This week’s picture is brought to you by Bob.
“I caught this fatty on the Toccoa River headwaters in north Georgia in March, 2009. I brought him to the top on the first cast!!” Nice catch Bob!

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Over the years I’ve seen some amazing conservation work make a huge difference in the quality of fisheries and riparian habitats. A famous stream in Utah comes to mind. A large government funded bio engineering project that is still maturing has added many additional river miles, public access, habitat types, and lots more healthy trout. Unfortunately, during that same time, I’ve seen several other places effectively lost as far as quality fishing and healthy ecosystems are concerned. Development, over zealous grazing practices, water use issues, and overuse from an increasing population will continue to encroach on wild areas especially fisheries and the precious resources like water and watersheds that keep these areas alive.

I think the recent economic nose dive is, if nothing else, at least educating us about the dangers of excessive consumerism and the need to save for rainy days. As anglers we can’t just be consumers of our fishing environments. We have to be conservationists too if we want to remain anglers or if we want to catch any fish when we go out in days to come.

One of the best things to do is to get involved locally first. Find a fishery or wild place that actually matters to you personally and is close enough to really watch the effects of conservation and start there. Look to your local fly fishing clubs for ideas or programs to get involved with. Most of those clubs are also affiliated with national organizations like Trout Unlimited or the Federation of Fly Fishers that also do great conservation work on a larger scale. If your area doesn’t have a club then start one or figure out other groups that can get things done. Working on your own is a last resort. Groups just have more muscle.

If time is an issue then donate funds. If funds are an issue donate time and hard work. I promise that when you catch a fish in a place you helped to preserve he will feel 5 pounds heavier and who knows he may even be 5 pounds heavier if you do really good conservation work.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Kelly.
A great brown brought to the surface at Henry’s Fork, Idaho. Awesome catch Kelly!

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I often used to look at big rivers and just give up on the areas with big heavy currents. Then a few years ago I watched a guy wade into an area with some serious lean-upstream current on the Green River and start catching fish after fish. Obviously pockets behind rocks, areas with debris, and shorelines that create slower water will hold the majority of fish, but there are fish right out in the heavy water and very often they are big and they are feeding.

Many sections of river that don’t appear to be great fishing areas actually have hidden structure on the river bottom that provides current breaks. Large rocks and weeds, even if they don’t protrude out of the water or even really form much suface disturbance, can still create fish holding areas. Freestone rivers can actually hold fish almost throughout the river despite the surface currents appearing too swift.

The best way to fish these types of areas is to use very heavy nymphs or lots of weight or even both. Fish in very heavy water probably won’t come to the surface. As you fish your nymph rig, you will have to remember that your flies will only be in the fish holding zone along the bottom for a short part of their drift, usually at the very end of the drift, so it also pays to cover the water methodically by fishing several casts in each reachable current lane and then moving one careful step upstream or down(down is easier) and fishing several more casts in each current lane. Good drifts are much harder to attain in heavy water so keep trying different leader lengths and amounts of weight. Also remember that the surface current is moving much faster than the current on the river bottom so avoid drag like the plague with several mends per drift. I usually mend both the line and indicator slighty upstream to avoid the indicator causing drag too.

Strikes in this kind of water are usually quick and very noticeable so you will know when you get one. Also the battles in this kind of current are often epic even from smallish fish. You’ll think they should be filming you for “A River Runs Through It 2″ on almost every fish.

This week’s picture is brought to you by Scott.
Nice catch out of the Yampa River at Steamboat, Colorado. Spring is on!

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This week’s picture is brought to you by Ian.
This is my buddy Matt (holding the fish) and his first steelhead! We fished hard all weekend and he hooked up and lost 6-7 other fish. This fish hit during the last 10 minutes of the trip and made it all worthwhile! Great job Matt on a beautiful fish, its one I won’t soon forget.

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Spring is finally here for most of us or should at least be right around the corner. For those looking for a chance at fast fishing and huge trout Spring means getting out for some fast and furious ice off lake fishing. Find out when the ice is melting on your favorite big trout lake and you can catch some of the biggest fish you’ll catch all year. Here are a few tactics to maximize your chances of catching monster Spring trout.

Find lakes that still have partial ice cover and fish the edges. Fish get used to being under the ice out of the direct sun and so when it melts it takes them a while to want to come out from under there. Fish right along the edges of the ice from 1 to 10 feet deep with streamers like buggers or leeches and you’ll often get fish to come out and attack your fly. Use a tube or pontoon kick boat to position yourself for casting along these edges.

Use smaller streamers, leeches, or nymphs this time of year - size 14 to 10 or so. The natural insects aren’t very big yet so fish sometimes don’t seem to want to chase size 8s or 6s that might work great in the summer.

Locate fish by covering water with a leech pattern or wooly bugger but then switch to a static presentation of 2 or 3 (where legal) nymphs fished under a strike indicator. Many fish in cold water may still be too lethargic to really chase buggers but if you dangle a tasty little morsel right in front of them they often can’t resist sipping it in. Chironomids, bi-color brassies, and other nymphs like pheasant tails are the best patterns to start with in this rig. Be willing to change depths often until you really get into fish. Most of the fish will kind of stick together at the same depth. Remember too that the optimal depth will change with time of day and changes in light conditions.

A quick word of caution if your fishing on partially iced over waters - Be very very careful not to get stuck between two ice sheets as they come together. Those things weigh an enormous amount and could crush your legs or leave you stranded on top of unsafe ice. I’ve seen ice sheets come together on a large reservoir and send shards of ice flying into the air. I’ve also seen them dig up good amounts of earth when they hit the shoreline. Picture plate techtonics on a smaller scale - not something to get in the middle of.

Find out which of your local lakes hold big trout and get out there as soon as you can when the ice starts to melt. You’ll likely be rewarded with some bruiser fish and good times.