A Fish Is To Water A Mole Is To

[Elnora Heidrick]

Ireally am sorry to hear that. I know that I didn't give them long to live, but I'd be happier if I was wrong. I just don't feel that they stand a chance in a small, new tank (without natural plankton to eat). I think the people that have had some success, kept them in larger mature tanks, with deeper sand beds, and good water quality. I'm really not sure what food would be acceptable; but I'd think that a diet live Synchaeta rotifers (or even commercially prepared filter feeder foods) would work better than crushed flake food.

I don't want to encourage you to keep difficult animals; but since you have them, what do you run for filtration? You need to maintain water quality while providing enough food. A good protein skimmer can help.

Without a protein skimmer, I'd at least have a power filter (for mechanical filtration). Remove the filter floss temporarily while feeding, then put it back in to filter out the excess food. Rinse or replace the filter floss often. You can use Poly-Fil (100% polyester fiberfill). It's pretty cheap for the amount you get (just make sure that it doesn't say that it's fire retardant). You can find it in the craft department in most Walmart stores.

Again, I'm not saying that any of this will work. I'm not really sure how to care for them (I've never attempted it myself). I'd also frequently perform large water changes (in attempt to maintain good water quality). Finally, remove any dead or dying mole crabs.

Hmm.. seems to me that water movement would be important for filter feeders, and it doesn't look like there's enough movement in the water with just an air stone... actually there doesn't seem to be much water at all

We would catch those things right at the edge of the shoreline, so they typically had a HUGE amount of water rushing over them constantly. I doubt a tank exists that could provide that much flow without creating a sand storm. I'm talking about a strong enough flow that it would nearly take your feet out from under you...

"I went to lip him so I could remove my hook and that's when I saw something in its mouth," Mackinney told The Sun this week. "I was hesitant to remove the hook, but upon further inspection I realized it was a mole inside the fish's mouth."

But fish eat weird shit all the time. One study, published in Ecology of Freshwater Fish, suggests that some freshwater species consume mammals more often that we think. The 2013 paper documented the predation of shrews by rainbow trout and Arctic grayling in Alaska's Wood River basin, over a 13-year period.

The study observed these fish zoning in on shrews when their populations were at their highest. During these periods, 25 percent of trout and grayling more than a foot long had shrews in their stomachs. It's unclear, however, if the shrews were swept into the water by flooding, or if the fish actively hunted them from the riverbank.

"Largemouth bass [like the one Mackinney caught] are particularly well-known for eating small mammals of various types. Anglers have known this for a long time," Daniel Schindler, a professor at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and one of the study's authors, told me in an email.

This certainly seems to be the case, judging by Bass Pro Shops' extensive line of mouse-shaped bass lures. ("Once you experience the exhilaration of a trout attacking a fly intended to imitate a fairly large rodent, it's hard to return to nymph, streamer or even dry fly fishing," angler Chad Shmukler mused for Hatch.) There are even videos of people feeding live mice to bass, though as a former pet mouse-owner, I have a hard time watching them.

"That's an awesome photo. I have not heard of a mole being fed on by bass or any other fish, but I'm not surprised," Peter Lisi, a post-doctoral scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Limnology, and lead author of the 2013 paper, told me in an email. He noted that bass eat lots of terrestrial and semi-aquatic animals.

"I would guess that a bass would have no problem digesting a mole if the bass is large enough to swallow it whole. They might have some issue passing the long front claws. Yikes! Cartilaginous tails and spinal columns of mammals are the last thing to be digested in fish stomachs," he said.

"Largemouth bass eat everything, including fish, crayfish, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and birds. When they are introduced to areas where they don't naturally occur, then they can wreak havoc on the natural food web," Tierra Curry, a Center for Biological Diversity senior scientist, told me in an email.

Less surprisingly, sharks are also known to gulp down some strange stuff, too. As pointed out to me by Trevor Branch, an associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, things reportedly found in tiger shark stomachs include: a common mole-rat, a South African porcupine, a blue duiker, humans, and a whole lot of our trash.

When I think of the Mole Fly, I can't help but remember the adage that you can't judge a book by its cover. An inarguably simple pattern, the Mole Fly doesn't sell itself or strike a sense of confidence in most onlookers. But I have said many times that if I were limited to one fly to cast to trout rising to Baetis or midges, the Mole Fly would get my immediate nod.

I wish I could say that the Mole Fly came about after many seasons of trial and error, but must admit that it was born simply as a late-night exercise to fill my depleted guide boxes. It didn't strike me as "The One" at the time, but a few drifts over picky fish proved that this fly was special.

I attribute the success of the Mole Fly to how it sits in the water, with the hook eye parallel to the surface and the purpose-built, sodden beaver fur body hanging in the film with the CDC wing perched atop.

Placing a fly pattern, or a natural for that matter, in this position exposes it as a crippled emerger, with the nymphal body hanging low, and the adult just beginning to emerge onto the surface. Fish know that these bugs are trapped and therefore easy prey, and seem to not only eat them with relish, but actively seek them out.

In the days since its inception, the Mole Fly has made short work of more picky fish than I care to admit. I half-jokingly call this fly "No Fun" as it works so well there is hardly a doubt in my mind that it will get eaten. Those are strong words, and I truly mean it when I say that my friends and I all have put this fly to use with great effect on some of the toughest trout in the world.

Step 1Start the thread immediately behind the hook eye, and form a short thread base back to about the 75 percent point.Step 2Select a thick CDC feather with a thin stem. Pinch the tip of the feather down into a clump and tie it to the shank just behind the eye with a couple of tight thread wraps. Hold the thread taut while you pull the end of the feather back to shorten the wing to about a shank length long. Step 3Anchor the wing with a few more tight wraps of thread. Reach in from the back of the hook with the tips of your scissors, and trim the feather butts at an angle.Step4Wrap thread over the tapered feather butts and well into the hook bend. Return the thread to the 50 percent point on the shank.Step 5Dub a thin strand of beaver fur onto the thread, leaving a bit of bare thread between the top of the dubbing strand and the hook. Use the bare thread to work back to the end of the thread base, making the first turn of dubbing about halfway down the hook bend. Wrap forward to the base of the wing, forming a slight taper. The tapered butts of the CDC wing help build the correct body shape.Step 6Use your thumb and forefinger to preen the wing back, and then bring the thread to the front of the wing just behind the hook eye. Hold the wing out of the way while you whip-finish the thread at the eye. Clip the thread.Step 7Use a dubbing brush to rough up the beaver fur body. I like the dubbing to shag out so that it wets quickly and sinks the back of the fly adequately.Step 8After you clip the CDC feather on your first Mole Fly, clip the center stem just a little deeper to eliminate the thick stem and leave a V-shaped notch in the tip of the feather. Then stroke the tips together so the same feather can be used for at least one, and maybe two more flies.Mole Fly (Brown) Tying InstructionsHook: #16-24 Tiemco 2487.Thread: 8/0 gray UNI-Thread.Wing: Natural dun CDC.Body: Brown beaver dubbing.Photos: Charlie Craven

While not a terribly visible pattern, the Mole Fly is a relatively good floater owing to its natural CDC wing. As I alluded to earlier, I specifically use beaver fur for the body of this fly as it easily gets saturated, and sinks into its proper position below the surface. Experimentation with more buoyant synthetic dubbings made flies that didn't break the surface film, and flopped on to their sides, rather than vertically as afforded by the natural fur.

I typically fish the Mole Fly on the end of a long, 12-foot leader ending in 5X or 6X tippet. I believe a single fly allows me more accuracy and control over the placement and drift of each cast, but many of my friends who aren't blessed with excellent eyesight fish it along with a more visible pattern like a Parachute Adams, and set the hook at any disturbance in the area of the indicator fly.

One note on the care and handling of CDC flies: While not compatible with most commercial fly floatants, CDC is an incredibly versatile and buoyant tying material that easily lends itself to small patterns.

To begin with, in its natural, untreated state, CDC is notoriously buoyant, and even when fished continually dries out easily with a mere fluffing. To amplify this natural attribute, I apply a light coat of Tiemco Dry Magic, a thin, gel-type floatant that won't mat down the delicate fibers. This application seems to keep the feather a bit more waterproof and for a longer period of time.

Once I've caught and released a trout, I hold the fly in my forceps and swish it back and forth forcibly in the water to rinse away as much fish slime as possible. I then dry the wing with a Wonder Cloth DryFly Patch.

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