We've settled into a drought again, and most streams are pretty much everything is very low. Fortunately though the dry conditions have been accompanied by some chilly nights, so the small stream fishing remains decent.
Under the typical low water conditions we get just about every early fall here, the game is often convincing fish out of heavy cover, be it cut banks or logjams. Small stream brown and brook trout often react to things impacting the surface of the stream. It happens a lot, and can signal a number of things, the two most important being food and danger. Make a fly "plop" into the water, not too hard and not too soft, and it may attract the attention a fish tucked way into cover. As such, I typically fish small streamers with bead or cone heads that hit the water with just enough of a plop to attract attention, but not so much that it spooks every fish, and reaches the bottom of the water column quickly. Often enough, the fly will get slammed before it reaches the bottom. If it doesn't, I strip it in quite rapidly. Takes are rarely anything less than violent.
A little while back I fished a stretch of stream nicknamed by Alan "The Outback", a piece of water loaded with undercuts, woody debris, and predatory brown trout. The perfect place for plopping streamers. The fishing wasn't fast and furious, and I didn't catch the sort of size I was hoping to, but I'd catch a handful of good looking wild brown trout in quick succession, then go a while without any.
With a few even colder nights recently, there are a number of places I'm looking forward to visiting. It's getting to be big trout season again. It's also my favorite time of year to night fish. So assume I'm doing a bit of that even if you don't see it here.
Until next time.
Fish for the love of fish.
Fish for the love of places fish live.
Fish for you.
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There aren't enugh nights! Striped bass night too. I guess if you time it to do trout when it is low tide at midnigeht +/- 2 hrs and striped bass when it is high tide at midnight +/- 2 hrs that should work. Which means I should be trout fishing tonite. Haha.
ReplyDeleteYou are way overthinking that. At any given night at any given tide I know a few spots that could produce striped bass. I rarely ever base my night fishing for stripers around there being a specific tide timing, I'll look at moon and weather and if I can even make it to the shore, then just choose a spot based on whatever the tide so happens to be. I'll even fish a half dozen spots in a single night, spanning from dusk until a bit before dawn.
DeleteRowan
ReplyDeleteThe Outback looks like it would take some patience when presenting a fly to its surface. Was you wading or picking spots from the bank to fish it? Beautiful trout taken and fantastic stream---thanks for sharing
Wading is the only viable option, the banks are thickly brushed in.
DeleteA nice hand full of fish Rowan. That stream looks like a real challenge. You always find a way to be on top of your game.
ReplyDeleteTie, fish, write, conserve and photo on...
Harder than some, easier than many.
DeleteThis beautiful stream looks like Beatty Run, the western border of the horse farm where I grew up. I clearly remember the view from the back of my mare, head down as she drank from the riffles, plus winter mornings before school, chopping ice so our small herd could drink. Waterways are precious in so many ways! Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeletePleasure is all mine.
Delete