Depth And Trout

[oneshot]

Will different size Trout hold at different depths.I'm asking becase the other day fishing shallow in the water was catching Small ones go Deep started catching some size.

oneshot

[ozark trout fisher]

Will different size Trout hold at different depths.I'm asking becase the other day fishing shallow in the water was catching Small ones go Deep started catching some size.

oneshot

That's pretty common. Smaller trout will generally feed in the shallow riffles, while the larger ones spend more time in the pools.

[Al Agnew]

I agree, BUT if the conditions are right and they are active, big trout will move shallow as well. Trout, like any organism, go where the food is to eat. There is a lot more food in shallower water than in deep water. The big ones may make shorter forays into the shallower water while the little ones may spend a lot more time there. The biggest trout, especially the browns, may only move shallow after dark, because those really big ones are fish eaters and are probably finding enough suckers and other decent sized meals in fairly deep water during the day. But after dark, even the biggest, fattest minnows and the suckers often move into the shallower riffle water, and the big old cannibal browns will follow them.

[stlfisher]

I agree too. Usually, the biggest trout will inhabit the safest spot that offers the most food. That spot can certainly be deep and more difficult for anglers or predators to access. The little guys kind of get the leftovers. During the low light conditions larger trout may feel safer and move to shallow water to feed etc.

[laker67]

I agree too. Usually, the biggest trout will inhabit the safest spot that offers the most food. That spot can certainly be deep and more difficult for anglers or predators to access. The little guys kind of get the leftovers. During the low light conditions larger trout may feel safer and move to shallow water to feed etc.

It has been my experience that the smaller trout serve as "bodyguards" to the larger trout. You phyically have to remove the small trout from the run to get to the lunker. This can be done by allowing the smaller fish to take the fly and gently leading them out of the crowd. If you allow them to get excited and put up a fight, they will scare off, or put the larger fish on guard. If this technique does not work, it can be done with several casts right on top of the smaller fish, or dragging your leader across the smaller fish to run them out.

[Justin Spencer]

It has been my experience that the smaller trout serve as "bodyguards" to the larger trout. You phyically have to remove the small trout from the run to get to the lunker.

Sounds like a great problem to have!

[laker67]

Sounds like a great problem to have!

We should always have it so tuff, hey Justin?

[stlfisher]

It has been my experience that the smaller trout serve as "bodyguards" to the larger trout. You phyically have to remove the small trout from the run to get to the lunker. This can be done by allowing the smaller fish to take the fly and gently leading them out of the crowd. If you allow them to get excited and put up a fight, they will scare off, or put the larger fish on guard. If this technique does not work, it can be done with several casts right on top of the smaller fish, or dragging your leader across the smaller fish to run them out.

I like that analogy.

[ozark trout fisher]

I agree, BUT if the conditions are right and they are active, big trout will move shallow as well. Trout, like any organism, go where the food is to eat. There is a lot more food in shallower water than in deep water. The big ones may make shorter forays into the shallower water while the little ones may spend a lot more time there. The biggest trout, especially the browns, may only move shallow after dark, because those really big ones are fish eaters and are probably finding enough suckers and other decent sized meals in fairly deep water during the day. But after dark, even the biggest, fattest minnows and the suckers often move into the shallower riffle water, and the big old cannibal browns will follow them.

Absolutely. It seems like there are a lot more big trout in shallow water when the light is low-mornings, evenings, and at night. Not many trout that are smart enough to grow large will feed in shallow water mid-day, unless there is something pretty compelling going on in the bug department.

You'll also see big trout ease into the shallow, slow, exposed tail-outs at in the evening when there is a good spinner fall going on. No trout with any basic self-preservation instinct would hold in these areas in the day-time, but the bugs are dead, and the fish know they don't have to fight the current to get to them. The extra calories are worth the risk of being in that exposed position for a bit.

[Al Agnew]

Had an interesting experience today out here in Montana, on the Boulder River, that might be germane to this discussion...

The Boulder is a small wading size stream most of the year with lots of rainbow and brown trout. From my favorite access, if you go downstream there are a couple of decent pools starting out that get pounded to death, then a half mile of shallow, almost coverless runs before you reach some very good looking water with current and depth. There's a beaten path along the bank past those shallow runs down to the "good water", so it's fairly obvious that a lot of anglers hike past the ugly water to get to that good water.

I started out fishing the first two pools with nymphs, since the water was very low, extremely clear, and there was nothing rising or hatching. After thoroughly fishing those two pools, I had one whitefish to show for it. It was a drizzly day, and something just keep whispering in the back of my mind that I ought to put on a streamer, even though the exceptionally clear water would seem to argue against streamer fishing.

But I finally gave in to that little voice in my head and tied on a woolybugger. What the heck, I thought, I could fish it quickly through the ugly water before reaching the good water below, and then switch back to the nymphs. I started out fishing it in the wide, flat tail end of the deeper, boulder-studded second pool, and immediately caught a 14 inch brown. I was a bit surprised.

The next "pool" was part of the ugly water...actually a flat run with no cover and no more than 2.5 feet deep the whole way through it. Out of that ugly water I took a 12 inch brown, a 13 inch rainbow, and a gorgeous 17 inch rainbow! Next run was about the same, just slightly longer, but no deeper and no cover. It produced another 17 inch rainbow and two more smaller trout. The third run was a little bit better, still no cover but a foot deeper, certainly no more than 3.5 feet deep. I hooked one fish and lost it at the head of the pool, and then caught the best fish of the day, a 19 inch brown. Final run out of that ugly half mile, I caught one smallish trout and hooked a rainbow that looked to be about the same size as the big brown. It jumped three feet out of the water and the hook came loose.

Then I was in the "good water", beautiful runs 4-5 feet deep, a rocky pool even deeper...and all I caught out of them was a whitefish.

By that time, it was getting late so I started hiking back up the river. Stopped to fish a couple of the ugly water runs again, and caught a couple more rainbows, so it wasn't like the fish had stopped taking the streamer. I'm convinced that the main reason I caught the fish I did out of the ugly water was because everybody else just ignores it.

Moral of the story...yep, big fish like deeper water...but on heavily pressured streams, big fish, whether trout or smallmouth bass, will also be found in some unlikely looking places. They don't NEED deep water.