Three teas for Trout - Part 1
I originally wrote this last spring for the weekly edition and submitted it, but it was rejected. Hate to see it go to waste, so I'll post it here. Just another way to organize your approach to fishing for trout in moving water.
Well, best I know, trouts don?t drink tea. But for the fly angler, the three teas are fundamental to good results on the water. Since I fish moving water here in the Intermountain West, my references are to that experience. But I think the teas have universal application.
First, the teas, then some ideas about how to prepare them.
Timing - fish where they is, not where they ain?t.
Tackle - feed them off their menu, not yours.
Technique - serve them from a silver platter, not a TV tray.
Trouts prefer certain kinds of water within a stream system. Duh. Which accounts for a widely stated and apparently accepted fact that 10% of the water holds 90% of the fish. Understanding what kind of water they prefer and when they prefer it is the first priority of a fly angler on moving water. It is absolutely essential to successfully fishing new water the first time you are on it.
My first best and hardest lesson in this regard fortunately came very early in my fly angling experience. I had fished the Warm River above Warm River Springs in SE Idaho several times before I started catching fish with some regularity, and increasing frequency. I was starting to feel pretty good about things, catching maybe ten little rainbow and brook trouts over the course of several hours each time out. Along comes an acquaintance one day, on his way out just as I was getting started. ?How did you do?? I asked. ?About 25 in the last two hours or so.? He replied.
Guess I hadn?t been fishing where they was, but spending my time where they wasn?t. Realizing the potential of that little creek was a big step in figuring out what I was doing wrong, or at least not doing right. It took a while, but I did catch on. David Hughes? book ?Reading the Water? was a big help in that regard.
(continued)
Fish where they is, not where they ain't ...
... a couple weeks ago, and for several weeks before that, this stretch of water was completely iced over. Above it were patches of open water, but there was serious anchor ice in most places. Today, after a few days of warm weather ...
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...001_edited.jpg
... this guy was the second fish hooked and first one landed out of that spot ...
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...002_edited.jpg
... out of a dozen plus hooked and seven or so in hand.
This spot, several hundred yards upstream, was also all but completely frozen over and studded with anchor ice for some time ...
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...013_edited.jpg
... and today gave up this guy ...
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...014_edited.jpg
... and two more nice fishies, including another 17" bow.
In between the above two spots, was a riffle that slowed just a bit ( not nearly so slow as the ice that choked it a couple weeks ago ) and had an extra foot of depth and gave up four more trouts today, three mid-teen" bows and a smaller brown.
On a quarter mile of recently all but completely frozen water, between shelf ice, anchor ice, and surface ice cover, I hooked over 20 resident trouts ( one brown, a half dozen plus cutts, and well over a dozen bows ) and landed around fourteen.
John
P.S. Did I mention that getting the fly down was, on and off, rather difficult because of all the slush ice in the creek ??
Note - a similar version of this post was posted on another thread. In case it looks familiar.