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When I have time to float around I often get to thinking about many things.
The Question)
In a lake / pond / reservoir will trout hold to structure like a Bass does or are they more of a pelagic sort of fish that is constantly cruising around?
I know structure is key for some species and water temps are for others.
Please share your knowledge.
Thank you
Majja
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[#0000FF]Most trout move around...looking for food, more favorable water temps or chemistry...or whatever. It is rare that they stay around any particular structure unless that is where their food is.
If you consistently find trout in one area of a lake it is because that is where they find food or because the water conditions are more to their liking. Where you find them one day may be completely devoid of fish the next day...or even later on the same day.
Completely different in a stream...sort of. They set up wherever the water is deep enough, oxygenated enough or has enough food coming by to keep them in place. And they usually prefer to rest in quieter pockets next to a flow, so they can zip out and capture food as it drifts by in the current. However, they will set up station in faster flows if that is where the insects are hatching or floating by. But they will usually move back into the pockets when they are not feeding.
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Growing up I fished a lot of rivers and streams and was pretty good about finding them there just never been much of a lake guy until I bought my float tube and started learning about all these other wonderful species of fish we have in Utah. I think up until O got my first float tube I only fished for trout and occasionally we would go to Willard for cats.
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[#0000FF]That's why sonar is so valuable in fishing lakes. It helps you discover where the fish are...roaming around at middepth or schooling up around bottom structure. You can't catch them where they ain't. Heck, sometimes you can't even catch them where they are. But sonar lets you know the difference.
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]That's why sonar is so valuable in fishing lakes. It helps you discover where the fish are...roaming around at middepth or schooling up around bottom structure. You can't catch them where they ain't. Heck, sometimes you can't even catch them where they are. But sonar lets you know the difference.
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So which is better, fishing without a sonar and guessing where they are, or having sonar to find them only to watch them turn their noses at what you are trying to present? I have never been skunked while running sonar, but have come close and knew full well many fish had ventured upward to check out what we put down there.
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[#0000FF]I fished many years without having sonar...and I caught a lot of fish. But since integrating sonar into my mix of fishing tricks and tools I'd like to think I have become a bit better at it.
There have been some trips that I am reasonably certain I would have caught little or nothing without the info I got from my "underwater eyes". But there have also been some trips that I was ready to jump off my tackle box after watching all the fish below me that totally ignored me...or looked over what I was offering and then flipped me the middle fin.
A lot of knowledgeable anglers claim that the biggest value to them...in using sonar...is being able to avoid fishless water. Without sonar you can fish a spot for a long time without knowing you are not even near any fish.
Can't say which is worse...not knowing...or knowing but not being able to take advantage of what you know. Kinda like marriage.[/#0000FF]
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]I fished many years without having sonar...and I caught a lot of fish. But since integrating sonar into my mix of fishing tricks and tools I'd like to think I have become a bit better at it.
There have been some trips that I am reasonably certain I would have caught little or nothing without the info I got from my "underwater eyes". But there have also been some trips that I was ready to jump off my tackle box after watching all the fish below me that totally ignored me...or looked over what I was offering and then flipped me the middle fin.
A lot of knowledgeable anglers claim that the biggest value to them...in using sonar...is being able to avoid fishless water. Without sonar you can fish a spot for a long time without knowing you are not even near any fish.
Can't say which is worse...not knowing...or knowing but not being able to take advantage of what you know. Kinda like marriage.[/#0000ff][/quote]
I completely agree, especially about the learning how to be married part, it is very much like fishing!
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