Better Flows and Sea Run Brown Trout

We got a healthy rain storm last night, which though it did bring the stream flows up also brought the water temperature up by about 10 degrees... not good. I checked my home river and although it's flow was perfect the temperature was a balmy 75. Not good for fishing. It is perfectly normal for a big storm to bring up the water temps like that, in 2014 I recorded the temperature of my home river at 82 the day after a heavy rain storm and the next day it was already down to 64. So instead of looking for wild browns and brookies there I decided to go hunting for some Iijoki strain sea run browns on a very different and much colder stream.

I fished streamers and nymphs on the swing as has proven successful for fooling sea run trout many times before. Today the creek chubs and shiners seemed determined to give me a hard time as for two hours that is all I caught.

Eventually in a nice pool I got a couple of grabs with a black leech. When the fish was rested but wouldn't come back I changed to an Ausable ugly which was promptly taken by my biggest Iijoki so far. If you want to determine whether the fish you have caught is an Iijoki, look at the pectoral fins. Inland fisheries has made identifying these fish easy by clipping one of there ventral fins.

I said goodbeye to the Iijoki and continued on my way. I got a few more takes and a largemouth bass before calling it quits.