LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - PART 3
Last week we took on the issue of successfully presenting a fly to a trout holding along a bank in shallow water. Grass trailing in the water just above where the trout was holding and a complex hatch of various types of insects made the situation more challenging. I presented my solution to this particular situation and this week we want to examine the other three scenarios that I presented in the first installment of this piece.
Great analysis. For the trout below the weed bed i would add a smaller unweighted dropper behind the lead nymph(probably a midge larva).
Everybody loves a good feeding riffle which can be multiple trout if luck runs with you.
The deep flat is by far the toughest,and while the shot at the biggest fish is always tempting i agree hooking a good fish in this setting is a success.
The slow even water shown in the photos indicate this stream is the definition of tough. a stream to fall in love with and enjoy unlocking its mysteries.
Excellent primer, Neil. I've enjoyed following this series. I will say this: it is a low % scenario to be sure, but in the solid grass bed situation you described, if an angler has good depth control and can skim the top of the grass with a good nymph this fish might...I said might...rise a bit and take the fly as it comes by him off the back edge of the grass. But the best way to take a crack at a good fish holding in this tough spot (in my experience) is to move upstream a ways and approach stealthily back down to a casting position above this fish rigged with an appropriate wet fly. Use the downstream presentation to tempt this fish, swinging the fly over the submerged grass bed. Of course, if the water is too shallow or the grass is emergent, neither of these techniques will work. Unless this is a trophy fish or the only fish I've seen in quite some time, I'm with you, Neil. I'm passing this one by.
The two largest trout I have ever caught...perhaps 4 of the biggest 6 or so...were cruising flats, and I took them on dry flies just as you described. I caught all but one of them on dries or terrestrials. But the biggest one of all came on a small, unweighted black mohair leech cast about 2' in front of a cruising brown on a crystal-clear flat with almost zero current that was barely deep enough to cover her dorsal fin. She was pushing water. I twitched the leech ever so slightly when she didn't spook, counted to 3 and lifted the rod tip gently. The line tightened and she turned! It was like saltwater fishing. LOL That is one of 2 trout I have ever landed that weighed in the double digits. I find this sort of sight fishing to cruising trout on flats to be a highly productive form of trophy trout hunting. But it does require good observation skills and a lot of patience. You can't get in a hurry, make a bunch of casts or false casts, etc. You'll probably only get one shot.
It's always good to see some thoughtful comments. It is gratifying to see that someone is actually reading this stuff.