When I was younger I remember dreaming of hiking far up into the high mountains and coming upon hundreds of misty lakes and rivers teeming with ginormous trout. Well, now that I’ve been around in the alpine back country, I’ve discovered that most high elevation wilderness lakes and streams just have lots of smallish fish. Especially where these lakes have brook trout, high elevation fish very often tend to stunt due to overpopulation, short summer growing seasons, less forage, and relatively low predation. This doesn’t make it so it’s not worth going however. There is something truly magical about having a lake or even a whole mountain all to yourself. There are also occasionally some reasonably large fish to be found. Some alpine lakes and streams have populations of gammarus shrimp (scuds) that can grow fairly large fish and some go through cycles where a die-off will result in fewer but much larger fish for a few seasons. Doing research and sometimes just being mobile enough to try lots of places can result in some great fish. Be sure to go prepared at the right time, with the right gear, maps or GPS, and of course the right flies and you’ll be glad you made the extra effort to get into the back country.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Rene.
An early morning launch puts you in the mood to go out and fish.

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This weeks Picture is brought to you by Michael.
That’s quite the brookie! His catch was made in North Western Carolina.

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Many anglers simply pack it in and head for the car too early in the evening. The biggest fish in rivers and lakes feed more at night than in the day. This is especially true of big browns and brook trout. Fish are also more aggressive and less wary so you can get close and use movement on your flies. It may sound counter-intuitive, but dark flies, especially streamers, that present a good silhouette are often very effective at night. You can fish by feel with streamers, nymphs, or mouse flies, use sunset or moon glare to see your dry fly’s silhouette, or even fish by sound with dry flies. A couple of things to make sure you have are a headlamp and wading staff to get back to the car safely. Also, if you have to cross the water much in the dark make sure you map it out first in the light to avoid unpleasant moonlight swims. Next time you’re out for an evening of fishing stick it out for a few more hours. You may be surprised at the fish that come out to play in the dark.

On one of my favorite rivers there is a spot where a pod of fish rise pretty consistently. Sometimes I’ve made the mistake of going after them with the same dry fly approach every time without actually really watching what they’re doing. Several times I’ve been turned down by fish that were seeming to feed with abandon and wondered what was wrong. Often rising fish aren’t eating adults but emergers or spinners. When you see rising fish try to analyze what they’re really doing. Fish eating emergers will most often only show their backs, dorsal fins, and tails, and only occasionally a nose. Fish eating adults will be a little more aggressive and you can usually see mouths if not more of their body, if they’re eating caddis they will usually make really aggressive splashy rises. Fish eating spinners, which are spent mayflies, will usually do so in slower water slicks and eddies and will just barely push their noses through the surface film, often making a distinct popping noise. The other day when I finally watched close and saw that my pod of fish were eating mostly emergers I dropped a PMD humpback emerger about 8 inches off a dry fly and ended up catching a nice 20 incher and having a strike on almost every drift for a while. Carefully watching rise forms and reacting accordingly will result in many more fish and less frustration.
Good Luck!

This week’s picture is brought to you by Arnie.
He caught this 30lb Snook of the beach in Juno, Florida. He was using a 1/0 Black Deceiver.

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Who hasn’t had one of those frustrating experiences where a big fish gets away and leaves you shaking your head? I certainly have, and occasionally at very bad times. Although fast action rods in higher line weights certainly help you get your fly out there further it is good to remember that a lighter more supple rod will absorb shock better while fighting fish and will protect tippet and keep flies tightly hooked without pulling them out. Remember, however, that your rod needs to have enough power, especially in the butt section, to turn a big fish or it actually becomes a handicap. I really like a medium action 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 foot 4 weight for most trout fishing situations with fish up to 18 inches or so. Soft 3 weights are great for smaller trout and medium 5’s for larger ones. In salt water or salmon and steelhead fishing try going down a size for more shock absorbing action as long as you have the power to stop and turn fish. Whenever possible, don’t let fish get downstream or near obstacles and pay attention to the angles that you’re using to pull on fish. If you’re pulling straight out of the fish’s mouth instead of back into the fish there is a far greater chance of the hook popping out. Pay attention to how the rod is bending as well. Use the butt for more power, the soft tip to absorb shock, and different parts in between depending on the force the fish is exerting. Unless there are weeds or other obstacles, most pros keep the rod low not high, often even putting the rod under water to better absorb shock. Experiment with different rods and techniques for the different situations you find yourself in and pay more attention to landing fish effectively, it will make for more smiles and more great fish pictures in the end.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Larry That’s a nice shad on his new Z-Axis Spey!

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