Trout mainly consume river or lake-dwelling invertebrates or those that drop into the water from plants and trees along the banks. Some typical favorite trout foods include caddis flies (Trichoptera), members of the mayfly family (Ephemeroptera), freshwater shrimp (Gammarus), and stone flies (Plecoptera). I will discuss in greater detail what trout eat according to the time of year and location.
What Do Trout Eat The Most?
Trout are go-getters and eat anything remotely edible that drops in the river; this could include ants, aphids, daddy long legs (crane flies) and other insects. You can spot a trout easily by their surface ‘rings’ caused by them eating insects from the water surface. Trout like to feed on riverflies in the nymph stage of their development.
The Ferox trout are huge and eat fish exclusively in freshwater, especially arctic charr. Very large trout will feed almost exclusively on smaller fish; this trout is known as the ‘piscivorous trout.’ Trout also eat crayfish and other small fish.
What Do Trout Eat In The Wild?
Trout eat an array of food in the wild, including insects, worms, minnows, amphibians, crustaceans, and rodents. What these fish decide to eat depends on their location and the season. Generally speaking, they are not terribly fussy about their diet as they can be caught using marshmallows and cheese. I will discuss a trout’s diet depending on the time of year and whether the trout lives in a lake or river;
What Trout Eat In The Winter
During the winter, trout become a little pickier about their feed. This can present a challenge to many anglers, so it is essential to have the proper knowledge of foods that trout enjoy to increase the chances of catching trout.
Mealworms can be ideal trout bait, these are the larvae of young beetles, and they are soft, chewy, and tasty to trout. I would use mealworms to catch trout by using a small float and a bunch of mealworms on the end of a sharp hook. I would cast a line straight into the water and let the line drift. A trout should come along and go for the mealworms.
Minnows make an excellent target in the water as trout favor a lively minnow, especially a fathead wiggling on a hook. Rainbow trout can be easily lured by using a fresh minnow on a single hook with light split shots in strong currents.
In icy waters, leeches are ideal for catching trout; however, nightcrawlers are more effective as bait as they are bigger than leeches. Many anglers use live worms to entice whole trout species, including rainbow, brown, and lake trout.
What Trout Eat In The Spring
After a prolonged winter when trout were mostly out of action and challenging to catch, spring can be the best time of year to catch fish as the water temperature rises and aquatic insects start hatching.
In early spring, a hungry trout will eat what he can, and the best source of food at this time are fish eggs and aquatic insects. The aquatic insects of early spring are relatively small. In late spring, the trout becomes more aggressive and more active as the water warms up. These fish will feed on larger and faster-moving nutrition sources like crawfish, minnows, and sculpins; insects are more abundant as the season advances and makes a great feast for trout.
Certain river species like rainbow trout and suckers spawn in the spring and make excellent food sources for trout; they are also an excellent bait option. Later in the spring, worms become a perfect food source for trout.
What Trout Eat In The Summer
Fishing for trout in the summer demands different baits and tactics. In the summer, water temperatures can significantly affect trout feeding behaviors. On some rivers, summer trout fishing is best after rain as heavy rains trigger runoff from hills and fields, bringing food like insects, beetles, and ants to the river. The rains can knock insects off grasses and leaves along rivers into the water and can knock insects out of the air and into the water.
All this food abundance can cause feeding frenzies for trout, providing a perfect hunting opportunity. However, there is a downside to rain showers right after high sun as the ground can be very hot. The water from the hot ground flows into the rivers raising the water temperature far above what is considered a healthy water temperature for trout. Hot water can shut them down and prevent feeding.
Rains on overcast days are better than rains on sunny days. I would also consider fishing for trout after a morning or nighttime rain. I would also avoid fishing for trout in the late morning or mid-afternoon unless I check the water temperature with a decent steam thermometer.
What Trout Eat In The Fall
The autumn is a period of dry-fly activity on most streams as winged ants are abundant, and when they land on the water, almost every trout will feed on them with abandon. Just before autumn, the ants hatched in underground colonies begin sprouting wings and fly off to mate over the next few days. They become attracted to the water when they are dying and make a good meal for the trout.
Beetles and grasshoppers are vital trout foods before the first hard frost. On warm days mayflies will hatch; they come in several sizes. However, small olive mayflies are the most abundant from September to November.
What Trout Eat In Lakes
A lake trout’s diet primarily consists of smaller fish such as alewives, ciscoes, and minnows. Trout also like a range of crustaceans, bugs, and even mice. Cannibalism is also common among adult and juvenile lake trout.
Lake trout are freshwater fish that live in many lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. These sizeable predatory fish feed on small to mid-size prey. However, what they eat depends on what is available in any given water.
Juvenile lake trout in Lake Ontario like to eat alewives and sculpins. Meanwhile, Young lake trout dine on round Goby on Lake Simcoe. On the other hand, in Lake Superior, lake trout primarily feed on rainbow smelt. Adult lake trout prefer more considerable amounts of baitfish or just bigger baitfish.
Aside from minnows and sculpins, trout generally like to eat whitefish, suckers, chubs, smaller yellow perch, and smaller crappie.
In water bodies that can hold larger fish, large trout won’t have an issue devouring foods like walleye, burbot, northern pike, and other trout species like splake, brown, or brook.
As previously mentioned, cannibalism is common among lake trout, especially when there is a lack of other fish species. Otherwise, in waters with an abundance of baitfish, cannibalism is low among lake trout.
Lake trout, both adult and juvenile, dine on plenty of aquatic insects when they are available. Juveniles mostly eat tiny insects and their larvae, while the adults prefer to eat spiders, mayflies, caddies, beetles, and midges.
Aside from fish and bugs, lake trout also eat crayfish, mice, small birds, leeches, and worms.
What Trout Eat In Rivers
River-dwelling trout, like the lake trout, eat whatever is available to them. Some popular river foods include stone and caddis flies, freshwater shrimp, and members of the mayfly family. Trout mainly spend their early life stages in rivers or streams that feed into lakes rather than in lakes themselves.
As they become adults, trout move onto lakes, and unlike river trout, they will move to locate the best food sources. River trout are pretty territorial and can be found in groups near food sources, like hatching invertebrates.
In rivers, they will look for shelter in tree roots, sunken logs, and rocky areas, as these are excellent food sources.
What Do Farmed Trout Eat?
Trout can digest protein efficiently and derive some of its energy from fats and carbs. In trout farming, the quality and amount of feed determine the value of production.
Fingerling and fry trout need more protein and energy in their feed than their larger counterparts. Fry and fingerling diets should contain about 50% protein and between 15% and 20% fat.
On the other hand, larger fish require feeds containing between 38% to 45% protein and between 18% to 24% fat.
Many high-end commercial trout diets are proven more economical for farm fishing than natural feed. Thankfully trout diets have significantly improved in the last ten years. Fish meal remains the primary source of protein. However, ash content has been reduced and protein digestibility improved by utilizing fish meal processed at lower temperatures.
Commercial diets contain higher energy levels that enable fish us protein more effectively. As the energy levels increase, the trout’s use of protein as an energy source has been greatly diminished. Fish oils are the dietary fat mostly used to allow trout to grow more efficiently.
Trout producers generally try to grow the fish as efficiently as possible while maintaining uniform growth and water quality. To achieve this, it’s essential to feed the correct amount of good-quality feed.
