As you’ve probably guessed from reading my blogs from the past, I have a special appreciation and love for the once endangered Gila trout. Once near the edge of extinction, efforts by government and non profit groups (like Trout Unlimited) have brought this fish back to swim in increasing numbers in waters of the Gila country of southwest New Mexico.
There are many spectacular looking trout in the world, but by far my favorite has always been the brook trout. Although technically not a trout, the fish is considered a char. Both trout and char are members of the larger salmonid family, which includes trout, char and salmon.
The most noticeable difference is the coloring on the fish, which is what I think makes them so gorgeous, especially during spawning season. According to various sources, true trout have a light colored body with dark spots whereas char have a dark body and brightly colored spots. In particular, during the spawning season in the fall, a brook trout’s spots are brilliant red, blue, yellow, with an orange fins tipped with black and white and an orange belly on top of the dark green body. The colors are so bright they almost seem artificial.
Another reason I like brook trout is because they’ve always seemed to be guileless about food when I’ve fished for them. In my experience they seem to strike at anything that vaguely resembles food, where other species of trout often seem more selective.
Although the first trout I caught was a rainbow (likely stocked) on the Rio Ruidoso, the fish I remember being most excited about were tiny brookies on the north fork of Eagle Creek. They seemed eager to take my crudely tied fly and fought like much larger fish when hooked.
Unfortunately I suspect that entire population has been wiped out because of the terrible Little Bear fire in 2012. That fire literally exploded through the narrow Eagle Creek North Fork watershed, leaving a true scorched earth in its aftermath. Later rains flooded the canyon, suffocating any remaining fish in the creek.
I bring all of this up because of a post regarding brook trout that popped up online last week that literally made me laugh out loud.
Although I’ve tied a few fishing flies in the past, I’ve never ventured very far from one pattern that has always caught fish for me. Some fly tyers, however, are always experimenting with new designs in hopes they come up with the next breakthrough in attracting trout.
Recently, some angler on the east coast (where brook trout are prolific) decided to make a fly that looked like a miniature taco — something that never occurs in a trout food chain. After a few refusals, the brookies unexpectedly began taking the fly.
Field and Stream magazine wrote about the guy who invented the “taco fly,” commenting that the brookies in one river “were eating just about everything he threw at them.”
“At first, the fish wanted nothing to do with it,” the article said about the “taco fly.” “A few drifts later, curiosity got the better of them. Turns out brook trout aren’t above questionable food choices either.”
I sent my fly tying friends a photo of the “taco fly,” asking them in jest if they could tie some for me.
One responded: “How about a burrito fly?”
Maybe that will be the next breakthrough in fly tying experiments.
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