This week’s picture is brought to you by John.
They pulled these nice browns on the Central Plateau in Tasmania Australia. As locals, they get to sell their fish for profit on the market, from what we’ve been told this more than covers their fly fishing expenses!

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With warmer Spring and early Summer weather comes high water in many rivers and streams. This definitely presents some difficulties but doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still get out and fish. Here are a few of my favorites and some techniques for fishing them in high water:

Tungsten Bead Hot Wired Prince Nymph - The added weight of wire and bead will help you to get this fly down in swift currents. I like to fish it both as a dropper and under an indicator in slower pockets along shorelines and behind boulders.

Olive and Orange Blossom Specials - This flashy streamer in both colors is a deadly pattern for high water. Fish it with or against the current in slower water where fish congregate to escape the heavy currents of runoff.

Peacock and Royal PMXs - As the high water of runoff begins to stabilize and clear sometimes you can entice a fish to rise. Whether it is because they are seeing occasional stoneflies or just out of curiousity this fly often brings them up. Because of its buoyancy, it is also a perfect dry fly to use with heavy tungsten bead droppers.

Try these patterns the next time you encounter high water on your favorite stream.

This week’s picture is brought to you by John.
A nice brookie in the quiet forests surrounding the Nantahala River, North Carolina.

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Everybody has heard of 10 and 2 o’clock as they relate to fly casting. Just as important, however, are the clock positions of 12 and 6 o’clock.

Picture yourself from immediately above standing on a clock face and facing 12 as you cast. A perfect cast from this aerial view will have the rod tip travelling forward and back in a straight path and stopping at 12 and 6. This is also referred to as tracking. Good and efficient casters exhibit good tracking. A common thing to avoid is casting around your body which for a right hander would look like 11 and 7 on the clock. The 7 o’clock back cast is a very commomon error, especially as casters try to cast long distances.

A good way to practice is to videotape yourself casting from exactly in front or behind and make sure that you rod tip travels forward and back in a straight line.

Concentrate on this aspect the next time you cast. Casting with perfect tracking will improve your efficiency, accuracy, and distance.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Brittney.
Just your average day in Alaska floating down Kenai River. Nice catch Brittney!

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Sometimes you get in a situation where you just don’t have the right bug. However, there are some versatile patterns that might be close enough. Here are a few of my favorites:

Zebra Midges - Sounds funny but this bug works not only as a midge but as a mayfly, caddis nymph, and more. Carry it in a variety of sizes.

JRS Nymphs - This pattern can imitate both stonefly and mayfly nymphs and is a great attractor.

Parachute Adams - No surprise here. This fly is THE versatile dry fly. Works for almost all mayflies and midges.

Clouser Minnows - This is the do-it-all streamer. Works in fresh and salt water for almost every fish species, and with the several color options, it imitates a huge range of baitfish.

Try these in a similar size and color options as your local bugs the next time you’re in a pinch.

This week’s picture is brought to you by RC on the North River, Virginia .
Can you say..nice day for doubles?

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Many anglers take the Spring off because of high dirty water. Actually many of the biggest fish of the year are caught during runoff. High flows often force fish to move to the edges where they are more easily accessible.

Some good high water flies are large dark nymphs like stoneflies, dark streamers like black slumpbusters, zonkers, and wooly & krystal buggers. Focus on slower pockets against the shorelines and be willing to cover water. Many times you will find pockets that hold lots of fish in a small amount of available good water.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Gordon.
He pulled this nice bow while fishing at dusk at Hot Creek in California.

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When most people think of trout fishing in lakes they automatically think of sinking lines and stripping leeches and wooly buggers. While this is certainly a tried and true tactic sometimes it isn’t the best tactic in the early season.

Early season trout tend to feed closer to the surface than they do later in the year. The shallow areas of 2 to 10 feet or so are often where more prey is congregated in the early season because this is often where the water warms first and brings insects and other trout food to life.

My favorite tactic for fishing the top 2 to 10 feet of water in the early season is to fish a dry fly with a dropper nymph. Simply cast and let your flies rest where you think fish will cruise. Vary the depth of your dropper until you find fish.

Also, though its not conventional, don’t be afraid to twitch your flies occasionally. The rising action of the nymph when you do this often entices a strike. My favorite dropper fly for lakes is the bi-color brassie. This is a great imitator of chironomids and other midges. Don’t be afraid to also try other nymphs like pheasant tails, prince nymphs, hares ears, and scuds.

In windy weather or with heavy nymphs you may want to substitute a strike indicator for the dry fly. This will suspend your nymphs at a certain level and you can easily vary it until you find the fish’s preferred feeding depth. Give this a try on your next trip and hopefully it will pay off in lots of great early season fish.