Mousing for small trout?

[huronfly]

I want to try to catch some trout this year on mouse patterns. Most streams I fish have brookies in the 8-12 inch range, maybe 13 or 14" if you are real lucky, so not very big. There are some grassy banks that seem like an ideal spot to chuck them into and I think I could tie some up that could fit in some of their mouths, but wondering if it would even be in a small trout's diet. Does anyone have experience fishing mouse patterns for smaller fish? Thanks.

 

[mtboiler]

I have never 'targeted' small fish with mouse patterns. But I have caught fish under 10 inches or size 1/0 streamers, size 4 stimi patterns and huge foam hoppers. Not sure why it would not work. My experience with brookies is that they will take just about anything. Wish I could find it but i have a picture somewhere of a 4 inch brookie with a size 4 foam stimi in his mouth. Fly looks like it is about half the size of the fish!

 

[Joey Bagels]

Fish don’t know the “mouse” pattern isn’t a big moth, hopper, beetle, vole, or anything else. They only know it’s there, it might be edible, and maybe it fits in their mouth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bigfly]

As Joey said, they will eat anything that will fit in their mouth.
So tie up some smaller trout sized mice. A wee spring baby mouse maybe?
Generally though.....fishing a mouse is a way to meet bigger fish....
Remember it's puppetry, ya gotta BE the mouse.....sell it.
I recommend a strip set.....

Jim

 

[CutThroat Leaders]

I never caught a very small fish on a mouse pattern, but as mentioned above by others, many smaller fish have been hooked on very large flies. Sounds like fun time. Keep us posted on how things work out. I can think of many small trout that have inhaled large articulated streamers over the years. Best of luck.

 

[falcon53]

Where I fish there are a lot of frogs. I have used mouse patterns and have caught a few fish (usually when it gets dark) although nothing real large. I don't do it on a regular basis just a cast or two before reeling up and heading out. Due to the large population of frogs I believe the trout thinks that's what the mouse pattern is. But again maybe they think it is a mouse. who knows.

 

[brownbass]

At a seminar on streamer fishing given by Kelly Gallop, he stated that trout will eat things half their body length. I have seen a large brown with a smaller trout sticking out of his maw. The smaller trout wasn't half the length of the bigger fish but if I had caught it I would have been pleased. Through the mouse and see what happens.

Bill

 

[philly]

IMHO, because we focus on fishing for trout, mostly with small flies, we ignore/forget the fact that they have fairly large mouths and they have teeth. I found out they had teeth when I lipped an 18 inch brown trout because I forgot my net. At least it wasn't an 18 inch bluefish. Go for it, maybe you'll find out there's a brookie bigger than 13 or 14 inches in that stream.

 

[mikechell]

Undercut banks and over hanging brush/grasses are hiding spots, as you know, I'm sure. I'm not a trout angler, since there aren't any in my part of the Country ... but I do fish for sunfish in all kinds of small water ways.
Nothing beats finding out there's a 3 pound bass in water barely deep enough to cover it's back.

Toss that mouse in there! Probably be belted by the closest little trout ... or you might find out there are, indeed, some much larger fish than you thought in there.

 

[huronfly]

Thanks for the responses so far guys. Unfortunately trout season does not open here for 2 more months but I'm excited to give this a shot! I know even the trout in this size have pretty fair sized teeth, as I have also seen and felt them, you can also see in this picture, a large enough yap to eat some meat, and also some teeth! Little fella's got a bit of a kype on him too.

 

[kevin2]

I do a massive amount of mousing each summer. I do it to try and catch larger fish, which I do. But, oddly, smaller fish hit my house patterns, even my huge mouse patterns. Rarely is the smaller fish large enough to get the lure into it's mouth. ON my smallest patterns, I'll occasionally get the 10-12" fish on and into the net. It is fun, either way.

I fish all sorts of water that you wouldn't normally fish during the day. Flats that don't hold fish, open dead areas that haven't produced even a hit or rise in decades, and then spots that are classic day time dry fly locations. YOU just never know where fish will be at night, even more so with the largest of Trout. So, I just keep on casting. When I get a fish on in a particular place in the river, then I always hit that spot the next time threw. In that way, they are in the locations night after night. It is weird!

 

[ramjet]

I realize the initial post mentioned catching trout on mouse patterns. I'm curious if you are married only to "mouse patterns" or if "fly patterns waking across the top of the water on the swing" might also be acceptable.

Some types of stoneflies and caddisflies scurry across the water (as might moths at night). In your situation, I would think about starting out by casting a stimulator or larger elk hair caddis down and across on a tight line to let it swing across the current and see what smacks it.

In a certain Canadian Province to the West, guys do this in the middle of the day on the Bow River. They call it "skid-b****ing" (or at least they did about 10 year ago). I had a chance to do it there once and it remains a great fishing memory.

 

[flyminded]

Not that it can’t be done ..but I do recall reading someplace, probably Kelly Galloup, something about a size at which trout generally become more inclined to be meat eaters ie. big streamers and mice, as a result of their basic need to intake more that just a bunch of small bugs to sustain and/or grow. I’m pretty sure it was more than 12 inches ...but don’t recall the number, maybe 18 inches, but don’t hold me to that.

 

[huronfly]

I realize the initial post mentioned catching trout on mouse patterns. I'm curious if you are married only to "mouse patterns" or if "fly patterns waking across the top of the water on the swing" might also be acceptable.

Not acceptable! Lol. I skate flies for brookies quite often, and it is a blast... they are often so eager that they cartwheel out of the water with or without the fly. I want to push it a bit more though and see how much protein these little guys will attempt to eat!

It's good to hear some success from other members landing small fish on mice.

 

[kwb]

When I lived on the fly water of the Pere Marquette, it was nothing to go out behind the house on a Summer night and catch a half dozen "small" Trout on a mouse pattern, gurglers are the way to go when targeting smaller fish for sure... They will get big ones too!

 

[ddb]

The standard size mice will not cast worth a damn on light rods that usually go with small stream small trout situations.

An interesting tyng challenge emerges. A Moorish Mouse minimized to 1 1/4- 1 1/2" might just work. The hook could be one of the wide gape #8 s.

Might even catch the eye of an old brown.

ddb

 

[bumble54]

At a seminar on streamer fishing given by Kelly Gallop, he stated that trout will eat things half their body length. I have seen a large brown with a smaller trout sticking out of his maw. The smaller trout wasn't half the length of the bigger fish but if I had caught it I would have been pleased. Through the mouse and see what happens.

Bill

At dawn, one day some years ago, I watched a large Rainbow swimming backwards, or so it seemed, as my eyes became adjusted to the low light I realised that the Rainbow was in the mouth of an enormous Brown trout, no way it could have swallowed it but instinct must have taken over and it grabbed it by the head. Fished my heart out there for weeks but only managed a 3lb Brown, only I say.:humble:

 

[dennyk]

Wednesday night I saw this thread, decided to tie up a pretty pitiful mouse pattern before going to bed. Yesterday I fished it and had a blast, even without hooking any fish. The opposite bank of a stream I fish is all overhanging bushes. My casts needed to be accurate and I could just picture my mouse pattern getting slammed. After an hour and a half I was casting and a gust of wind caught my line and my mouse wound up as a tree decoration, I've got a couple more flies in the works right now for tomorrow or maybe Sunday.

Denny

 

[Bigfly]

I once landed a 28"Cuttie at pyramid. It had an 17" fish hanging out of his mouth......
That's why we fish big streamers........

Jim