snails

[cpierce]

I gill hooked a trout from one of the southeast Idaho res so I took it home. It was really fat and heavy. When I cleaned it, it was full of snails. There were at least 20 good sized snails in it. They must have weighed a half pound by themselves!

I am just curious if anyone has ever tried a snail fly or lure???
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[AverysAdventure]

Havn't tried that but have noticed that trout feeding on snails don't taste very good. I smoke/can any fish I catch thats been feeding on snails. Just my opinion.
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[gstott]

There is a snail pattern that I remember reading about, but I haven't tried it. At certain times of the year, tons of snails float up to the surface, and that's when the snail pattern is effective. You actually fish it on top. Those southeast waters are loaded with them, so perhaps it's something to look into.
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[prvrt]

Never tried snails for trout, but they work great on Carp.
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[cpierce]

Her flesh was a very nice orange color, and it tasted great. Maybe she hadn't been feeding on snails long. I usually associate that orange color with feeding on scuds and nymphs.
Also I filleted and removed all skin and the dark flesh close to the skin. Then give a 30 min soak in salt water. That usually improves the taste of any fish, and is a good prep for freezing. Removing the skin and fat helps with contaminates other than mercury. (farm runoffs)

"You can remove much contamination by properly cleaning and preparing the fish you catch. This is particularly true for PCB- and DDT-contaminated fish. Handling fish will not result in exposure to dangerous levels of contaminants.
First, you should remove the skin, fat, and internal organs. When cooking fish, you can reduce the amount of PCBs and DDT stored in the fatty portion of the fish by grilling, baking, or broiling and letting the fat drip away. However, avoid frying fish, because frying seals in contaminants that may be in the fish’s fat.
Methylmercury is not stored in the fish’s fat, and therefore, there is no cleaning or cooking method that will reduce the amount of mercury in fish." (From Fish Consumption Advisory)
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[AverysAdventure]

If it's orange your good to go. I usually see the off white/yellow color if they have been feeding on snails and try to avoid those areas. Glad to hear she tasted good.
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[cpierce]

prvrt,
Do you have a pattern or picture of a snail fly? It would be great if you did. I really want to try to fish with one just for the challenge of it, and to say I caught a fish on a snail! Even a carp would be great. Actually, I guess carp are harder to catch than most fish I go after.
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[flygoddess]

That is what a RENEGADE is suppose to be. Allot of Snails in Henry and that is why they have the Half Ass, the Henry's Lake, the Traditional and the Mity Mouse fly.

They all work killer.

I have never had any luck with a GLUE SNAIL
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[prvrt]

I have not tied any snails. I used the reel thing bait fishing.
I have seen a pattern for snails that was used in a video over seas in New Zealand for catching big browns. It involved a small styrofoam ball, pantyhose and a feather. They showed that you wrap the ball with a small piece of panty hose, tied it to the hook, then used the feather horizontally around the base of the ball to stablize it and also to make it look like the foot of a snail. I can not remember what they used for glue tho. Regular head cement will eat the styrofoam ball.
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[windriver]

I was just going to say the Mity Mouse can imitate snails. I like the Tex Favorite as well and it is super easy to tie.

I have never really learned to imitate snails as far as the strip goes although I have caught a ton of trout in waters where I know they are feeding on snails.

To places that I have seen snails being the biggest factor are at Weston and Chesterfield. I have seen trout knocking the snails off of plants in both reservoirs.

Windriver
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