Tadpoles, anyone?

[Kilchis]

I had an MRI today. After the first quarter of an hour of doing my best imitation of a human suppository I began to find the incredibly noisy space…..confining. Very, very, very confining. To keep from totally losing my shit I began sorting through some of my favorite angling memories.

As I mentally journeyed to many mountain BREATHE IN lakes I realized BREATHE OUT that I have never HOLD YOUR BREATH seen a fish take a tadpole. Additionally, in the early years before I knew better, when I still kept all fish, I never found a tadpole in a fish's gut despite often encountering pollywogs in all stages of development along the shorelines of said BREATHE IN gasp lakes.

Have I just been unobservant, or are tadpoles not trout food? BREATHE OUT.

 

[Northern]

I've wondered the same after seeing black bloblike clouds of them moving across lakes that I know have tons of bass, but never any feeding activity on the schools of tadpoles.
Curious.

 

[troutpocket]

I hooked this tadpole fishing pretty deep, like pushing 30’, in a BC lake a couple years ago. I wonder if they are toxic to predators?

 

[ptychocheilus]

Some but not all. Most amphibians that evolved in a predator-rich environment have toxic defenses. Those are energetically costly to produce, so things that didn't have to (critters that used fish-less waters, high elevation or ephemeral) usually don't.

 

[Billy]

Not tadpoles but one spring day I kept noticing the fish throwing up big spinal cords...

I kept my limit of fish which I rarely ever do and found them full of:

 

[Brute]

Not tadpoles but one spring day I kept noticing the fish throwing up big spinal cords...View attachment 179268

I kept my limit of fish which I rarely ever do and found them full of:

View attachment 179269

Newts?

 

[Billy]

Newts?

Tiger salamander

This salamander is considered rare or uncommon in Washington; it is vulnerable due to its small number of populations, a range that is restricted to a

wdfw.wa.gov

 

[M_D]

First off, what an example of the power of the mind…great way to deal with the situation.

And then on to the REAL answer…..not newts or salamanders, but….

 

[Brute]

Tiger salamander

This salamander is considered rare or uncommon in Washington; it is vulnerable due to its small number of populations, a range that is restricted to a

wdfw.wa.gov

Ill be waiting for your fly pattern…

 

[Brian Miller]

First off, what an example of the power of the mind…great way to deal with the situation.

And then on to the REAL answer…..not newts or salamanders, but….View attachment 179270

I like the alien tadpole musical version...

 

[Tom Butler]

Ill be waiting for your fly pattern…

I bet his craw does a fair job.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

One time at a well known drive to high lake that has tadpoles at the launch, I witnessed trout slashing/feeding on them. It looked like SRC’s feeding on emerging sand lance…..but no, I didn’t have any tadpole patterns.

 

[Northern]

Ill be waiting for your fly pattern…

Funnily enough, among the crappie jigs I was tying for my sister in MN a couple days ago:

A lot of adult salamanders/newts are poisonous, but the larvae are usually not.
Last time I was at her lake they couldn't get enough of tiny pink lizard plastcs just outside weed beds
I haven't tried a fly version yet. Our locals here in W WA are more olive in the larval stage, I believe. I also don't want to take a 1/16 shad dart to the back of my head...

 

[Bambooflyguy]

That oddly enough looks like an alien too…..never know what fish will bite!

 

[Northern]

That oddly enough looks like an alien too…..never know what fish will bite!

Oh!
I know a lake where they feed on aliens...