Gink and Gasoline
8 Tips for Figuring out the Trout
Gink & Gasoline
How do you find and catch trout on days when there doesn’t seem to be much action?
When the river looks like it’s boiling with rising trout and you’re having to wipe the BWOs out of your eyes just to tie on a fly, it doesn’t take a degree in entomology to catch fish. Sadly, days like that are few and far between and we spend plenty of days on the river scratching our heads and guessing what might get a favorable response.
Most days there is a combination of fly pattern and technique that will put a couple of fish in the net. If you’re struggling with finding that combination, you may just need a method of narrowing down the variables and making an informed decision.
Here are 8 tips for figuring out what the trout want:
1. Take a few minutes to watch the water.
Try to resist the temptation to jump in and start casting. I know, it’s hard. You’ve driven a couple of hours and you’ve been thinking about fishing all week, but take a few minutes to watch the water and see what you can learn.
Are there any bugs at all? If there are adults but no fish rising to them, try the nymphal form. If fish are rising, pay attention to the rise form. Splashy takes may mean they are eating emergers, while lazy sips might suggest spinners. What about water clarity? Stained water might require larger or more brightly colored flies. Higher or lower than normal flows might affect where fish hold.
Look for fish, too. It’s much easier to narrow down choices of patterns and techniques when you have an actual fish to test them on. Before you start blind casting to pockets and seams, see if you can spot a good dance partner.
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