John Kranick: The Essential Trout Fishing Guide

I can’t wait any longer! I think I’m headed out the door right now myself. I’ll just leave a short note to the family. They’ll understand I’m sure…

Gone Fishin’

Hope you can join me soon!

6 The Secrets Professionals Refuse To Share

CHAPTER 1

So Many Trout, So Little Time

It’s true! There really are so many trout and not nearly enough time to fish them all. Just ask any avid trout angler. Not only are there “so many trout” in sheer numbers, but there are, in addition, so many species of trout.

And if you’re an enthusiastic fisherman this gives you incredible pleasure, not to mention untold hours of fishing experience. No matter when you fish — and even where y ou fish —you stand a good chance of coming nose to nose with a trout. That is, if you can outsmart him!

Learning about the various species can aid you tremendously the next time you’re in the stream or on that lake fishing. After all, if you know a little about their behavior then you really are learning about how they think. And then, just maybe, you’ll be able to outwit them.

Think about bringing not one but several trout home or back to the campsite at the end of the fishing day. Your family will be thrilled. And if you’re fishing or camping with other anglers, they’ll be…well…yeah, jealous! (And yes, you wouldn’t have it any other way!) Since there are so many trout, just where do we start to talk about them? For no apparent reason other than I find this particular species beautiful and fascinating, let’s start with rainbow trout.

THE WELL-TRAVELED TROUT:

And the reason for this is easy enough to

THE RAINBOW

understand. These fish are easy to “transplant”. In

fact, just about every place the rainbow trout is

If I were to draw a cartoon with a rainbow trout in currently living is because he has been “transplanted”

it, the fish would have a suitcase in his hand. Why? there — either intentionally or unintentionally.

Because, quite frankly, he’s just that well travelled. By

this I mean he was first spotted in the rivers along

No matter the reasons for their world traveler

the west coast of the United States. Today, the species status, this fish is now the most popular of all trout is not only living throughout this country, but has types found in the world today. As you might guess, also taken up residence in South America, Europe just as an aside, this fish is also the most sought-and even New Zealand and Australia.

after by anglers worldwide.

The Secrets Professionals Refuse To Share7

THE ESSENTIAL TROUT FISHING GUIDE

LET’S TALK “FLYING” FISH

THE BROWN TROUT

But he’s also famous — or should I say infamous — ANOTHER WORLD-WIDE TRAVELER

for two more reasons. If you ever hook one when fly

It’s true. The brown trout is found in abundance

fishing, hang on to your fishing vest for the ride of throughout the world. Originally a European and your life. Once hooked, he is all about demonstrating Asian fish, this trout eventually found his way to his acrobatic prowess and his distance running skills. North American, South America and New Zealand.

If you don’t believe me, just consider this stunning

In the U.S., you’ll have a hard time not finding

statistic about the rainbow. A moderately sized them in locations like the Rocky Mountains and in rainbow can accelerate from a “standstill” position the trout streams of the Midwest and East.

to nearly 23 miles per hour in one second. Wow!

These fish are renowned among anglers for their

Not only that, but he can maintain that incredible intelligence and cunning. Don’t even think for a speed long enough to strip nearly 100 yards of line moment that you can use your simple fishing tactics and backing off your reel. Now do you see why so that are tried and true for other fish on this one. Oh, many anglers love to fish for trout? It’s like fishing no.

and a NASCAR race all bound up in one sport!

You can just imagine how even veteran anglers

“THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY”

can become frustrated in search of the venerable

W

brown trout. But this is what keeps the avid fisherman

ITHIN SECONDS!

going — the desire to outsmart that elusive brown

This also explains why so many fishermen lose a trout.

rainbow within the first several seconds of one getting

The problem is not merely one of getting a brown

hooked on their line. If you really take a good look trout to bite and actually hooking him. Hooking him at the situation, you should probably consider it a is only half of the battle. It’s what happens after this miracle that any angler catches a rainbow!

guy is hooked that excites the real fly fisherman.

Then there’s the feast or famine trait in them. At

least that’s what I call it. They’re notorious for being PREPARE FOR THE

selective in the food they eat. On the other hand, O

there are periods when they’ll go on a food frenzy

BSTACLE COURSE OF FISHING

that make sharks look like they have the best “table

Unlike his cousin the rainbow who dances in a

manners” in the ocean.

hundred different directions showing off his acrobatic

talents, the brown trout almost always makes a beeline

And don’t worry. You’ll know a rainbow when for the nearest obstacle in the river. And then from you see it. This fish is quite noticeable by the red there, discovers nearly every other one! His goal is stripe that graces the length of his body, from the gill quite simple: to entangle and eventually snap your plates to the tail. And if this weren’t enough, the line.

rainbow literally has hundreds of black spots covering

his dorsal portion (what many just call the back side)

of his body.

8 The Secrets Professionals Refuse To Share

THE ESSENTIAL TROUT FISHING GUIDE

If he can’t do that, he figures he’ll make these

With all these things going for him, many believe

monstrous runs even taking to the air if he has to.

that it’s not impossible to envision the brown trout

as the predominant trout in years to come.

The bottom line is that a brown trout will run

himself ragged trying to break free from your line.

And more often than an angler cares to admit, the THE ELUSIVE GOLDEN TROUT

brown trout is successful!

No species could be any more different from the

In terms of size, this species of fish is a little larger rainbow and the brown in terms of locations than than his rainbow cousin. Part of the reason for their their cousin the Golden Trout. You won’t find this size is their ability to live in warmer water, which guy wandering the world. He likes nothing better contains more nutrients than cold water (who knew?) than to stay in a very limited area, found only in the high alpine lakes and streams of the Rocky Mountains