Cannibal Brook Trout

[Mikey2006]

I was out fly fishing today and the mouth of one of the bigger brookies I caught looked a little weird when I went to unhook it. When I looked closer I found the tail of a 3-4 inch or so brook trout sticking out of the larger ones mouth.

I’ve always assumed the larger fish would eat baby brook trout but I’d never actually seen it happen nor did I expect a 6 inch trout to go for a meal that large and then still be aggressive enough to eat my fly before swallowing the trout it ate. Definitely was a very cool surprise

 

[JimKennedy]

All trout are cannibals. It's amazing how a little trout can eat another fish that's almost as big as it is.

 

[Mike]

Great observation. And think about it; cannibalism provides nutrients in the exact proportion that the cannibalistic predator needs.

Was this fish caught from a particularly infertile stream?

 

[Mikey2006]

Great observation. And think about it; cannibalism provides nutrients in the exact proportion that the cannibalistic predator needs.

Was this fish caught from a particularly infertile stream?

I don’t think so, no. There’s chubs and minnows that are able to survive too. It’s probably one of the more fertile brookie streams I fish, it supports a ton of brook trout of all sizes. I don’t think the brookie I caught needs to eat other trout to survive, it probably just saw the opportunity and did it anyway

 

[caddisflyer]

Maybe try using small brook trout for bait?

 

[Mikey2006]

Maybe try using small brook trout for bait?

Not quite sure if it would be legal but I guarantee you if I tossed a 2-3 inch live brookie under a bobber in some of the deeper holes It would catch some big ones. I would never use a live brookie though, minnows would probably get the same results anyway

 

[wildtrout2]

Not quite sure if it would be legal but I guarantee you if I tossed a 2-3 inch live brookie under a bobber in some of the deeper holes It would catch some big ones. I would never use a live brookie though, minnows would probably get the same results anyway

One time, I had that same idea with UL spinning tackle . I actually went through the trouble of carrying a styrofoam bait bucket/lid, that included an aerator to keep the minnows alive, a mile into a remote, infertile native stream, specifically to fish three waterfall plunge pools that were quite deep. It was summer, and I though it would be a slam dunk way to catch some of the bigger brookies, that I know have to be in these pools.

I was wrong. Not only did I not catch any big brookies, I didn't get a single strike from any size trout in these pools. I even tried a bit of shot to get the minnows down a bit, and that didn't work either. I was amazed. I'm wondering if the fact that these minnows weren't living naturally in this stream, that it kept the brookies away? I still to this day, wonder about that.

 

[krayfish2]

I was out fly fishing today and the mouth of one of the bigger brookies I caught looked a little weird when I went to unhook it. When I looked closer I found the tail of a 3-4 inch or so brook trout sticking out of the larger ones mouth.
View attachment 1641234145
I’ve always assumed the larger fish would eat baby brook trout but I’d never actually seen it happen nor did I expect a 6 inch trout to go for a meal that large and then still be aggressive enough to eat my fly before swallowing the trout it ate. Definitely was a very cool surprise View attachment 1641234146

How do you record that catch?

3" brookie in throat of a 9" brookie = hey, I caught a 12" brookie
OR
You tell the story for the next 30 years about how you caught 2 brookies on one cast

What size treble hook were you using

😁😁

 

[krayfish2]

Maybe try using small brook trout for bait?

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Predator's will remove the weaker from the environment and that smaller fish had something that provoked the "eat" instinct. I had one of Slaymakers Little Brook Trout flies in my box years back ,but can't say I ever caught a fish on it. GG

https://www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/how-to-tie-the-little-brook-trout-streamer-fly/

 

[DomR]

Predator's will remove the weaker from the environment and that smaller fish had something that provoked the "eat" instinct. I had one of Slaymakers Little Brook Trout flies in my box years back ,but can't say I ever caught a fish on it. GG

https://www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/how-to-tie-the-little-brook-trout-streamer-fly/

When I learned to tie in the late '70's the pattern book I had contained that recipe and recipes for little-brown-trout and little-rainbow-trout.

 

[caddisflyer]

When I learned to tie in the late '70's the pattern book I had contained that recipe and recipes for little-brown-trout and little-rainbow-trout.

The Little Brown Trout is in my box and is proven streamer for me. Speaking of cannibals-The biggest brown trout I have ever had on my line was playing tug of war with me after it ate a smaller brown trout that had taken a dry fly. I almost got the big one to my net and it was just holding the small fish crosswise in his mouth. I am guessing upper twenties for sure.

 

[wildtrout2]

In the early 2000's, up in Sullivan, I was fishing a smallish pool, but fairly deep in one spot. As I was bringing in a roughly 6"-7" brookie, a much larger native came from the depths chasing it and swiped at it, but missed. It was one of the bigger natives I've ever seen. It was a beautifully colored male.

 

[Solitariolupo]

Surprised it still hit with the fish in its mouth.

 

[Mikey2006]

Surprised it still hit with the fish in its mouth.

I wonder if it was stuck or something maybe I should have tried to pull it out, although if the fish was already feeding it was probably fine

 

[wildtrout2]

I wonder if it was stuck or something maybe I should have tried to pull it out, although if the fish was already feeding it was probably fine

You'd think if it was stuck, it wouldn't be continuing to feed. It does seem odd, with something in it's mouth that was not completely swallowed. I'd love to hear what Mike says specifically about that, and if it's a normal feeding behavior? In 40+ years of trout fishing, I've never seen that before.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

I don’t think so, no. There’s chubs and minnows that are able to survive too. It’s probably one of the more fertile brookie streams I fish, it supports a ton of brook trout of all sizes. I don’t think the brookie I caught needs to eat other trout to survive, it probably just saw the opportunity and did it anyway

... or both grabbed the same bug or minnow at the same time and the bigger fish had a bigger gulp. Brookies are very competitive.

 

[wildtrout2]

... or both grabbed the same bug or minnow at the same time and the bigger fish had a bigger gulp. Brookies are very competitive.

Interesting thought. I hadn't considered that possibility, it could be the answer.

 

[Bamboozle]

I used to tie streamer initiations of baby trout which were pretty much like the infamous black nose dace pattern except mine used colors that mimicked the colors of bookies, browns & rainbows.

They were never particularly effective however one of my best days ever on the Letort was one dreary morning when I was fishing my version of a sac-fry. My sac-fry imitation was a variation of one of the baby trout flies with a good sized tuft/puff of marabou at the throat that I dyed an orange/yellow color.

Even though I'm not talking about brook trout, I caught sever large browns that morning on that fly (the only one I had) until I snagged it in a bush fishing behind Charlie Fox's house...

I spent close to an hour trying to find it with no luck... 🙁

I also once saw a 12" brown trout with a 4 or inch brown trout stuck in its mouth head first swimming around in a local Class A.

In regards to flies, one of the more famous flies in Bergman's Trout was the "Trout Fin" which I guess is effective for cannibalistic trout that are satisfied with eating the crumbs left behind by the savages in the creek.

This version was tied by the late Don Bastian:

FWIW - I've also tied & fished Trout Fins and never caught squat despite trying REALLY hard...

 

[phiendWMD]

You'd think if it was stuck, it wouldn't be continuing to feed. It does seem odd, with something in it's mouth that was not completely swallowed. I'd love to hear what Mike says specifically about that, and if it's a normal feeding behavior? In 40+ years of trout fishing, I've never seen that before.

I caught a brookie that had a hook it previously swallowed still stuck in its throat. Like the first person thought it was better to open the swivel and let the fish keep the hook. I considered trying to remove the hook and determined I'd do more harm than good. Then I caught the same brookie with the same hook still stuck in it a week later. I'd like to think leaving the hook was the best move, that it rusted out soon after that, and that it was still trying to eat.