Where are all the trout going?There is a stream by my home here in Maine. For years I would finish work and head down for some brown trout action! This year is no different, however I noticed not as many brown trout around on this particular stream. I said to myself, “must be the wormers.” So, one afternoon, I walk to my favorite run set up with my standard nymph rig. A long leader size 16 prince with a size 18 caddis pupa off the bend of the hook and 2 small split shot 8” above the Prince nymph. First cast, down goes the indicator! Wow what a fight; but the fish heads to the shallow flats off the stream and out of the current? After 5 minutes I get the fish to my feet for a look and off it goes again. There is another guy fishing by me, Knowles is his name, I hollered out can you believe this is a big PIKE! Slowly, now I manage to get this large pike to shore for a picture. This large pike was sitting in my favorite trout run next to a big rock in the middle of the fast water eating caddis larva and what ever else comes by. This pike ate my size 18 caddis and I was lucky to hook it in the top front of the lip before the teeth. The story gets better, after a quick release I walked back to my spot and a half hour later I hooked a yellow perch. Again talking to Knowles “damn it’s a yellow perch where are all the browns?” That said, the perch was 10 feet away from the net and a huge pike came speeding in from the flat and bang it hit the perch and I foul hooked it in the mouth by the trailing fly. This time my 5x was no match for the teeth of this cold fresh water pirahana.To answer the lead question where are all the trout going? Dinner, feed, snacks, etc. for these ferocious fish. Why, why, why would some one do this to our trout streams? I will never know but the pike are here to stay. You can’t kill them all so let’s figure out how to catch them and enjoy our sport. See ya on the old trout streams.Joe-m
wow, the trout really have their work cut out for them on that stream … pike and it looks like the scar on that brown is from an eagle or osprey or whatever ….
Nice report.
With the pike issue constantly debated here in Maine I’ve done a lot of reading on them and their effects on a fishery.
I preface this by stating I’m a trout fanatic like the most of the anglers here.
With that said, essox species (pike) don’t actually compete with trout for food, and prefer not to predate on trout.
I know, I know…I’m not sold either…and the beaten debate goes on! 🙂
That’s a bigun indeed, Is this a trib of a lake? I might theorise temps were the culprit with thepike in the river. Up from the lake? Over a dam upstream in a flood? Can’t see someone stocking pike, bass definately but Pike?
I would think the pike would definetely predate on trout.
Around here they eat about anything that swims in the water or on the surface.
Pike are non-native species to maine.
They’ve been introduced by bucket biologists in the central part of the state about 20 years ago and are slowly finding their way into other waters state wide.
The state has hit the panic button.
In fact, one lake that’s reknown to have world class pike fishing fished so slowly this winter that hardwater anglers suspect the state may have “done” something to affect the lake.
Enough noise was caused about how slow the lake was fishing and year round residents reported quite a carnage of fish and vegetation in the lake last fall.
No explanation as to why…
Thats a big-o pike!!!! Good to see that you are getting some fishing in. Now get out here and try a few casts.
like most visitors to this site i advocate catch and release, in this case i hope you killed the fish. i do not believe pike will co-exist with trout. that said i once fished the churchill river in labrador where i caught a couple of 2-3 pound trout from a hole the 3rd fish i caught was a pike of about 5 lbs. I assumed the trout were to big for the pike to consider so they shared the hole. anyway there is a place for pike but it ain’t in maine trout waters!!
Well I’m pretty damn sure pike will eat rainbows because of the simple fact that I like to eat pike and when I clean them they are often full of rainbows!
As for them co existing to me it depends on if the both fish are native to the area or not. There are many lakes in anchorage that used to have great rainbow fishing till pike were illegally stocked and the trout fishing really suffered. On the flip side there are rivers I guide on in bristol bay that have native pike and rainbows that have evolved together for hundreds of years. The pike still eat the rainbows but the rainbows have learned to deal with the pike.