Are Trout Carnivorous? What Do Trout Even Eat? What You Need To Know.

Trout may be one of the most popular game fish in the United States, commonly being called one of the top five sport fishes in North America as a whole. It’s even been called the most important game fish west of the Rocky Mountains. Rainbow trout thrive in hatcheries, and as such have been able to be introduced in a majority of the streams and lakes throughout the country.

If you’re looking to fish for trout, you’ll need to know a few things about them, and one of the most important things you’ll need to understand is their diet. Are trout carnivorous? What do they eat, and where do they eat it? Find all of that out in this article!

Table of Contents

A Trout’s Diet

Trout are a carnivorous game fish that have a reputation for being fairly voracious. They’ll eat anything and everything that they can get their mouths on. Generally speaking, a wild trout’s diet will consist of five different categories of food, each of which are explained in detail below.

Insects

A large part of the trout’s diet comes from insects. Depending on where you’re fishing for trout, the specific species of insects can change. Insects can be drilled down into two further categories, as well.

Aquatic Insects – Aquatic insects consist of any insects or their nymphs that live in, or depend on, water for their lives. This can include dragonflies, caddis flies, mayflies, midges, and stoneflies, as well as their respective nymphs. Trout will watch the surface of the water for their prey to break the surface tension, and then strike with lightning fast speed, making even the fastest dragonflies susceptible to being eaten.
Terrestrial Insects – Terrestrial insects consist of any land living insects that typically don’t spend their time in the water. These insects typically come near water out of necessity or are blown to it by accident. Trout thrive on these when available as they have no means of escape.

Mollusks

With trout being as voracious as they are, they surely will eat mollusks if given the opportunity. This includes snails and mussels, when available to them.

Crustaceans

Trout will eat crustaceans if available in their habitat, with two types of crustaceans being commonly available to them. One of these crustaceans is the scud, a small crustacean that looks similar to the pill bugs found in gardens. The other crustaceans that trout will eat are crayfish. These are a bit more of a challenge, being that they have tougher exoskeletons than scuds. Typically, trout will only eat crayfish during the molting process.

Amphibians

During spawning season, tadpoles can make up a large part of the trout’s diet, as they are plentiful and easy to eat. Because tadpoles are born in such vast numbers, this time of year often results in a feast for the trout. If given the opportunity, trout will also eat adult frogs, though the likelihood of this is lower than some of the other prey we have listed.

Fish

Trout will eat any fish that’s smaller than them without question. Minnows make up a big part of a trout’s diet when other food is scarce. In addition to small fish, trout will eat the eggs of any fish if they are washed away from the shallower spawning areas that are unable to be accessed by trout.

Trout Are Cannibalistic

Adult trout will eat trout fry or eggs in addition to what regularly makes up their diet. When trout fry are unlucky enough to be away from hiding areas like algae and reeds, they can fall prey to the adults. Trout are purely carnivorous in wild habitats, and will not question what their diet consists of, making them opportunistic and cannibalistic if the situation calls for it.

A Trout’s Habitat

Trout can be found in nearly every large body of water in the inland portions of the United States. While trout are a hardy fish, they do have their preferences. Trout prefer bodies of water with a temperature ranging from 55 to 60 degrees, but can tolerate temperatures anywhere from 32 to 70 degrees. If in a running body of water they will tend to gravitate towards portions of the water that have a gravel bottom, and like to have natural cover available to them, like downed trees or boulders.

For spawning, trout will swim up rivers and streams into slower areas to build nests of gravel and lay eggs. About 21 to 50 days after being laid and fertilized depending on water temperature, the trout will begin to hatch, and will remain in slower flowing water with areas to hide. These areas include algae, gravel and reeds. As they mature, they’ll move further downstream into their adult habitats.

Other Info About Trout

Trout are related to salmon, and can grow quite large for freshwater fish that dwell in streams. On average, adult trout will reach 16 inches in length and can weigh anywhere from 2 to 8 pounds. If trout migrate to larger bodies of water, they can grow much larger than their stream dwelling counterparts, and adopt the name steelheads.

Trout anywhere from 4 to 6 years in the wild, and begin spawning between the ages of 3 and 4. The appearance of rainbow trout can vary greatly, and the top color of the fish can be brown, olive, or even blue. The body of the trout is covered in black spots, and a pink band runs the length of the body on their sides. Their bellies are always silver or pearl white in color.

What Bait to Use When Fishing for Trout

By understanding a trout’s diet, you’ll start to understand what types of bait work best for trout fishing. Check out our choices for the best trout live baits below.

Grasshoppers

These insects are part of a trout’s regular diet, and are a great bait for catching them. Grasshoppers, and the occasional cricket, are easy to find on your own, eliminating the need to purchase bait. To hook them, you’ll start the hook at the base of their head, then push back and through the abdomen. They make a great surface bait, and can be used similarly to a fly fishing lure.

Worms

Worms are always a good bait to use when fishing for trout. Typically, worms are used as a bottom bait, but when used correctly they can be used as a drifting bait, as well. The hooks you use should be barbed to prevent the worm from slipping off. If you are looking to drift your worm, use very little to no weight. If using your worm as bottom bait, be sure to use a heavier weight so the worm can stay seated where you want it.

Waxworms

Very scarcely will you see waxworms mentioned on lists of best trout bait, but rest assured, they love them. Waxworms are a moth larva, and are a fatty treat that trout will devour. They can be bought in bulk online, and can sometimes be purchased in bait shops. When hooking waxworms, be sure to pierce them through the center, allowing the ends to wriggle freely. Depending on the hook, three to four can be rigged at a time.

Sources

Go Natural: 6 Can’t-Miss Live Baits for Hungry Trout 6 Best Live Baits for Trout