John Zeringue In my first post I mentioned “cold water trout” and I wasn’t talking about fishing specks in the winter. I was talking about the species of freshwater fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. Some of these fish are brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, and rainbow trout. These fish are what fly fishing was made for. These fish typically live in clear streams and lakes in water temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees. Trout under 12 inches feed on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and blood and mealworms which is why fly fishing a great way of fishing for them. Fly fishing was actually developed as a fishing technique so fishermen could use weightless lures to imitate the insects that trout feed on, that’s how flies, the lures, got their name. As years went on fly tyers adapted flies to mimic other things as well to target other fish in both fresh and saltwater, but we’re getting off subject.
I’m sure you’re reading this and thinking “John what does this have to do with fly fishing in around here?” Well the answer to that question is simple: in the winter time LDWF and a couple cities like Walker and Baton Rouge stock some ponds with rainbow trout.
I’m sure you’re reading this and thinking “John what does this have to do with fly fishing in around here?” Well the answer to that question is simple: in the winter time LDWF and a couple cities like Walker and Baton Rouge stock some ponds with rainbow trout.
Rainbow trout caught in Walker Zeemurray Park in Hammond and Torres Park in Chalmette are on the list for trout to be stocked in January and should have been stocked by now. Sidney Hutchison Park in Walker as well as 4 ponds in Baton Rouge were stocked with rainbow trout in December. For a list of ponds in Baton Rouge visit BREC.org. If you go out to try your hand at catching these trout know that you can keep 4 per person per day. You are actually encouraged to keep the trout you catch, up to 4 a day, because these fish will die once the water temperatures in the ponds get above 70 degrees.
Now that you know where they are, what do you use to catch them? My personal favorite flies to use are bead head hare’s ear nymphs in size 12 or 14, woolly buggers in either olive or black in sizes 12 or 10, and egg flies if you can find them. When fishing these watch where your fly line and leader meet. You’re watching for twitches or sometimes the tip of the fly line will dart in any direction, or you can do like I do and fish with a strike indicator, more on those later. If you don’t have any strike indicators pick up the smallest cigar shaped bobbers, not the ones with a spring in them, and cut one in half. Thread that on your line with the cut side facing the fly and insert the stick. Voila, you just made a strike indicator! more specifically a vertically oriented strike indicator, or as we call it in the business, a VOSI. You could go to Bass Pro, Cabelas, or Orvis and pick up a pack of these little pinch on foam strike indicators. There are nothing more than a piece of foam with adhesive on one side and you peel it off the backing and fold them in half on you tippet so the adhesive side sticks to itself. Be warned, these are not adjustable! Where you stick it is how deep the fly will sink.
Keep an eye for fish rising. When they are rising, that is swirling on top the water, they are eating bug off the surface of the water. If you see them doing this, that is a great time to use either and emerger pattern or dry flies. I’ve heard people having great success with dry flies using a parachute adams fly. If you’re going to use dry flies make sure you have some fly dressing to dry the fly off so it continues to ride high on the surface.
Good luck chasing rainbeauxs!
Keep your flies out of the trees and May the Fish be with you JVBZ
Now that you know where they are, what do you use to catch them? My personal favorite flies to use are bead head hare’s ear nymphs in size 12 or 14, woolly buggers in either olive or black in sizes 12 or 10, and egg flies if you can find them. When fishing these watch where your fly line and leader meet. You’re watching for twitches or sometimes the tip of the fly line will dart in any direction, or you can do like I do and fish with a strike indicator, more on those later. If you don’t have any strike indicators pick up the smallest cigar shaped bobbers, not the ones with a spring in them, and cut one in half. Thread that on your line with the cut side facing the fly and insert the stick. Voila, you just made a strike indicator! more specifically a vertically oriented strike indicator, or as we call it in the business, a VOSI. You could go to Bass Pro, Cabelas, or Orvis and pick up a pack of these little pinch on foam strike indicators. There are nothing more than a piece of foam with adhesive on one side and you peel it off the backing and fold them in half on you tippet so the adhesive side sticks to itself. Be warned, these are not adjustable! Where you stick it is how deep the fly will sink.
Keep an eye for fish rising. When they are rising, that is swirling on top the water, they are eating bug off the surface of the water. If you see them doing this, that is a great time to use either and emerger pattern or dry flies. I’ve heard people having great success with dry flies using a parachute adams fly. If you’re going to use dry flies make sure you have some fly dressing to dry the fly off so it continues to ride high on the surface.
Good luck chasing rainbeauxs!
Keep your flies out of the trees and May the Fish be with you JVBZ
