Learning from stomach pumping fish.

[Mark Hanes]

I finally got a stomach pump on the advice of Dejon from our winter fishing trips.  Well I have been using it on the streams around Brookville for a few weeks and I must say I have learned a few things that I did not know before.

First is that fresh stocked trout eat everything.  One Brook trout really stands out since he was packed with hemlock needles.  He was keyed in on the brown ones since only one of the 100 that were in him was green.  What does this tell me if your fly is drifting naturally you can catch that fish!  LOL

I am also seeing now that the local grammon activity must be starting to pick up since some of the trout had a good bit of Pupa in them.  I am guessing this weekend the hatch will start with the peak being mid next week.  That info alone is great since I miss the start of the hatch some years.  I am also seeing a good number of smaller Mayfly nymphs and this is on streams that really do not have much mayfly activity other than a lot of spotty hatches. 

If you are not bothered by using them get one so far they seem invaluable to me in the information they can give an angler. 

I will keep everyone posted on my current findings through using this stomach pump throughout the year.

[Todd Oishi]

 Throat pumps (also referred to as stomach pumps) are indeed very beneficial in determining the colour and size of insect that a trout has ingested. When used properly, a throat pump allows the angler to take samples from the esophagus or throat of the fish.

In many cases, these food items are still alive and help to determine the stage of the hatch or the insect's life cycle, without injuring or stressing the fish. But when used improperly these devices can severly damage or in some cases, they can even kill the fish.


For those who have never used one before; here is a step-by-step explanation of the proper procedure for using a throat pump:

 First thing to do is to insert the tube of the pump into the water and squeeze the bulb end, this will empty out the air in the bulb. Then you release the bulb while keeping the tube in the water, this will cause the water to be sucked into the bulb.

 Now you can slowly insert the tube into the mouth of the fish. This is the delicate part, you must be careful and not force the tube down the throat. Carefully insert the tube and slowly slide it down the throat about 2 inches at the most.

 At this point you can slowly squeeze the bulb to push the water down the throat and into the stomach of the fish. This will cause the water to mix with the stomach contents.

 Next you slowly pull the tube out of the fish while slowly letting the bulb go, this will cause the water mixture inside the fish to be sucked back into the bulb of the pump.

 Once the pump is clear of the fish, carefully release it. now you can take the pump and empty the contents into a glass vile or jar.

 Inspect the contents of the stomach inside of the vile. Look for any movement in the contents. This will indicate what the fish was feeding on last, and give you an idea of what to tie on.

This is a delicate procedure, so please be careful, and keep in mind that it is not advisable to pump the stomach of any fish under 14″ as this can cause damage due to the size of the fishes throat.

[Mark Hanes]

Great info Todd!  It really took me watching and learning from Dejon before I became comfortable with doing it myself.  It just amazes me what you can learn from it even on streams that you are already familiar with.

[Dejon Hamann]

Great step by step Todd.

If I could add just bit.  Remember to follow all the other rules of good C&R when you're pumping a fish:

-Wet your hands/net before touching the fish.
-Keep the fish in the water in the net while you're preparing your pump.
-Keep the fish out of the water for only a few seconds if possible.
-Holding the fish in the net and upside down can help give you a firm yet nonharmful grasp and also tame wily trout.
-As soon as you extract the pump, put the pump down on a rock or upside down in your pocket and concentrate on a healthy and quick release of the fish.  Then take the time to inspect what you've found. 
-Buddy up : Pumping and releasing fish safely is always easier with 2 sets of hands!

As Todd mentioned don't pump fish that are too small, but also don't pump fish that are stressed out from weather or being played for along time. 

[Domenick Swentosky]

This is a delicate procedure, so please be careful, and keep in mind that it is not advisable to pump the stomach of any fish under 14″ as this can cause damage due to the size of the fishes throat.

That's good advice.  I once witnessed a couple guys on my home stream poking around in the guts of 8" trout.  Clearly, no one had laid out the "how to use the turkey baster" to these guys.

I hope anyone who doesn't have full confidence in their ability to use the baster will just stay away from it.  Tie on a BHPT.  They'll take it.

I went through a spell of using it for about a half year but haven't kept it in my vest since.  It kind of feels like you're molesting a fish.  At the very least, you're invading it's personal space.

Enjoy the day.
Domenick

[Todd Oishi]

Good advice Dejon and Domenick!

I completely agree that throat pumps should only be used by those who understand how to use them properly. I can tell you from first-hand-knowledge that there are a lot of anglers up my way that object to their use. In fact... a past captain of our national fly fishing teams, severely frowned upon the use throat pumps during our team practice sessions, and asked us not to use them while we prepared for national and international comps (the USNFFC included).

I should also add that they have been banned during the official practice and competition sessions for our nationals up here in Canada...

[Steve Sawyer]

One of the first times I went fishing for trout, I went with a guy who was "Mr. Conservation."  The whole time we riding to the stream, he was telling me how important it is to use barbless hooks to aid in the quickness of release.  He also said that one should use a net to land the fish quickly as to not overstress the fish during a fight and make sure that net has rubber netting so not to remove an unnecessary amount of slime coat from the fish, which it needs to help protect itself.  He said that you should always have wet hands before you handle a fish, again for slime coat protection, and limit the amount of time that fish is out of the water.  After a several year fishing for trout, I realized that he had some very sound advice, which I follow to this day.  Though, there is one part of the story that I left out.  After we arrived to the stream, this gentleman quickly hooked about a 10 inch trout.  He landed it quickly in his net, removed the barbless hook, wet his hands, and then pulled out what I thought was a turkey baster and shoved it down this fishes throat.  I remember the fish squirming around in his hand and after he released the fish he said, "hmmm...a stonefly."  I was mortified by him deep throating that fish with this plastic wand and was wondering why he needed to know what was in the fishes stomach when he already knew what fly a fish would take?  It just seemed odd that he, who obviously cared so much about a trouts well being, would take a chance of harming one in anyway with that stomach vacuum.

[Don Strandberg]

There probably is a lot to learn from this. But I could never bring myself to pump a fish. It just doesnt seem right. Just my opinion.

[Todd Oishi]

After reviewing this thread, I thought I should clarify that I am not opposed to the use of stomach pumps (sorry if this came acrosss the wrong way or took this thread off-track), but feel that more education is necessary to ensure that fish aren't harmed as a direct result of their use (see the directions in my original post). They are very useful and in some cases they reduce the tendancy for anglers to spoon or dissect their fish in order to examine their stomach contents.

I should also add that I personally know a fair number of fly fishers that do use them quite regularly and with great successful. For instance; you'll see how to properly use them if you ever watch any of Brian Chan's or Phil Rowley's instructional stillwater fly fishing videos or television shows.

They can be VERY effective and won't harm fish IF they are used properly by those that are educated on when it is appropriate and when it's not in the best interest of the fish to use them...