- by James Marsh
09/26/22
Someone sent us an email asking which method of fishing catches the most trout – dry fly fishing on the surface or fishing flies below the surface of the water. The subject of email was fishing dry flies versus fishing flies below the surface. I first thought of responding by writing that it greatly depends on the percentage of anglers fishing dry flies versus flies fished below the surface of the water. I realized a different way of asking what amounts to the same thing could be, “what percentage of food trout eat is acquired on the surface of the water versus below it”.
As I was thinking of a response, it quickly flashed through my mind that the food wild trout rely on the survive could be aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, crustaceans, minnows, baitfish, fish eggs and other odds and ends. It also quickly occurred to me that the food varied depending on the type of water, species of trout, and many other factors. As those thoughts quickly flashed through my mind I realized that is also depends greatly on the intent of the angler, and by that I mean is the angler fishing for food for the table, fishing a European trout tournament, fishing for newly stocked trout, fishing for wild trout, or strictly for the sport of it. Probably everyone reading this knows that catching a trout on a dry fly on the surface is usually more fun and exciting than catching one on a nymph or streamer. No sooner than this thought crossed my mind, memory of a trip to Alaska several years ago, brought about pictures of very large rainbow trout jumping two to three feet in the air with my egg fly in its mouth. Not all trout caught below the surface fail to display a lot of acrobatic action. As I finally tried to get my mind focused on the question again, it occurred to me that if I was lost on a wilderness fly fishing trip about to starve to death, I wouldn’t dare tie on a dry fly to catch something to eat unless it was the only fly I had and even then, I would choose a live grass hopper or other creature over anything else.
As soon as I again become focused on the question, my thinking continued along the lines of probably less than one percent of the food trout eat is taken from the surface, versus 99 percent or more is taken from below the surface. Before I began to type that response on my computer keyboard, I realized many anglers who don’t tend to think about the things trout eat quite as deeply as I do, it may seem more logical that something more like ten percent of a trout’s food comes from the surface of the water would be a better answer. That is simply because it may seem to the person asking the question that I was insinuating that is is stupid for an angler to fish a dry fly. If I wasn’t thinking so seriously about the question, I may tend to agree with the ten percent of the food is taken from the surface answer. On the other hand, why should I respond with an answer that would likely be more pleasing to the person asking the question than I should respond with my true belief?
I’m well aware that I’m still not giving you proof or justifiable reason for my answer. I’m still trying to get your interest up about the subject, but now that I hopefully have accomplished that, here’s why I still think less than one percent is a good answer. First of all, consider the types of food trout eat. All crustaceans are all eaten below the surface. In some streams, there are only a relatively few and in some streams, such as spring creeks, crustaceans represent a huge part of the trout’s diet. The amount of minnows and baitfish depends greatly on the type of stream as well as the species of trout but in all cases, minnows and baitfish are eaten below the surface.
Next, lets consider a food source many of you will probably disagree with me about. Terrestrial insects are eaten by trout and many of them are taken on the surface, again depending on the type of terrestrial. Ants, beetles and inch worms generally sink when they land on the water. Hoppers usually float on the surface for a short time before sinking. Here again, the location and type of stream varies the amount for sure, but all things considered, terrestrials represent a very small percentage of the food eaten by trout.
Yes, I’m aware stomach sample taken during the Summer and early Fall in many locations show terrestrials are eaten by trout. I’m also know that Angie and I have set surface skim nets in trout streams nationwide for long periods during this time period (nights and days) only to discover almost nothing was captured. The results was far, far less than we anticipated. To get to the point another way, If you sit down and stare at the surface of a stream for hours, I would bet my last dollar you wouldn’t see the first terrestrial insect floating on the surface unless you were positioned on the bank of a hay field when a farmer was passing by cutting hay or you were fishing during high wind conditions. Also, consider that most terrestrial food is only available to trout for part of the year.
Now, let’s consider what trout mostly rely on for food and that is aquatic insects. Starting with mayflies, consider that a mayfly typically lives 364 days of the year beneath the surface of the water. It lives for only a few seconds as a dun on the surface. Some species of mayflies live two and a few even three years below the surface versus only seconds on the surface as a dun. Some mayflies, such as the Slate Drakes are never on the surface as a dun. They crawl out of the water to hatch. The female spinners of mayflies do mostly fall on the surface of the water when they deposit their eggs at the end of their life, but even they, they sink rather fast. The males mostly end up dying on land but they can fall in the streams.
Caddisflies are on the surface even less than mayflies because many of them crawl out of the water to hatch. There are not that many species that hatch on the surface. They too, spend a few seconds as an adult on the surface versus a year beneath the surface. The female egg layers do end up on the water, but only float for a few seconds and again, it’s mostly the females that land on the water. The males usually end up dying on land. Also, many species of caddisflies crawl below the surface or dive to the bottom to deposit their eggs.
Stoneflies are a different story altogether. They all crawl out of the water to hatch. They are eaten up to that point only as an nymph. The female adults do come back to the water to deposit their eggs and most of them probably end up on the surface for a few seconds or minutes, but they too, end up sinking.
Midges, the last major category of aquatic insects trout feed on, are similar to the caddisflies. The adults are on the surface only for seconds compared to weeks and months below the surface. Most of them are eaten below the surface as a larva or pupa during the hatch.
When you really think about it, in most cases, one percent is probably a high figure for the food trout eat from the surface. By the way, just to add another curve to the answer, how often do you think a large brown trout acquires its food on the surface? The answer is very, very little.
What does this have to do with your fishing? The answer is simple. The odds are far greater you will catch a trout below the surface as opposed to on the surface. Now, what is James Marsh really driving at? The short answer is trout see nymphs and larvae of aquatic insects, all of which are below the surface, far, far better than they see insects on the surface of the water. Even so, anglers pay far, far more attention to their dry flies than they do their subsurface flies. In fact, in general, they tend to think all nymphs look alike and they certainly don’t. By the way, that is why Perfect Fly nymphs that look like the real things. Most anglers completely disregard larvae. Many don’t even know the difference in the larvae and pupae. By the way, it is more difficult to catch a trout you can’t see, on a fly you can’t see, than it is on a fly you can see and a trout you can see when it takes the dry fly.
I’m not about to get into the argument of what is the best approach to fly fishing for trout – fishing with dry flies or subsurface flies such as nymphs, larvae and streamers. That is up to each and every individual angler. Personally, I enjoy catching trout. I enjoy catching a lot of trout and I enjoy catching small trout as well large trout. I enjoy the challenge including fishing the days it is almost impossible to catch one as well as the days it is like taking candy from a baby. I enjoy fishing for trout even when I don’t catch one.
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