In article ,
says...

Eventually I crept up to one of the larger pools and stared down
trough the clear water. In there had to be 20 trout all swimming
around and around the pool, as if playing some sort of "trout soccer".
Back and forth they went, swarming, and bumping into each other.

So I guess my questions are two-fold. Any idea what these fish
"soccer" fish were doing? And also, what kind of strategies would you
guys reccomend for the summer months?


Next time you are at the stream, try spending some time picking up
rocks and weeds from the stream bottom and look real close at the
bugs crawling around on them (this is especially fun if you have
assistance from a small child or two.) In a typical trout stream,
you will probably find several different kinds of mayfly nymphs,
caddis larvae, stonefly nymphs, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs,
scuds (freshwater shrimp), crayfish, snails, assorted small worms
and leeches, and probably lots of other stuff too. When you see trout
feeding on or near the bottom, they are probably feeding on any or all
of the above. Sometimes they key in on one particular type of insect,
and it takes some experimenting to find out exactly what they want.

In addition to aquatic insects, there will probably be a lot of
ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, etc. drifting in the current.
An ant or a beetle imitation is always a good fly to try in the summer.

One thing all these have in common is that they are small. Too small
to cast with a spinning rod -- so you will either have to learn to
fly fish (which isn't nearly as hard as it looks,) or use a casting
bubble or some split shot on your line.

You can find all kinds of good books to teach you how to fly fish for
trout, and a lot of the information would be useful to a spinfisher as
well. "Prospecting for Trout" by Tom Rosenbauer has a lot of good ideas
on what to do when the fish aren't actively feeding.

Kevin