Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 9 - Flipbook - Page 10
They only have a three, maybe
four, month window of time
to get in a full twelve month
life cycle, as compared to a
regular lower 48 rainbow
that might have nine or ten
months to get everything in
before the water cools to a
point that their metabolism
slows to a crawl. So, in three
months, an Alaska rainbow
trout has to find a girlfriend,
find a house or two and, it has
to eat everything it can. And
by eating everything it can,
I mean everything starting
with the highest forms of
protein first. In spring, voles
(mice) and leeches are the
prominent source. As summer
comes so do the salmon
producing first eggs, then
flesh after the spawn is over.
Fall brings on the sculpin,
more leeches and whatever
else they can find. All that
along with finding a girlfriend
and a couple houses in three
months. Its a lot of living.
10 | NWFISHING.net
But more importantly, the
“mousing.” While in spring
and summer hordes of mice
or voles, red back voles to be
specific, make their seemingly
ridiculous trek transitioning
from tundra animal to
aspiring olympic swimmer.
Why? I don’t know.
Some say its because of some
migration pattern. Maybe.
Others say its because they
are seeking the same things
all mammals seek. Could
be. Why a tiny little vole
would jump into a raging
river flowing at upwards
of ten knots is beyond my
level of good reasoning and
understanding. Why do voles
jump in the river? My opinion
is because they just do and
I don’t care why as long as
trout continue to eat them. If
you are more worried about
why they do as opposed to
the consequences of it, you
should probably change the
channel. I heard re-runs of the
greatest Bob Hope Christmas
specials were going to air in
July. You might check that
out.
The first time I watched a
rainbow “mousing” left a
scorching imprint of what
really happens in the bush.
Eat or get eaten. Brutality
in its purest form. This poor
little red back vole was just
swimming across the river in
a narrow channel that didn’t
seem deep enough to hold
a rainbow. Its swimming
along just trying to get to the
other side for who knows why
and this two foot rainbow