To Know the Trout

Professor Salmersontrotenworth (1886-2010), captivator of the human heart, conqueror of the salmonid mind. He will be missed.

The following is an exceprt from the unpublished manuscripts of Professor Salmersontrotenworth – lecturer, writer, angler, and above all else, a lover of trout.

It is certainly possible to go trout fishing without knowing a thing about fishing for trout. And, it is possible to catch a trout without knowing a thing about what a trout is. However, in the admonishment of the Reverend MacClean – “Anyone who does not know how to catch a trout, should not be able to disgrace a trout by catching it” – the notion is set forth with moral certitude that trout fishing has a higher  purpose than merely catching dinner, or a trophy. And, knowing how to catch a trout means knowing how a trout eats, how a trout swims, how a trout senses danger, how a trout lives – It means knowing how to think like a trout.

Of course there is no denying the simple pleasure of feeling the ravenous tug on the line that induces the same surprise and excitement regardless of how many fish one has caught and regardless of the expectancy of a bite brought on by the perfect cast, into the likeliest spot, with the most appealing lure or fly. The inherent rush from this quick, essential interaction with nature is unfailing. However, it is, when achieved with luck and without an understanding of the prey’s instincts, incomplete and lacking in the honor derived from erudite participation with the natural world. To consciously mimic one aspect of nature in order to bring about a triggered response in a wild creature, armed with an acquired empathy for that creature, significantly increases the impact of the fundamental exhilaration brought about by the unseen strike. Thus, using the human mind to obtain an understanding, through both taught knowledge and practical experience, and to apply that learned understanding in order to overcome the ancient mind of another creature, perfected over millennia, is to combine the natural elation of capturing prey with the prideful satisfaction gained from doing so by comprehending, and then taking advantage of, the prey’s instinctual habits.  And, so, what is a trout?

When people speak of trout they are typically referring to not only true trout (genus Salmo) but also to chars (genus Salvelinus), which are not, scientifically speaking, actually trout.  True trout, Salmo, include the most commonly sought after trout, brown and rainbows.  These true trout are distinguished by their dark spots on light backrounds.  Char, on the other hand, such as Brook trout, have light spots on a dark background.  For purposes of trout angling these differences are merely academic, though chars are typically found in colder water.

Trout in general do require colder water than many other gamefish, such as the mass popular brackish largemouth bass.   Trout also prefer cleaner, purer waters than their other more proletariat gamefish cousins and are intrinsically skittish and constantly leary regarding the presence of danger, the most potent, of course, being the cerebral angler.

Trout unlike any other fish promote, though only sometimes require, a natural awareness of the environment, the hunt, and, in turn, of the inner angler as well.

- Prof. Salmersontrottenworth

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