I was doing a bit of highland Piking at the weekend in the Lochaber region, ( See my blog if you want a detailed report ) and was wondering if Brown Trout and in particular those in the more Northerly parts of the British Isles feed during the winter OR do they just head to the bottom of the loch when the water gets colder and lie in an almost dormant state until the water starts to warm again in the spring.

As a secondary question, what happens to the insect life in the Loch's ? Does it go into hibernation when the water gets colder or are there still buzzers and such like present. If the trout are still feeding albeit less actively and if all of the insect life is dormant do the trout look for small bait fish or terrestrial grubs which have found their way into the systemt for sustenance?

Many thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this topic.

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Tight Lines. :)

Brown trout can be caught in every month of the year, ive had them all through the winter months picking up deadbaits and on lures . i remember catching one when it was around minus 10 on the big barrhead dam while deadbaiting on boxing day 5 or 6 years ago it was windy as hell and there was alot of snow on the ground, it was caught in 30 ft of water.

Fly life slows down alot in winter but on the right day you will see some prolific hatches when the sun comes out. small black flies seem to catch just sub surface so i imagine something must be there for the fish to be up in the water. All it takes is a wee bit of sun to warm things up. one or two degrees is all it takes.

Havent done any fishing on lochs in the winter up here but i know at the beginning of the season the brownies are usually full of snails.

usually in periods of hard weather they feed hard on the bottom, and i am seeing alot of fish this year with their noses rubbed off leaving raw flesh and bone due to feeding so hard on the bottom.

SO MUCH FOR FEELING PAIN..................theres a debate.

Yes, Alex, the pain thing makes you wonder at times. When stonefly creepers are emerging in the shallows in spring, there is a strong chance of seeing trout with an obviously scrubbed nose end. As far as feeding goes, how often and how hard trout feed will depend on the water temperature as well as availability of food. Their metabolism slows right down in cold water. They don't need to eat to keep warm like us, and any food lying in a cold belly will take a while to be processed and absorbed in a cold spell. When the water warms, their metabolic rate increases. Luckily for them, the invertebrates, small fishes etc, also become more active. TC

In a relatively cold lake, the shallow margins will warm up suficiently at times to attract trout to these areas, because there is likely to be activity in them; and it is the shallows of lakes that hold most of the food forms, just as in riffles in rivers.

Of course brown trout feed in winter. The notion that they don't is as mistaken as those who think that Atlantic salmon don't feed when ascending the rivers.

I few have certainly eaten the lobworms I have had on my hook from time to time!

Hello Ron, thanks for your input to a reasonably active topic.

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Tight Lines. :)

Hi, B-Don,
Yes, midges do hatch on mild days in winter.When I used to fish for grayling pre UDN, I occasionally saw grayling and trout rise in the late afternoon, which was often the warmest part of a cold day. I've had small stoneflies trotting around on the brim of my hat while fishing for winter chub, and once videod a dark olive sitting on an ice-fringed margin pool on the river Lowther, Cumbria. That was while salmon were just about finished on the redds. TC