The full fish isn't much of an eater

Why aren't the fish biting? Before you shout, "Wadda ya mean, we killed the kokanee at Bitterroot Lake," let me give more information.

Last week, we fished during the famed salmonfly hatch on Rock Creek, east of Missoula. This annual hatch of huge flies draws anglers for many miles, judged by lots of Washington state license plates.

We nailed it. The salmonflies, not the fish. After spending two years hiding in the streambed, Pteronarcys californica nymphs crawl out of the water onto streamside vegetation. This migration generally occurs in early morning. During daylight, their cases split, and the adult emerges.

Salmonfly adults can exceed 3 inches in length. Mating often occurs on the streamside vegetation. During the afternoon, females drop their eggs, sometimes touching their abdomens to the water surface, into the water to complete the life cycle.

Trout sometimes leap out of the water to grab ovipositing females. Watching trout blast the surface to eat spent salmonflies is one of the great memories of fly fishing.

Casting huge, size 6, over-dressed black and orange flies, such as Sofa Pillows and Jake's Hot Cakes, along the shoreline often triggers slashing strikes.

Well, we had the flies and we had the raft and skilled oarsmen for Rock Creek's swollen waters, but the trout just weren't buying what we were selling. My explanation was the fish were already gorged and catching was a timing problem - they wouldn't feed until they had digested.

One of the other guys blamed the unsettled weather. Totally. Apparently fishing (and weather) had been pretty good the day before we arrived (same old story).

I believe the trout had first gorged on migrating nymphs, then ate spent winged adults until they were stuffed. All fish we caught had distended guts.†

Surviving in nature is a struggle for any critter. It takes energy to find food. One big, ol' salmonfly provides one heck of a lot more protein than hours of sucking midge nymphs.

And when your aquatic world is peppered with whoppers, you, as a fish, eat until you puke. Regardless of weather. What do you think?