Hi Folks, Some days are the perfect set up for catching big fish. The last couple of days have been that case. We received some much needed rain and it puffed up our rivers a bit. Perfect conditions to shuffle the deck and move some big fish around. If you are a large apex trout, high off colored water is the perfect feeding scenario. Still even though the water came up, the water temperatures are still warm and way above average for this time of the year. You just have to creative and find cold water in either small brooks, spring influenced streams and bottom releases. All above options involve walking and covering water. I had a Brown Trout heaven day with a client yesterday on a stream that was 65 degrees. I would say it was 3 to 5 degrees warmer than I would have anticipated. A Brook trout stream I guided the previous day was 63 degrees. Maybe the highest temp. I have ever recorded on said Brook. The water had risen and become off colored. We actually watched it go up get dirty then drop and clear. 19 trout ate our fly and we landed 13 wild fish. 8 Browns, 3 Rainbows, and 2 Native Brook Trout. Every fish was over 10” up to 18”. Good fun on a 3wt. We figured out pretty quickly to spend our efforts on larger pools and especially big plunges. We landed 1 13” Rainbow on a yellow foam terrestrial pattern. Everything else ate either a #8 Black/Olive wooly bugger or a #8 bastardized olive Whitlock sculpin I tie. I think the technique was most important in drawing so much interest from the fish. We positioned ourselves directly down steam and cast the fly into the plunge. I attached some small shot about 6” above the fly. We would strip the fly quickly and tickle it with the tip. Man, I positioned myself above the action and watched some very large fish absolutely explode on the streamers. All of the takes were with the fish swimming down stream including the 1 dry fly eater. Tough hook set working the fly very quickly towards you in heavy current as a pursuing fish engulfs your fur and feathers. On the Brook Trout front we have been casting #12 Royal Wulff, #10/#14 stimulators in green and orange bodies. Lots of #8/#10 Golden Stone Fly casings on large rocks. A #12/#14 Royal Trude is ever consistent. Pretty much any terrestrial pattern will work. I like ants, beetles, and hoppers tied with foam. Well, we still need more rain. Carry your thermometer. I’m small streaming and bass fishing all week. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
