Wendell (On the Left) with his dad (Wendell Sr) and brother Joe
Since the age of six when I caught my first brook trout on a garden worm, I developed a passion for trout and their exciting world. I was fascinated by any body of water, stream or brook, even the tiny rivulets that form after a heavy rain.
The closest trout streams were a hike with my father over the nearby mountain or through a mile long train tunnel, which saved us a few miles. To this day while driving, I must slow down at every bridge, large or small, either to take a quick peak depending upon traffic, or pull over and check the layout of the stream or river and picture where those beauties might be holding.
Trout are fascinating because they are so perfectly made for their environment : sleek, efficient, beautiful and surprising. Surprising because they always find new ways to show me something new about a trout’s life in their natural habitat: how they move, feed, spawn and behave under all stream conditions.
My Underwater World of Trout videos open a beautiful and magnificent window into a world few have ever seen and are of interest to more than just anglers. The view under the stream is not as bucolic or stable as you might believe. A stream is alive, not just with trout and insects, but with darters, dace and crayfish to name a few. What looks like clear water is chock full of bubbles, sticks, detritus, leaves and haze. Underwater we see different shades of green vegetation, some many feet long, swaying in both slow moving water and flourishing in extremely turbulent water. When directing my camera directly upwards toward the surface from below, I was mesmerized by the sight of bubbles from underneath the water which were created by a small waterfall swirling around sliding into a gin clear pool.
Unfortunately, when I first started filming the hidden life of trout, weather forecasting was not what it is today. The primary criteria in filming underwater is water clarity. This is weather dependent. On many occasions I drove to my favorite stream, a two hour trip, only to find it raining or there was rain during the night making the stream cloudy. So, out comes the fly rod; it wasn’t a complete waste. The controls and monitor for my underwater camera are strapped to my chest and rain makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to film - they are not waterproof. Up to the minute USGS streamflow conditions are a most valuable indicator of water clarity right up to the morning of departure.
Ok, the water is clear, so let’s begin. I never film or fish from a sunny streambank unless I can make myself invisible; the only exception being big water. It is very, very important to wear earth colors on the stream. I wear olive, brown, dark gray, and even black to blend into the background streambank. This includes my darker waders, my hat, and every part of my equipment that faces the stream. Take notice that manufacturers are now making darker color vests. All anglers should dress this way, and above all, move very slowly and keep false casting to a minimum. I discovered this when I was using my fishing buddies as aids while filming on the stream. When they were stationed on the opposite side of the creek, I placed my camera underwater and directed it towards them. Even with proper clothing, those flashy reels, watch dials, and plastic covered licenses gleamed like a beacon. If you sport a white beard, well, perhaps a dark Covid mask will do !
When filming in late fall with snow on the ground, it is impossible to film with that white background because the trout scatter as soon as I come into view despite crawling on all fours. When brook and brown trout are spawning in late fall, don’t chuckle -- I wear a white Tyvek suit !
I am anywhere from six to twenty feet from the fish while filming, based upon the clarity of the water. Depending upon the situation, I am sometimes standing upright in the stream over fast moving or white water, crouched close to the water, prostrate on the bank, or concealing myself in the thicket.
Although it is very common, there are no books on fishing that write about trout holding their position and feeding in fast water in the middle of the water column. If you’ve ever seen a hawk or seagull on a very windy day just holding in one position in the air without moving its wings, it’s because the air is doing all the work. Those aerodynamic properties of air also apply to the hydrodynamic properties of water. All salmonids have that fusiform shape with pectoral fins that jut out like wings. They have the ability to play off the currents and hold their position in that fast water without showing any signs of swimming motions. Scientific research has shown that while "station holding" (the term they use) in fast water, salmonids expend less energy than a salmonid of equal size and shape that is holding in slow water where they must use all their body muscles to swim and hold their position. So, I recommend you fish the fast water and even white water, the fish are there.
Trout are capable of all the above by virtue of the thousands of lateral line microscopic sensors stretching along each side of their bodies. Other electroreceptors, although unseen, line both sides of the head, around the eyes and below the jaw. They sense the current and automatically find the point where they can hold while expending the least amount of energy. Doctor Robert Bachman describes it as “the focal point.” Every trout from the moment it emerges from the egg has this ability. These organs are so sensitive that they can sense the underwater pressure waves made by a swimming minnow or the motion of a dun fluttering on the surface even before the trout sees it.
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