waskeyc,

For trout, low waters combine two negative conditions: Higher water temperatures (70+ is bad for trout) and low oxygen levels. So even if the water manages to stay below 70 degrees, the oxygen levels may be way too low to sustain the fish. That can also hold true to warm water species, they need the oxygen levels to be high enough to sustain life.

It is true that the fish will be more concentrated when levels are low, hence another aspect comes into play, food levels. The 90% to 95% time that fish are feeding under the surface means that those bugs have to be around to be eaten. When stream/river levels get too low, many of the bugs burrow deeper into the rocks to stay in the water, so they are not around to be eaten by the fish.

But, life will sustain itself, one way or another. Many fish will head downstream to better waters and return to their own waters when water levels increase. Some fish get stuck in deep pools and are very easy targets for predators, both human and natural enemies.

In the early 2000's, Montana was going through a 5 year drought. I drove over there for some river fishing and the guide to me to the Beaverhead, the upper portion a little ways below the dam. We walked in to the river and there it was, the famous Beaverhead River. Actually, it was no longer a river but rather a 3 inch deep small stream that flowed into pockets of water. You know the old saying about shooting fish in a barrel, well that is what it would be like fishing there. I told the guide that that was not my style and told him to take me to a place where there was actually a river that had some water in it. So we fished the Jefferson, below the confluence of the Beaverhead and Big Hole.

If you fish those low water streams, get the fish in as fast as you can without hurting them and release them ASAP. Take some time between catches to sit and watch the water and enjoy nature.

Have fun,

Larry ---sagefisher---