Why you should spoon trout

Now that catch-and-release is prevalent, are we missing out on vital clues to a trout’s diet? 

Let’s say I’ve just caught, killed and then spooned a fish. There are several lessons I can learn. First, the marrow spoon will tell me if the trout has been eating or not. If it’s the latter and the spoon is empty, I will forego imitative fishing. There is no need for buzzers or nymphs. A better approach (no matter what I caught the trout on) would be to appeal to the trout’s aggressive and curious nature by pulling lures.

But if I spoon a trout and there’s food in its gut, it can make a huge difference to my future catch rate. 

What food is found in a spoon?

A spoon may reveal the trout has eaten terrestrials, adult buzzers and other flotsam and jetsam, which would make me reach for my dry-flies. This diet suggests the fish are high in the water and taking items from the surface. My fly choice would be generic — a Hopper most likely, as they mimic everything.

If the gut contains damsel nymphs, corixa or shrimp, it suggests I should try a nymphing approach with patterns that represent the food item. Likewise, if it contains fry, I’d reach for my Minkies.

Understanding an insect’s lifecycle

Often, identifying that trout are taking buzzers (chironomid pupa) is not enough. Knowing more about the trout’s prey can be revealing. For example, if I find most of the spooned buzzers are olive or red, with no sign of wingbuds, then I will look to fish deep where pupae of this type are found — no more than 6ft off the lakebed. I will try straight-lining a classic three- or four-fly leader on a floating or midge-tip line, or the bung method with heavy-hooked point flies and patterns close together.

However, if the pupae have bright wingbuds, they will have been taken high in the water prior to eclosion (emerging). I will try the washing-line approach to keep my flies near the surface, using patterns tied with lighter hooks and materials that slow their descent (hackles or seal-fur bodies are an option).

Reading the spoon

The food found nearest the handle of the spoon is the trout’s most recent meal. So, if there is a handful of buzzers at the pointy end of the spoon (from the rear of the gut) yet it is packed with damsels near the handle, I know that the fish was feeding on buzzers earlier in the day but is now gorging on damsel nymphs. My fly will be changed accordingly.

Read Successful dry fly tactics for trout here.