3:08 PM
Matthew Supinski's Gray Drake/Selectivity/Nexus Blog
I noticed someone on a popular Michigan fishing forum site saying" it seems like all the newly stocked April browns have disappeared". We'll...hate to inform that person, but the fish are spread out all over and doing very well.They are averaging 8-9 inches from the 6.82 avg stocked size, and have fat little bellies and are starting to put on some nice brownie colors.
Main reason you don't catch as many are as follows:
a. they are very much more selective then the stocked Eagle strain rainbows
b. rainbows are stocked double in proportion to the browns
c. the browns are avid micro invertebrate food consumers(insects) vs. the rainbows which will eat just about anything-anywhere
d. we start catching more of them once they turn 12-14 inches as their need for more caloric intake takes over and makes them forage more indiscriminately.
Here are two rubber stomach sample contents from two separate browns that were rubber siphon pumped. The two fish were 8 1/'2 inches and 9 and 1/4 inches.
These food densities are approximate estimates based on mass in the siphon vile.
50-60%- blue-winged olive mayfly nymphs, adults and rusty spinners- size#24-26(psuedocleon)
30%- caddis- both cinnamon, little greens and micro blacks-pupae , adults,spent quad wings.
10%- hodgepodge of steno cahills, a gray drake spinner, small crayfish, dragon fly , deerfly, a stick, a snail and a small tiny chub.
SO........................if you are throwing spinners topped with a worm, hardware or a worm harness, you'll probably note catch them till they start running out of food.....right now the river is loaded with munchies for them.Arm yourself with tiny rusty size #26 bwo spinners, 7x and 16 foot long tippets at dusk and you'll have a lot of fun with these willy guys!
