make use of spinning and fly casting gear in their quest for rainbow trout. Fly fishing is generally more productive in areas where insects and shrimp are the dominate food source. Spinning gear takes president where forage is a predominant food source. Many of the newer baits such as power bait, a paste bait that incorporates specific attractants have been used with great success. Many fishermen hold to the tradition of presenting garden worms and night crawlers in the hopes of attracting hungry rainbows. One twist to the use of worms has been to inflate the tail of the worm to make it easier to see by the trout.

Fly fishing for rainbows is a popular technique that is practices every where that rainbow trout or it’s subspecies can be found. Most fishermen make exclusive use of the dry fly when seeking rainbow trout in fresh water rivers known for their swift runs and riffles. Most fly fishing in the local area is done in the Ipswich River as fishermen wade the river casting a wide assortment of flies to the numerous riffles, pools and fast water throughout the entire length of the river. Pond fishermen flog the water with both wet and dry flies during the pre dawn and early morning hours. Fly fishermen return to the water around dusk when insect activity greatly increases.

STEELHEAD

The migratory rainbow, whether anadromous or lake type, is known as a steelhead. The sea-run fish resembles the lake-dwelling form in color as it comes from the sea, but as it proceeds up the rivers and nears spawning time it becomes dark and spotted. The red band appears and it resembles the mature nonmigratory form though it’s body is slimmer. The largest steelhead on record weighed greater than 40 pounds.

Steelhead do feed to some extent when they are in fresh water and lose considerable weight during spawning, but their capacity for survival is exceptional. The anadromous form has been held for egg taking in a hatchery for a year after migrating into a river from the ocean, and during that time the fish were not fed. One such steelhead was tagged and released only to return to spawn the following year and was in excellent health.

ANGLING TECHNIQUES FOR STEELHEAD

One must realize a basic fact in steelhead fishing, and that is that the fish are in the streams and rivers only during certain times of the year and the waters may be barren the rest of the year or simply hold small fish. Steelhead move into rivers in groups, therefor, a stretch of river that was quite productive last week might be void of fish until the next group of steelhead move in. Often times a riffle that produces a fish in the morning will have another fish take it’s place by afternoon. The angler’s ability to locate or anticipate productive holding areas is no small part of the charm of this type of fishing.

As fish travel upriver they will follow exact routes through each riffle or pool as they have countless generations before. They will rest in the same spots, bunch up in the same pools or stay in a favored area of a riffle. This will be repeated year after year. Experienced anglers learn these locations trough repeated fishing and by trial and error. Many old-timers can look at a new river and pick out likely areas for holding fish. Water that is extremely fast will not hold steelheads. Steelhead do prefer moving water but as a general rule, if the flow is such that wading comfortably is not allowable, then the flow is to fast for steelhead. Dead water is a poor producer on most rivers although some limited exceptions do occur. Steelhead habitually lie in the channels of a long consistent moderate flow of water and it pays to study the deeper sections carefully.

The basic technique for steelhead fly-fishing is to wade in at the head of a run and cover the water with cross-stream casts until every section of the riffle is covered. The fly will swing around in arcs and you are most likely to get a strike between the time the line tightens and when it completes it’s movement downstream. Keep your rod low and pointed toward the fly. You can let the fly drift dead or you can jiggle it by twitching the rod or working the line. Try both methods. Make three short cast covering the close water. After that make three more casts 15 to 20 feet further downstream and continue this pattern until the water is completely covered. This is the standard method used by most fishermen. Of course, this can be varied by changing the direction of your cast, working the fly deeper or running it closer to the surface.

Catching steelhead is not difficult once your learn their habits and preferences. The technique is quite simple compared to some other techniques used in trout fishing. The ability to read the water and to cast long distances is most important. Wading ability also goes a long way in steelhead fishing because of the volume of flow typical of most coastal rivers.