Are fish really that picky?

I listened to the fly guy at a cabelas talking about trout and the hatch,he of course eluded to matching the hatch.I ask him the same question I will ask those on this forum,my question was and is,Do trout only eat the hatch?
Cabelas fly guy said absolutely except for an odd one every now and again.I ask what would a trout do if I cast a larger fly ( not one of the hatch) he said a trout would not recognize a larger fly as food unless it was part of an occurring hatch.
I have some doubt in his answer,I say the reason they eat the hatch is because that's all they have to eat at that time,and given an opportunity for a larger meal they would take it.

Opinions, everyone is entitled to have one. I have known several employees in the fly shop at Cabela's. I've never known one to claim to be an expert, but they do offer
their opinions after some conversation. Not all experts are equal in my opinion. LOL

Spent the best part of my early years fly fishing for trout. I also tied my own flies which looked as close to known patterns as my lack of skill would allow. There were days when the fish were actively feeding and rejected anything that didnt closely match both size and color of the occuring hatch. The fish would smack a bug less than a foot away fom the fly I was fishing and mine would float on unscathed. That said those days were few and far between. Most cases there didnt seem to be a specific hatch occuring and you could throw anything out there and they would hit it. Dont know what a wooley bugger or a hares ear is supposed to mimic but they worked 90 percent of the time.

its hard for me to imagine a crappie being as sophisticated as a trout in a river, a trout that has to rely on itself alone for its survival rather than the safety of a school. There is also the reality that competion in the school itself that probably triggers bites even when theowing a lure that looks like nothing the fish have ever seen.

Being a fly fishing trout angler I can honestly say that during a hatch a direct match is often the ONLY thing that will take a fish. BUT more often than that when there is NOT a hatch it will be the other things in the trouts diet will be the key. Scuds, nymphs and worms fill out the majority of my fly boxes.

As for having a conversation with the fly guy,it started by me asking about the size differences in the flys that were for sale,some were as large as any crappie lure,and some were but a spec.I was left with the impression ( and he could be right ) that while a hatch was on,pretty much everything else became non inviting to them except for the hatch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clint

Being a fly fishing trout angler I can honestly say that during a hatch a direct match is often the ONLY thing that will take a fish. BUT more often than that when there is NOT a hatch it will be the other things in the trouts diet will be the key.

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I'm not much of a trout guy, but my FF trout buddies would agree with this.

I remember I was struggling on a lake one day, until i noticed it was the time in the early fall when the grass hoppers were all over the banks. Switched to the closest green tube color matching them, trimmed it CrappiePro style and started casting to the bank with a small bobber a couple feet deep. I can't tell you how many crappie I caught, but I know it was allot. They can be very picky IMO.

I prefer to think of it this way. Are you picky? Got any friends that are picky? Are there foods you won't eat? Got any friends who will eat anything? Yep, same thing for fish!

Think it largely comes down to what is THE most nutriuent "rewarding" food available at the time of a hatch. Kinda like trying to pass out Easter eggs at Halloween. While have seen panfish AND trout hit something other than the `match the hatch" offering would guess that 95+% of the time they`re all but "fixated" on that hatch. And DO remember- the fish are ALWAYS "right"...

Yes. There are flies that will always catch a few (wooly bugger and gold ribbed hares ear come to mind), but find a fly that matches the hatch and the action will pick up dramatically. Crappie can be that way most of the time too. Under relatively normal conditions I can always catch a few on an all white jig. But often times working through different colors and combinations will find one that triggers bites at a much higher rate. Not sure if I'd call it matching the hatch (hard for me to equate chartreuse or pink with common forage), but who really knows how fish perceive?

Their `perception` is probably a bit different than ours. As have already said the fish are ALWAYS `right`; if you catch fish then you have guessed `right`...