Voices from the Past: Dixie Carrol

Part II of the article on Browns and Rainbows.

The rainbow trout, like the brown, feels entirely at home in the warmer waters of the stream that have been passed up by the brook trout, and he dotes on minnows and the insects he can forage from the surface. To him a grasshopper is a dainty morsel and many of the big ones have been tricked into the creel by the wise angler who hooks on a lively hopper and casts it the same as a feathery fly, letting it float with the current in a natural manner and not trying to open it up with a bunch of jerks in an effort to fool the wise fellow.

The rainbow carries more speed in his make-up than the brown trout, making a faster fight in every way,| fact is his battle with the fly resembles the fight of the native brook trout far more than that of the brown boys. About the first thing he does when hooked is to go up into the air, both figuratively and literally speaking, and his leap is a thing of beauty, way up out of the water generally, and at this point of the game many of them depart to other waters having passed up the fly on the way.

The rainbow is a voracious fish and speedier to accept an invitation to strike than either the brown or native trout, whether you offer him the fly, minnow, spinner or the small rubber artificial minnows. While early in the season the worm, scorned by many fishermen as the "garden bunk," makes 'em sit up on their tail and take notice although later the flies and minnows are the most attractive lures. The fellow who usually howls with horror when you mention worms in the same breath with trout, is generally the cherub who sneaks out alone with a nice bait-can full of the wrigglers and proceeds to play a little solitaire on the stream. In the early season the worm with the usual light trouting tackle is no kid's bait for trout, many a sure enough fisherman finds it necessary to play the game with his utmost skill and knowledge of the trout to coax 'em into the creel even on worms.

In a selection of flies for the rainbow and brown trouts, the usual flies used for the native brook are effective, playing up strong on the hackles, making it a point to include a March Brown and a McGinty. The tackle for the big fellows can he a bit stronger than that for the brook trout, and still be in the light tackle class, say a ten foot, six ounce fly-rod and strong leader for the the fight with the husky boys in the swift waters, or the old granddaddy of the deep pool.

-- Dr. Todd