Session TWO

Life Cycle of Trout

Egg Trout eggs have black eyes and a central line that show healthy development. Egg hatching depends on the water temperature in an aquarium or in a natural habitat.

Alevin Once hatched, the trout have a large yolk sac used a food source. Each alevin slowly begins to develop adult trout characteristics. An alevin lives close the gravel until it “buttons up.”

Fry Buttoning-up occurs when alevin absorb the yolk sac and being to feed on aquatic insects. Fry swim close to the water surface, allowing the swim ladder to fill with air and help the fry float through water.

Fingerling and Parr When a fry grows to 2-5 inches, it becomes a fingerling. When develops large dark markings, it then becomes a parr. Local schools that participate with Cumberland Valley Chapter Trout Unlimited classroom trout raising project will release the Trout into its natural habitat at the fingerling stage.

Juvenile In the natural habitat, a trout avoids predators, including wading birds and larger fish, by hiding in underwater roots and brush. As a juvenile, a trout resembles an adult but is not yet old or large enough to spawn.

Adult In the adult stage, female and male Trout spawn in fall and winter. Trout turn vibrant in color during the spawning and then lay eggs in fish nests, or redds, in the gravel. The life cycle of the Trout continues into the egg stage again.

The Trout Body

A Successful Fly-Fisher must know about what trout eat. Entomology (Bugs) A Successful Fly-Fisher must know about what trout eat.

Entomology (bugs) Purpose Show how the fly-fisher can use knowledge of aquatic critters Improve fishing Improve fly selection

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Aquatic = pertaining to water Especially organisms living in fresh water Macro___ = prefix meaning “large” able to see with naked eye Invertebrate = animal without a backbone Insects, crustaceans, worms, others

What you need to know Trout do NOT speak Latin Trout can’t identify macroinvertebrates Trout know what looks good to eat Trout know what food items act like Trout face upstream . . . aquatic macroinvertebrates drift downstream trout eat macroinvertebrates

Bug Characteristics Shape – what does it look like? Size – how big or small is it? Color – what color or colors is it? Habitat – where does it live in nature? Behavior – what does it act like?

Adults have same Shape Mayfly adults hold wings up like sails Stonefly adults fold wings flat over back Caddisfly adults fold wings like a pup tent

Match the natural with size & color variations of the same fly pattern Choose fly pattern style based on type of water to be fished Vary the color & size to match the naturals of the locale you fish Use the appropriate stripping action or dead drift to match the natural’s behavior

Flies represent naturals Dry Fly – fished on water’s surface Adult: mayfly (also dun), caddis, stonefly, dragonfly, terrestrial (grasshopper, ant, spider) Nymph – fished on or near bottom Larval stage: mayfly, stonefly, caddis, etc. Scud, sowbug (NOT aquatic insects) Midge – fished in surface film Adult midge & emerging midge Soft-hackle – fished just under surface film Pupal stage of caddis & emerging mayfly dun Streamer – fished in water column or bottom “minnow,” leech, crayfish

Mayfly Life Cycle

Mayflies Egg – larva (nymph) – emerger – dun – adult Diverse shapes of nymphs Dun is a pre-adult with wings Adults have no mouthparts or digestive tracts Adult female spinners are susceptible to trout while laying eggs Adult males & females may be different sizes and colors

Mayfly larva (nymph) Single set of wing pads 2 or 3 tails (usually 3) Gills on abdominal segments

4 mayfly larva body types Swimmers Slow-mod water Crawlers Mod-fast water Clingers Swift water Burrowers Placid water

Behavior more important than fly pattern of mayfly nymph Swimmers in slow-mod. water Move with bursts of rapid up & down flips, moving from a few inches to a few feet Crawlers in mod.-fast water with weedbeds or rocks with nooks & crannies Poor swimmers; drift with current while trying to get to the bottom Clingers in swift water, like riffles Good at staying on or under rocks Migrates to slower water before emerging as duns Burrowers in placid water Live in burrows until emerging to surface to become duns

Various mayfly families

Stonefly Life Cycle

Stoneflies egg – larva (nymph) with many moltings – adult Mature larvae migrate to stream edges Known as “clean water” insects Not active swimmers Clings under rocks & crevices in swift water May drift with the current, esp. before emergence

Stonefly larva (nymph) Two distinct sets of wing pads Always 2 tails – set wide apart No gills or gills may resemble undulating tufts under thorax

Various stonefly families

Caddis Fly Life Cycle

Caddisflies egg – larva (on bottom) – pupa (rises to surface) – adult Live as larvae most of the year As pupa one to several weeks As adults 1-3 weeks (unable to eat) Extremely diverse group, 2 major kinds Case-building (most common) Free-living

Caddisfly larva No wing pads No tails May have stubby appendages with hooks at the end of abdomen Smallish head; fleshy segmented abdomen Looks like a caterpillar with 6 legs in thorax area

Various caddisfly families

Midges Egg – larva (2 or 3 moltings) – pupa – adult Life cycle I week to 1 year Abundant and diverse - makes up for small size True flies – have only two wings

Midge larva No wing pads No tails (may have knobby protrusions at rear end) No legs apparent Tiny head Elongated, maggot-like shape Segmented abdomen (sometimes with pairs of fleshy knobs) Can’t swim, but grub around on the bottom

Midge pupae most important to the fly fisher Looks like a hunched-back midge larva Wings bunched in a dark bundle at the thorax Head barely visible; body tapers May have gas trapped in pupal shuck May have distinct tuft at head end

Damsels & Dragons

Water Beetles

Water bugs Water boatman Water strider

Fishfly, Dobsonfly,& Alderfy Larva (Dobsonfly larvae are also known as hellgrammites)

Scuds & Sowbugs are crustaceans, NOT aquatic insect larvae Scuds flat side-to-side Sowbugs flat top-to-bottom Fast swimmers – short bursts Poor swimmers – dead drift

Crayfish aka crawfish or crawdads

Clams & snails aka mollusks

Aquatic worms & leeches

Relative Size Can you tell what they are?

Identify

Identify

Identify

Identify

Identify

Identify

End of Session TWO