Ravenous Trout

Salmon and Trout are inherent competitors

Timothy Kusherets

This steelhead trout was taken amongst hundreds of Chinook Salmon. Note that the color and sizes of the corkies match the size and relative color of eggs this buck had been feeding on. When using corkies makes sure to use scent that is similar to salmon milt or eggs.

Trout are known to pick at salmon as they migrate inland, so it’s important to match the size and color of corkies to size and color of eggs. Salmon and Trout are inherent competitors who battle each other for the same spawning grounds. Salmon overrun systems with the amount of eggs they lay and trout eat as many of the eggs as possible. Since trout tend to have a higher mortality the species must attack the eggs to ensure survival and the ravenous fish will stalk salmon every fin of the way upriver.
One of the great things about fishing for salmon is that you can be sure that steelhead are somewhere in the vicinity, so if an angler tires of hooking salmon, he can simply switch to gear that will put them on the bite and that means eggs.
Be sure to use either the real thing or when using corkies to use the same color and size. Each species of salmon has a relative size to the eggs, so the bigger a fish is the larger the eggs tend to be; this is especially true the further into each spawning cycle a fish gets. This technique is really great for getting specific species of fish on the hook; however, the best rule of thumb is to recall the larger a fish is the larger the offering is going to be regardless of the clarity of the water. This fishing technique works in Bays, Inlets, Tributaries, Rivers, and Lakes so, have a good time, the bites on me.

© Timothy Kusherets 2006/07