
safely said that the angler who 
can readily tell just where trout 
hide in unfamiliar streams has solved 
more than half the problem in the cap- 
ture of a full creel. He may be de- 
ficient in tackle equipment or a choice 
of taking flies and even lack expert 
methods, yet he will succeed in getting 
trout far better than the expert fly 
angler using the best flies and the finest 
tackle without a knowledge of trout 
habits. Everywhere we see this illus- 
trated in results attained by country 
fishermen residing near trout waters; 
with implements unfit to name as tackle, 
he wanders alongside the stream with 
sharp eyes open, alert to observe every 
angle in trout habits and remembered 
from boyhood he has gained and kept 
in mind what goes on in the haunts 
of trout. He puts his accumulated 
knowledge to advantage and _ wisely 
chooses to fish only when right condi- 
tions prevail. Well may the village 
oracle say, with truth, “Bill gets them 
every time.” He is “mum” to your 
266 
F ROM a broad standpoint it may be 
Ready for the creel 
The Habits of Trout and Where They Abide 
A Timely Article on Trout Ways and Natural Foods 
By LOUIS RHEAD 
Drawings by the Author 
question of how, when and where he 
got those big fish, and he never shows 
envy of your flies or outfit. 
HE same efficiency is seen in guides, 
in all fishing localities, to whom fish- 
ing is a science, a long experience of 
deep study from every standpoint; such 
being the case, the advantages are all 
on their side. You can best learn the 
habits of trout in any location by a 
study of their food supply; where food 
is most abundant, trout are sure to 
abide and the greater part of their 
food is taken at the surface, insects, 
floating animal life, such as caterpillars, 
grasshoppers, crickets and other living 
or drowned land creatures. Next in 
.importance, food is taken in the water 
from the bottom up to the surface, the 
vast quantity of nymphs or undeveloped 
insects rising constantly to the surface 
from the riverbed. 
N addition to that is fish food, min- 
nows and young of others, as well as 
their own species. 
Lastly, food gath- 

ered from the riverbed, crawfish, vari- 
ous creepers that live and breed in 
mud or sand. An intelligent study of 
this food will enable the angler to at- 
tain more success in the use of artifical 
imitations to make his lure act in the 
water more like what trout see when 
taking food. 
S a general rule, trout prefer a 
chosen spot and stay there if un- 
disturbed, though the larger fish roam 
about to forage at night, returning to 
lie quiet by day in some deep hole be- 
hind or under submerged rocks. To 
discover best the hiding place, study 
surface runways, channels and current | 
formations. Watch a cork or a floating | 
object going down stream, and if you | 
continue to observe its course, you see | 
a rise of insects appear floating down | 
along the very path taken by the ob- | 
ject noted. Time is not wasted observ- 
ing the floating insects, because now — 
and then trout may be seen rising and | 
feeding just under the passing insect, 
and it is at those places you should cast. © 
