Healthy fish need to eat, to stay fat, full, and happy. Sometimes they might ingest things that are not normally on the menu. If fish need to compete for food, they gulp down something before a thorough inspection.
What have you found in the guts of fish that you cleaned? I have heard stories about finding jewelry, fingers, license plates, bongo drums, and other shiny things in fish guts. Coins, keys, plastics, and other surprises are common.
One of the first finds I remember was attached, inside a trout’s viscera. The limit for Cutthroat trout, in Yellowstone Lake, was once 3 trout per day under 18 inches. Most of the trout we caught were bigger, but after a lot of catch and return, we had our dinner. As I cut the trout open, I discovered a red spot with a protrusion. Pulling on the bump allowed me to extend a parasitic worm out, 2 inches! The fish lost its tasty appeal. When I asked the park ranger what the parasite was, he told me that they come from the seagull droppings that land in the water and infect the trout that feed on them.
The other day, I fileted several big rainbow trout from Canyon Ferry. Two of the big bows had shiny rocks in their stomachs. Over the years I have also found beer can zip tabs, jellybeans, small sticks, and other trinkets.
A fish’s stomach juices will dissolve most fishhooks in less than a week. On a few occasions I found hookless spinners in fist guts. Screws, nails, washers, coins, rivets, and ear plugs are also common finds.
Fish are opportunistic feeders. They also have their eyes found on the side of their heads, which means that they are blind to what is directly in front of their noses. As water currents flow by, they need to react and feed quickly or miss the meal. Sometimes they eat something unintentional. If a school of fish are together, they need to compete and may eat just about anything that splashes into the water.
Lefty Kreh bragged that if you presented a cigarette butt properly, a fish would d eat it. The drift needed to be natural, and the tippet small, but even the smartest trout would take a puff. His book on “Presentation” reinforces what Lefty said is the most important part of fly fishing. He proved this on the stream many times.
You are what you eat!
Montana Grant
