Nighttime Brown Trout

7 hours ago, Gavin said:

Have always had better luck at dawn v night fishing. Hit but mostly miss at night. 5am till the sun hits usually good.

It can definitely be hit and miss.  Most nights seem to have a lot of cold and hot spells.   

@CLoyd if you are out there late I am trying to unravel the 1:00AM phenomenon.  Not sure why but all the nights I have been down there for whatever reason at 1:00AM the fish go into a frenzy.  Were talking hard bone jarring bites, and tons of fish surfacing and jumping.  One night with my BIL the fish were jumping so much out of the water they were almost landing on us... Some nights it may only last for 30min or so, other nights it goes longer, but it is almost to the minute that the bite heats up at that time. 

For a while I thought I was crazy and just sleep deprived, but all the folks I've fished with or taken down there at night have now witnessed it enough times I can say I'm maybe only part crazy.  If you are out that late let me know if it happens to you or not.

2 hours ago, JestersHK said:

@CLoyd if you are out there late I am trying to unravel the 1:00AM phenomenon.  Not sure why but all the nights I have been down there for whatever reason at 1:00AM the fish go into a frenzy.  Were talking hard bone jarring bites, and tons of fish surfacing and jumping.  One night with my BIL the fish were jumping so much out of the water they were almost landing on us... Some nights it may only last for 30min or so, other nights it goes longer, but it is almost to the minute that the bite heats up at that time. 

For a while I thought I was crazy and just sleep deprived, but all the folks I've fished with or taken down there at night have now witnessed it enough times I can say I'm maybe only part crazy.  If you are out that late let me know if it happens to you or not.

Is this happening at the outlets?  I've seen this happen at Maramac Springs when they are feeding the fish in the hatchery, I think a few pellets make its way through, and it starts a feeding frenzy in the fishing water immediately below.  Also when they are cleaning the pens.

That was one of my theories as well, but I have experienced it away from the outlets... The ones with them all jumping was down past rebar.  I've def seen them during the day stack up in the outlets especially during the fall runs.  I attribute some of that to them trying to get to the better O2 water coming from hatchery, and the rest to the feed coming down through.  

I wonder if the fish get imprinted with the feeding times and that's what drives it.  I know they remember the pellets as I've watched many guys sit there at the outlet and just whack them on a rubber brown pellet... Not my style, but obviously the fish don't forget what their food looks like.

Does anyone know the feeder times from the hatchery?  Would be interesting to see if it lined up.

Yep, I have noticed the same thing at different times throughout the night.  No idea what they're feeding on.