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Post by johnesmithson on Apr 28, 2021 10:38:33 GMT
Thinking about why there seem to be more big fish caught in the early season in the headwaters, I had initially assumed they would be hungry residents which had learnt to lie low to avoid us in the summer months. But what if they are actually migrants from downriver which are hanging around after making their spawning run, and waiting to regain condition before heading back downstream? There must be tagging studies which would help answer this question.
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Post by terry on Apr 28, 2021 18:23:41 GMT
That is really interesting Johnie and something I haven’t really considered. Over the years I’ve had one or two nice trout early in the season on the west dart with hardly any so called normal fish ( 6 to 8” ) until later in the year.
I’ve fished quite a lot over the years in Assynt in Sutherland in June and a number of locals I’ve spoken to have noted bigger fish in April/ May in some of the burns and maintained that they have traveled many miles for spawning and then dropped back after.
Would be fascinating to get involved with any study. Maybe we could approach the Wild trout trust. Gives us something to think about.
Maybe my one fish per season is not really an adequate sample.
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Post by johnesmithson on Jul 9, 2021 21:59:20 GMT
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Post by terry on Jul 11, 2021 13:34:56 GMT
Food for thought indeed Johnny. I’ve always thought that I could easily tell a sea trout but maybe it’s only obvious at certain times of the year and how long they have been in the river. I’m always amazed at the colour variations of brown trout. Part of the great appeal. Question: why are the trout from the upper cherry brook generally some what darker than those lower down the same brook as the terrain seems to be the same. I had a few fish from Fernworthy a week or two back and all, wild and stocked fish, were a lovely buttery yellow with bright red spots apart from one that was so silvery I would have sworn it was a peal if I’d caught it from a river.
I think it is good that we question such things, it’s finding the answers that’s the problem.
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Post by Pete Tyjas on Jul 16, 2021 8:45:44 GMT
Sorry to arrive late at this one but it is something I have thought about a fair bit too.
I am sure there might be cases of sea trout hanging around but if I look at my home water, the Taw, there are the early season days where I'd often think there were no fish in the river. There is always a deep sense of relief when things do start to happen though!
If I look at how I approach my trout fishing early season, it is often the case that I will head higher up the system (not always a long way) where I feel there is a better chance of finding fish.
It does work for me and I wonder if we find bigger fish feeding more quickly at these locations?
I am often surprised when I start catching fish where I do most of my fishing and they are mainly smaller fish. I would have always thought that bigger fish would need to feed sooner but I've seen very few instances of this over the years although there have been odd exceptions.
I spoke to a friend of mine who works for the EA (one of the really good guys fighting our corner) and he feels that there might well be some upstream movement but the bigger guys will just slink away and not start actively feeding until there is enough stimulus to do so.
I recorded a podcast recently where I fished my home water and caught 2 good fish in June that looked like early season catches (thin, big head etc). With the slow, cold start to the season we've had it may have been the case that they just weren't interested?
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