Anyone have tips for catching Golden Rainbows?

[MathFish]

I was able to get out and fish Laurel Hill DHALO this morning. I was able to trick one Rainbow in some riffles to take an olive hares ear nymph and manage to get a strike on a beetle pattern, but I couldn't manage to fool any others... After a while I decided to head to another section on Laurel Hill and stumbled upon two decent sized Golden Rainbows.

I didn't see either of the two at first, but after I hooked into a rainbow with a nymph pattern, one of the GR's chased after the hooked fish. It was then that I saw there were two in the pool. The water had a decent stain to it and I was only able to see them because they were kind of glowing in the murky water... One looked like it was over 15 inches, the other looked over 20.

Now I have read enough posting to realize that many members aren't too big of fans of GR's, but... They are the one trout that eludes me on being able to catch with a fly. I have caught Brookies, Browns, Rainbows, Tigers, and Steelhead on flies, but I can't seem to fool these Goldens!

I realize they have been in the water for a few months by now and are wiser than freshly stocked trout. They were feeding too. I saw one of them rise and they were actively feeding subsurface. I also realize that bigger fish are tougher to fool than smaller fish too... But does anyone have any advice/tips for catching GR's? I have only been fly fishing for 3 years now and these GR's have me truly stumped! They have become my "white whale"...

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

[MKern]

Egg patterns in wacky colors like hot pink and blue.
Pathway seem to like flashy stuff and are sporadic feeders. Luck mostly.

 

[LetortAngler]

Lots of stuff will work as well as you getting a good drift at the right depth. Id suggest trying a tandem Prince Nymph set-up 14-18. That's what I've had luck with on the Yough/Laurel over the years when I encounter the palominos.

 

[nathanazajac]

I have never taken one one the fly but in any heavily fished stocked waters in sw pa it is always a fresh salmon egg that does the trick, just be patient and wait for the oppurtunity. They get targeted so hard they are always extra skittish

 

[OldLefty]

My experience has been that they're very unpredictable. Egg patterns seem to work now and then and I've taken them on wooly buggers, as well.

While I can't help much as to how to catch them, I can tell you what is best to do after you've landed them. They're bananas. Bananas are good for only one thing: eating.

They are also tracers. They let you know where the other trout are, too. I've picked up many other trout fishing for a banana. Never caught the banana, though.

 

[Fishidiot]

These fish are mysterious and seem to have unusual behavioral characteristics than regular stocked rainbows. Some are just weird, swimming up and down pools.

Anyway, there's no secret to catching them. As others have mentioned, try a bright colored egg fly or pull a streamer across their face and you might be able to trigger one into striking.

 

[Volksnurse]

OldLefty wrote:

They're bananas. Bananas are good for only one thing: eating.

Finally, Vegan trouts! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good point on using them as a tracer Dave!

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, throw egg patterns at them. If it doesn't respond in any way, move on, that's a spooked fish. If it goes spastic, like run away from, no, back towards, now away, now back towards....

keep at it, it's interested, and golden's do that. When it stops responding so weirdly, switch colors on it.

I've probably caught a dozen or so over the years.

 

[MathFish]

Thanks for all the help. I will tie up some flashy/colorful egg patterns and give them a try as well as the tandem prince nymph rig too. I will also be sure to give the wooly buggers a try too the next time I run across some of these bananas.

I have also noticed that they can be good tracer fish too. Last year while fishing Laurel Hill DHALO for a Golden, I caught a few other trout that were hanging around it, but not the Golden...

If I do manage to catch one and can get a decent photo, it'll give me a reason to figure out how to post a photo on this site. I'm not too tech savy.

As far as making a meal out of it, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm not against harvesting, but in my lifetime I've only cooked two trout that my son gut hooked in a bait-only trout fishing derby that weren't able to be revived... It's not that they didn't turn out to be good, but I figure if I release the fish, I still have a chance to possibly catch them again! Or, most likely, NOT catch them again in the case of these confounded Goldens!

 

[gfen]

Fishidiot wrote:
These fish are mysterious and seem to have unusual behavioral characteristics than regular stocked rainbows. Some are just weird, swimming up and down pools.

Not only are they genetic mutants, but they're incredibly inbred for that strain. On top of that, when you stick them in the wild every single living thing that wants fish can see them and will go for them, be it bird or marmot or every angler who walks by and grunts out, "lightening trout!"

Between the pedigree and constant harassment, they're simply broken.

Eating them is probably the humanest answer.

Catching them? Gosh, if only we still had ourselves a bonafide lightin' trout expert on here who can make suggestions on how to use Bowman's Tangy Tadpole fly...

 

[henrydavid]

I caught one on a dry fly on the Lehigh in early June a couple years ago. I had seen a couple in the same stretch earlier in the spring but figured by that time either the raptors or fishermen had gotten them.

If you can spy them sipping dries then it is just a matter of presenting the right fly. Mine was caught near dusk. I will say that I gained a brand new respect for these fish. I had the same preconceived notions that many spoke of in the earlier posts. This fish fought like a true rainbow, the runs were nothing less than majestic.

After some resuscitation the fish was released, I figured if he'd made it that long he deserved another chance. He was a tad over 20 inches.

 

[MathFish]

Thanks for sharing. That is a nice fish! I'd be beyond extatic to get a bruiser like that one.

 

[troutbert]

Do golden rainbows really feed differently than other rainbow trout, or is that a sort of myth?

 

[dryflyguy]

troutbert wrote:
Do golden rainbows really feed differently than other rainbow trout, or is that a sort of myth?

They've usually seemed to be rather reluctant to rise in my experience. I can remember seeing them many times in pools with a nice hatch coming off, and many other fish coming up like crazy. And they just ignored all of that surface activity
Although during recent years, I have come across a few that were surface feeding - and have managed to catch a hand full or so.
So, I can't say that they NEVER rise.

 

[jifigz]

I do not believe that I have ever caught a golden rainbow/palomino in my life. I didn't even start persuing trout again until maybe two years ago, the rest of my life was basicaly devoted to WW fish. Something about them being purposefully propogated in this very unnatural manner to be some sort of "trophy" is not very appealing to me, however. I'd be fine never catching one. Now if I found one that was 100% without a doubt wild somewhere, then I would be all about and would be stoked to fool the fish and land it. But here in PA as they stocked as "trophies" and you see 15 people standing around chucking inline spinners at its face, no thanks.

 

[pcray1231]

Do golden rainbows really feed differently than other rainbow trout, or is that a sort of myth?

My impression is yes, although I'm not 100% sure of it, and the only evidence I have is anecdotal and possibly explained by the effects of more pressure on them, or my putting extra effort on them since I can see them.

Most of the one's I've caught were in early season on Tionesta Creek. The typical MO there is cold nights, with slow fishing in the morning, turning on later in the day.

The goldens were always among the first fish caught. Why? Possibly because while fishing is slow, you don't know where all the fish are. Except the bright yellow marker. So you naturally "hover" over that one longer, knowing at least that you are fishing over fish. And you also have the benefit of observing it's reaction and adjusting in kind. Bias? Perhaps.

Then later in the day, as fishing picks up, you find a golden and fish for it. Perhaps because other fish are hitting I give up quicker. Or perhaps that fish has been pestered all morning. But I rarely connect in those situations.

Still, comparatively unpressured goldens seem spastic to me. If you throw something to them, they often have extreme reactions to it (often a weird mix of aggression and fear). Run away from, then towards, then away from the offering. Those are the ones I'll catch. Is that different than a regular old stocked bow? I think so, but it's hard to tell, because you so clearly see the golden's reaction but rarely see the regular bows' reaction.

Once they develop lockjaw they just ignore offerings, I presume that's what the regular fish do as well.

There's also a size question. The goldens are almost always "trophy sized". So for regular stocked bows, do 18 inchers act differently than 12 inchers?

 

[salmonoid]

I don't think they feed any differently than other trout. They become selective quicker because they have so much chucked at them. All the other trout are moving to take food in the same manner the goldens do but you can't always see the rainbows or browns moving in the deeper holes. And the little ones tend to dart around and steal stuff a lot of the time, although I've seen goldens move quickly if they are interested in an offering.

Last few years where I've fished in ANF, there have been no goldens. A healthy eagle and osprey population has taken care of them there lightnin' trout, methinks.

 

[Chaz]

I rarely see them rise, but they are often seen taking nymphs in the little funneling currents we see on our streams. In pools they often prefer large weighted streamers, particularly white streamers..

 

[10November]

I have been trying to land a Palomino/Golden trout in a hole now for the past 3 weeks. Since the water is low and clear, it is very easy to see. I hooked hime twice, once on a size 18 BWO parachute and another time on a 16 white dry fly parachute ( both were hatching at the time). The BWO hook broke at the bend and the 6x line broke on the size 16. I believe the fish in at least 20 inches. I am surprised it has lasted into the fall. It rarely rises (only right at dusk when you can not see anymore). I go each evening for an hour trying to catch it and have thrown everything at it and it just sits there.

From the other posts above, I am going to get very far away from the hole tomorrow night. I may be too close. Since I can see the fish, he can see me. I am catching other rainbows in the same location but not the palomino.

I am going to try a frenchie tomorrow evening.

Thanks for your posts.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Just use a pitchfork.