By James Bradley
September is a month when we usually have low water and some relief from the high temperatures that are usually widespread across the Southeast. Normal early fall conditions with low water means– Stealth! You simply cannot catch a trout that you have spooked and sent running a hundred feet either upstream or downstream. Low water conditions also require some tactics that many anglers do not know about or simply choose not to use. Here’s the short list: observation, learning to use obstacles and cover, and finding a trout’s new holding area.
I always tell clients when fly fishing that they should be stealthy like a hunter. Clumsiness, stumbling, stepping on a limb that breaks, wading too fast, talking too loudly, or allowing rod guides to reflect sunlight off them during a cast decrease your opportunities for hookups as trout have superior senses like eyesight, inner ear for hearing and even a lateral line for vibration sensing.
Observation is a key component to knowing what is going on and where the trout are. Just because you are going fishing doesn’t mean it has to be fishing. Observe the stream from a high bank by staying low to the ground or from behind an obstacle to hide your presence. Take five minutes and watch everything that comes alive. You can learn more about trout and insect behavior in five minutes than you can fishing for ten hours. Have a decent set of polarized sunglasses, as they are essential. It is easy to see a trout rise to a fly, but many will miss a trout sipping a fly. You will have to train your eyes to see the flicker of a tail or to see a shadow of a trout. Again, be observant, as it will pay dividends in the end.
Use obstacles and obstructions to your benefit. Here are just a few to be aware of: I see anglers who will climb up onto a large rock to cast from. This angler has spooked everything around that vicinity. Stay down and behind the rock to make your cast. Most of our mountain streams descend quickly, leaving higher whitewater to our front as we move upstream. Use the higher elevation of the stream to your benefit by making your approach to your casting spot as low as possible. Do not blow the opportunity by walking upright to this casting spot! Use that large log out in the stream as cover to cast from. These little things will make for more hookups.
The trout you caught back in the spring will probably not be in the same riffle or run. As water conditions change, a trout’s lie will also change. This is not necessarily because they wanted to move but because of what Mother Nature is offering them. When low water appears, feeding lanes change. Learn to read the water and have a basic understanding of a trout’s needs. After you learn to read the water, you will know where all the trout’s lies are. You just simply target that spot and possibly hook up with a trout of a lifetime!
James Bradley is an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide. Call him at (706) 273-0764 or look him up at www.ReelEmInGuideService.com. Reel ‘Em In Guide Service operates as an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Outfitter in North Georgia’s Historic High-Country region. They have been offering their services to fly anglers since 2001. They have permits for guiding in North Georgia and North Carolina, offer over 7 miles of private trophy waters across Georgia, and operate float trips on the Toccoa River in GA and the Tuckasegee River in NC.