1ArmSteve

I have been fishing for trout in this one particular spot for a few years. This year they have been stocking browns as well as rainbows. I have also caught a couple of brook trout in there too. My question is this to the seasoned trout angler...
What are some of the main reasons that trout decide not to bite??? FOr instance. It was about 10:30am and we were hiking back up the trail. I spotted a few rather large trout (all over 12") swimming around in a little side pool. We tried everything from live crickets to Powerbait, to Panther Martins, to other plastic lures. They would turn tword it when it hit the water, but then they would just turn away. I evenb hit them with a few of the casts. It became extremely frustrating because the little ones would be on it and the bigger ones would be uninterested. Why would the little one be biting, but the big ones not? Even when the big ones would chase the spinners, it was like they were only hitting on it cause they were annoyed or being territorial, or something. Could it be that it just wasnt the right time for feeding? I mean they do usually bite better...the earlier you get up there. Cold water streams too...year round. NE Georgia mountains FYI
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

1AS

lethalconnection

Well here is the thing with some species of trout especially browns. They are a very smart fish. When you see those big boys they are just like a big buck, they get that big for a reason, cause they learn from mistakes. In some small streams i fish i actually have to stalk the fish cause they have learned the silhouette of people. When they see you they get spooked and therefore become picky and will rarely hit anything you throw at them because they were one of those small dumb fish at one point and hit anything cause they were unaware that a silhouette of a human means a hook in the mouth. Now they will investigate things that come floating threw their hole but wont hit it cause they see u and realize that piece of food my hurt if they bite it. Now if you are to go back there try a few different things. Hide the silhouette of your self with a tree of stay low. Dont walk threw the water near the pool cause the splashing will spook them. Also when your tossing lures or bait in there dont toss it right into the pool, drop in the rapids leading into the pool so it floats right in front of them and you dont make a splash or anything in their pool therefore spooking them or cast at the end of the hole and bring it up threw the pool.

But yes sometimes it just means they arent hungry or dont feel like feeding.

PaBowhunter29

they mit be eating flies ( bugs ). i fly fishing and one day me and my dad went out we could see them but they would hit anything. so i broke out the fly pole and slammed'em. when there is a hatch and your not a fly fisherman its very hard to catch'em.

WesternMdHardwoods

Well here is the thing with some species of trout especially browns. They are a very smart fish. When you see those big boys they are just like a big buck, they get that big for a reason, cause they learn from mistakes. In some small streams i fish i actually have to stalk the fish cause they have learned the silhouette of people. When they see you they get spooked and therefore become picky and will rarely hit anything you throw at them because they were one of those small dumb fish at one point and hit anything cause they were unaware that a silhouette of a human means a hook in the mouth. Now they will investigate things that come floating threw their hole but wont hit it cause they see u and realize that piece of food my hurt if they bite it. Now if you are to go back there try a few different things. Hide the silhouette of your self with a tree of stay low. Dont walk threw the water near the pool cause the splashing will spook them. Also when your tossing lures or bait in there dont toss it right into the pool, drop in the rapids leading into the pool so it floats right in front of them and you dont make a splash or anything in their pool therefore spooking them or cast at the end of the hole and bring it up threw the pool.

But yes sometimes it just means they arent hungry or dont feel like feeding.

_____________________________

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lethalconnection

Yes sometimes fish do hit cause they are annoyed or being territorial, and thats actually what spoons and spinners tend to do is trigger the territorial instinct in fish (thats why i really like to use them when the spawn is on).
And you can annoy fish by throwing the same thing at them alot but that tends to be time consuming with little results.

conner_condor

Also if they been stocked it might take them a couple days to hit new baits..They are use to being fed a certain food at the hatchery and these other baits was not given to them.. But I would think they would hit flies cause they do fall in the water at hatchery and they can associate them to their original food source.. They would start trying new foods when they get hungry...

Phil from Maine

I only fish brook trout up here and they can be very smart as well. As stated above a shadow can send them into hiding, as well as vibration from walking on a boggy surface next to a stream. At times on some streams we have used bobber fishing so that we can get back away from then stream a little and watch for a bite. A fly rod and a grasshopper fly this time of year should work pretty well right now.. Good Luck.