Mussels,(Trout food?)

[Tightline]

Fished last Saturday mourning down by old boat ramp and did very well for a while even caught a nice 20+ inch Rainbow.While reeling it in I noticed it was spitting up something,I finally got it in close enough to see that it was very small Mussels about the size of an eraser.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is this a last resort food? I know that Mussels need sand bars and I haven't seen any sand in upper Taney.

I'd like to see what some of you fly tiers could come up with to match that!

TL

[jdmidwest]

I've seen a trout eat a cigarette butt like it was a big drake spinner! They eat anything that will fit in their mouth. My favorite pattern on the Spring River in Ark. is a snail bead head pattern. Stomach contents of the fish down there have high numbers of the cone shaped snails in their stomachs and the stream is full of them. It is not past believing that they feed on small fresh water clams or mussels. Mussels or clams only need fine gravel.