Caddis
wanna be fly fisher.
The scales of a fish are like a book. They tell a story. They tell how old a fish is and if it has been eating well. As a fish grows, rings form around the center of each scale. You can easily see the rings in this diagram.
Find the core or center of the scale (It's not in the middle!). This has been labeled on the diagram. The first rings form when the fish is in its fry stage. If the water is warm and there's lots of food, the fish will grow well and the rings will be spaced far apart. This is the first summer growth. Label this section of the scale.
Next are some rings that are very close together. These grow during the fish's first winter. The water is cold and there is little food. The fish doesn't grow very much and the rings are close together. This is first winter growth. Label this section on the diagram. At the end of this stage the fish was a year old.
The fish then spends another year in the river or lake. Can you find the summer and winter growth for the second year. Label these sections second summer and second winter. Can you find the third summer and the third winter? The fourth summer?
How old was the fish from which this scale was taken?
Some summers are better than others for growth and you can see the evidence in the amount of growth during that summer. Which of the summers was the best? Which was the worst?
Sometimes you can see a special dense area in the winter growth which is a spawning scar and indicates that the fish spawned that fall. But this scar doesn't always show up so you can't be sure that it didn't spawn just because you can't find a spawning scar.
- Author Unknown
Find the core or center of the scale (It's not in the middle!). This has been labeled on the diagram. The first rings form when the fish is in its fry stage. If the water is warm and there's lots of food, the fish will grow well and the rings will be spaced far apart. This is the first summer growth. Label this section of the scale.
Next are some rings that are very close together. These grow during the fish's first winter. The water is cold and there is little food. The fish doesn't grow very much and the rings are close together. This is first winter growth. Label this section on the diagram. At the end of this stage the fish was a year old.
The fish then spends another year in the river or lake. Can you find the summer and winter growth for the second year. Label these sections second summer and second winter. Can you find the third summer and the third winter? The fourth summer?
How old was the fish from which this scale was taken?
Some summers are better than others for growth and you can see the evidence in the amount of growth during that summer. Which of the summers was the best? Which was the worst?
Sometimes you can see a special dense area in the winter growth which is a spawning scar and indicates that the fish spawned that fall. But this scar doesn't always show up so you can't be sure that it didn't spawn just because you can't find a spawning scar.
- Author Unknown
