Quote Originally Posted by waskeyc View Post
Since there is less water in the stream, but the same number of fish, wouldn't that make the fishing easier? The fish are easier to find, the food is more scarce, and the fish's metabolism would be higher in warmer conditions, right?
The chief reason that low water make fishing more difficult is that fish are more skittish in skinny water. They're much more vulnerable to predation from above (mainly in the form of birds) and it takes a lot to convince a fish to leave whatever shelter it's found just to eat. They also can see you from farther off in clear, still water and will take off at the slightest movement on your part.

Temperature doesn't really play into this (of course you should avoid fishing for cold water species when the temperature is too high). On my local tailwater, it's much harder to catch fish at a flow of 30 cfs than it is at a flow of 120 cfs, even though the water temps are same (and never above 60 degrees). It just take one misplaced false cast to scatter (the clearly visible) fish everywhere.

And with lower and slower flows, the fish have more time inspect your offering. There's no "gotta grab it before it gets away" instinct.

And why do believe that food is more scarce? Yes, low flows often occur in late summer after the major hatches gone away, but the lack of aquatic food is compensated for the increased amount of terrestrial food (and bait fish are easier to catch.)