By David Hulsey
After all the rain we had in March, hopefully April has a little more sunshine than clouds! With all the rain this winter, good high water fly fishing and wading skills were required to produce fish in less than ideal conditions, on many occasions. First off under high water flow conditions, safety is number one. Watch for newly formed holes or debris that have blown out or blown in, so to speak. The speed of the water is usually much faster and you can’t wade as deep. In other words, don’t do anything stupid and you’ll normally be fine. Having a sturdy wading staff will be an essential tool for the wading angler. Get a good one, don’t go cheap when your safety is concerned, as I have seen junky staffs collapse and make folks take a scary swim or two. Knowing your stream inside and out will not only help you stay safe but also catch some nice trout in the process.
High and discolored water can hide an angler from the fish but also hide the fish from the angler. You will be able to get extremely close to the fish but probably won’t be able to spot them. Knowing where the slower water pockets and holes are can really up your chances of hooking up. During strong flows, trout will not only naturally seek these areas to weather the storm and conserve energy but big’uns will use these spots for feeding on the smaller fish packed into a small area. This is a time for big streamers enticingly swung through these areas with a chance to pick up a monster trout. If the water is really dirty, like dark green to brown, a big white or flashy articulated streamer is hard to beat. Make sure it’s getting deep enough to get in their face. Adding split shot may be necessary. I always use Fluorocarbon leaders and tippet when fishing subsurface with streamers and nymphs. Not only is it less visible and abrasion resistant but it sinks much quicker than monofilament lines.
Nymph fishing at these times can be productive too if you can reach the bottom. Additional weight and tungsten beads are the name of the successful game. Big rubber legs on your nymphs and brighter colors than normal seem to work better. Getting a big rainbow’s attention while a million things zoom by him can be quite the challenge. Hot pink San Juan Worms, Egg patterns, Big Rubber Legged Stones and Wooly Buggers dragged every few inches along the bottom, are on the top of the list. Dry Flies are normally a waste of time except in pockets and eddies along the bank. I’ve caught a good number of trout in these spots after being surprised by a rise in these mini slow water pockets.
Some high elevation streams clear faster than others after flooding rains. Knowing which ones these are can save your weekend. Give us a call at Noontootla Creek Farms when every other fishery is blown out a lot of times we are still fishing!
Give David a call to book a class or trophy trout guide trip at Noontootla Creek Farms. We can make learning to fly fish easy and fun! You can make the switch.