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| article: species profile: rainbow trout by alex hickson |
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Dated: 7 December, 2001
 | | If there is any doubt whether it is a rainbow trout check the tail for spots if it has them it is a rainbow. it is extremely rare for a brown trout to have spots on its tail. |
Although native to the west coast of North America the Rainbow Trout is a familiar sight throughout the Angling world. Since its introduction to Australian NSW waters in 1894 it has successfully be stocked through the more temperate climes of the southern States and the south eastern corner of Western Australia.
ENVIRONMENT:
Rainbow Trout prefer swift flowing cold water similar to that found in many of the Snowy Mountain streams in NSW.
These streams contain high levels of oxygen which in turn supports a high concentration of aquatic nutrients and insects. These streams are not necessarily large in volume either but rather have quality water instead of a quantity of water. Natural food for the Rainbow Trout is quite varied, they will eat numerous species of nymphs plus small crustacean such as snails and juvenile yabbies and will also devour small fish such as gudgeon at times not thinking twice about being cannibalistic. The Rainbow Trout will also thrive in still waters and is a common species in most of our cold water impoundments where at times it can co-habit with some of our own native species such as silver and Golden Perch, Murray Cod, catfish and Macquarie Perch. A good example of such a reservoir is Wyangler dam in the central tablelands of NSW.
 | Rainbows are very susceptible to trolled small minnow patterns.
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Temperatures preferred by rainbows does vary mainly due to levels of dissolved oxygen but as a general rule they have a preferred range of between ten and eighteen degrees centigrade. Thanks to man assisted production (trout farms) Rainbow Trout can and have been stocked into many marginal waters in Australia. These stocking programs have supported these streams and dams to the point where they have become very viable fisheries. Limited self recruitment does occur in some rivers but the combination of fast flowing water gravel beds and water temperatures required for successful spawning is seldom united in Australian rivers.
Probably the best known river containing a self supporting stock of Rainbow Trout is the lower Cox’s river. Here annual runs of spawning rainbows are in some years said to rival that of other famous rainbow spawn runs that take place in rivers such as the famed Tongariro in New Zealand.
Unfortunately the remoteness of the Cox’s at this stage and the fact that much of it is within the exclusion zone around Warragamba dam which is Sydney’s water supply, it cannot be fished or even seen.
IDENTIFICATION:
Anatomically the rainbow resembles the Brown Trout, Salmo trutta, in all but colouration.
 | | Live mudeyes fished at night under a bubble float are considered as the supreme bait by many anglers fishing for trout. |
The Rainbow Trout has distinct colouring with a vivid band of mauve - purple or pink along the flanks that roughly follows the lateral line. The top half is a deep green with a high density of black spots that also cover the dorsal, adipose, ventral and caudal fins while the under side is an iridescent pearl.
As a species it is more free rising than the Brown Trout and rarely does it become a cannibalistic bottom dweller like the brown sometimes becomes with age
Rainbow Trout can grow well in excess of five kilos and this can be obtained in as little as two years if food availability and water conditions are suitable. Adversely a fish of five years old might struggle to reach half a kilo in some waters. In any case a fish of four and a half kilos should be considered a fine specimen in any waters.
ANGLING METHODS:
 | | During spawning period rainbows will change colour dramatically and the male will develop a hook jaw and large teeth. |
To go into any depth on the recognised techniques and methods that catch trout would easily fill this entire magazine so a brief over view on each will be enough to put you on the starting blocks ready to jump. I think it is worth mentioning a theory that I concur with and that is the bait, lure, fly trilogy.
These three steps will take an angler through a learning curve that will give him or her an intimate knowledge and understanding of the trout and its environment and habits that will make them extremely efficient anglers. Jumping in at the deep end with fly rod in hand, which in the last few years has been the trendy thing to do, really can limit an anglers knowledge. Sure it is a nice way to catch a trout but there is a time and a place for fly fishing and it certainly is not the most effective way of catching trout most of the time.
The Rainbow Trout is an excellent sport fish, it can make strong runs with repeated leaps clear of the water during a fight. As a target species it is susceptible to most techniques. Because of these traits the Rainbow Trout has become a popular target species to a large portion of the fishing public no matter what their level of skill.
Bait fishing can be as simple or as complicated as the angler wants to make it. A simple running ledger rig, where the bait such as worms are fished on the bottom is very effective in most still waters. Simplify this further by removing the weight and swivel, just tying the hook to the end of the main line and loading it with enough worms to facilitate easy casting and you have an excellent river rig. Other baits that work well in the river are live grass hoppers, if you can catch them. These are fished in a similar manner to the river worms rig but make sure that the hook is made of a light gauge wire and keep the grass hopper alive by threading the hook through the wing case only.
 | | Large river rainbows such as this are considered the ultimate fly rod challenge by many anglers. |
Catching trout on a hard body lure is perhaps the most popular and most effective method of putting a few fish on the bank. Small bladed lures such as the famed Celta or floating minnow patterns reign supreme in small clear rivers. These work best cast upstream and retrieved slightly faster than the river is flowing. Tackle for this style of fishing needs to be kept light, a two kilo spin outfit is perfect for the job. When fishing a river it will pay to keep moving and fishing new water. Even when bait fishing cast the bait into an area with current so the bait will cover more area, when this stretch has been thoroughly worked move upstream and start again just as you would when lure fishing.
Casting lures in impoundments can be a great way to catch larger trout. Heavier lures such as spoons or Tassie devils that can be cast long distances are good choices for land based anglers. If you have the luxury of a boat then trolling lures is the way to go. Simply flat lining lures out the back of the boat couldn’t be more easy or effective. Other effective methods are trolling cowbells or ford fenders. These act as an attractor and are fished ahead of a lure or bait. The lure or bait is attached to the cowbell on a trace of the desired length. Controlled depth fishing for trout is really starting to catch on here in Australia. This is a method that uses either a diving vane or a down rigger to take the lure down to a known depth. The diving vane is set up similarly to the cowbell rig only instead of acting as an attractor the diving vane takes the lure down to a known depth. The disadvantage of diving vanes is that they pull hard and can take the fight out of the fish but they are effective fish catching tools. Another method is to use a down rigger. These are a separate unit to the rod and reel and are mounted to the deck or gunwale of the boat These incorporate a heavy lead weight known as a bomb on some steel cable. Attached to the bomb is a line clip. By clipping the main line from the rod to the clip the desired distance from the lure, to act as a trace, the bomb is then lowered to the required depth, taking the lure with it. This is an extremely accurate method of controlled depth fishing.
 | | A beautiful river rainbow trout. |
Bait fishing from the bank or a boat in an impoundment is very popular but where most anglers fail is they use too heavy tackle. I pays to keep lines around two to three kilo and once again use sinkers as light as you can get away with. From a boat there will be times when no weight will be necessary as casting long distances will not be required. Live baits such as worms can be a good bottom bait but if there is some surface activity try and get some mudeyes and fish one under a bubble float, rainbows will rarely pass up a live mudeye. Artificial bait are becoming popular and they are something I have written about previously in this journal. Power bait from Berkley is possibly the best of them with results at times being quite exceptional even when compared to natural baits fished to rainbows.
Fly fishing is by many considered to be the pinnacle of sport fishing for trout. Out of all the methods it certainly is the one to test the angler dexterity but I am a firm believer that there is a time and place to fly fish for trout.
 | | One pleased angler with a rainbow trout. |
Casting big wet flies in the traditional patterns such as Mrs Simpson, Craigs Night time and Hamills Killer, to name just a couple, in our stocked impoundments during the hours of darkness in summer can provide hot sport to some quite large trout. A similar time of year will see some great dry fly session happening just on dark on some of our highland streams. At such times in rivers trout cannot be caught on any other method because of their selective feeding.
Rainbow Trout are a great sport fish, They fight hard on light tackle, they are easy to handle once caught and because they are stocked into most waters it OK to take a couple home with you. On a plate they are well recognised for their fine tasting flesh, yes Rainbow Trout are indeed the great all round sport fish!
Alex Hickson
FACT BOX: Rainbow Trout
Family: Salmo.
Species: Oncorhynchus mykiss
Habitat: Cold water impoundments and swift flowing highland streams.
Common sizes: Reaches sizes in excess of five kilos in some impoundments. An average fish in most rivers would be around 350 gms.
Preferred Baits: Earth worms, mudeyes, grasshoppers and Power bait.
Lures: Small natural pattern minnows, bladed lures, spoons and Tassie devils.
Flies: Traditional wet such as Mrs Simpsons, Craig Night Time and the various Matuka patterns.
Small dry flies such as Royal Coachman, Bucktail caddis and nymph patterns similar to stone fly, stick caddis and mayfly nymph.
Food value: Good eating can be hot or cold smoked with excellent results.
Sporting Value: Excellent.
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