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.

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.

Some trout seem to have seen it all, especially those in our more heavily fished rivers. These fish are often nearly impossible to catch on dry flies because they learn to identify leaders and they avoid them like I avoid real jobs.

It isn’t, however, impossible to catch such educated trout. One way to approach these fish with a dry fly is to position yourself upstream of the rising fish and present a realistic dry fly pattern like a comparadun in the appropriate size and color with a cast that quarters across and downstream. Land your fly just upstream of the fish with enough slack to obtain a drag-free drift long enough to reach the rising fish. You may even need to reach your rod toward the fly as it drifts away from you to get just a little more drift.

The idea here is that you are making it so that your fly arrives over the the feeding fish before the tippet and leader which can tip it off that something isn’t right. One thing to remember is that with such a presentation it is important to wait just a little longer than usual to set the hook so that the fish can close its mouth or turn with your fly; otherwise you’ll be likely to pull it straight from their mouth. Try this technique the next time a fish with a PhD turns down your best stuff.

Sometimes the bugs that you see are not actually the same bugs that the fish are eating. Even during fairly substantial hatches some fish may key on other insects that are out in far smaller numbers. As you can imagine, this can be frustrating. A friend and I saw this happen recently and were perplexed for a time. Luckily we figured it out and in the end did quite well.

Maybe the best way to really see what the fish are eating is to get in their same current lane, downstream of where they are feeding so as not to spook them, and get right down near the water to actually see what’s drifting. If the bugs are still in the emerger stage they can be harder to see so the help of a seine may be required. Sometimes the bugs you’re seeing in the air or near the banks are not what you find is actually most prevalent in the feeding lanes or sometimes the fish are simply selectively eliminating the more numerous bugs in favor of something they think is particularly tasty or nutritious.

On the fishing trip I mentioned we found a few baetis drifting in the middle of lots of midges. On close inspection we could see that there was probably 1 drifting baetis for every 100 midges but the fish were only eating the baetis duns. Changing to a size 18 parachute adams did the trick. If you find yourself in a hatch but seem to be getting lots of refusals it’s good to try this to see if this might be happening to you. Hope it works for you.

Reading my tips here you probably see that I fish primarily for trout. I love trout. They are beautiful, live in awesome places, and are a challenge. So sometimes I have to remind myself that all kinds of fish will eat a fly.

This year I have plans to chase the majestic golden freshwater bonefish (carp) more. Carp are incredible fly fishing targets. They are tough to sneak on and tough to cast to and they are really powerful fighters. I am also going to fish largemouth bass and big bluegills in May, which is awesome. I have plans to fish for tiger muskies and smallmouth and will do a saltwater trip for Roosterfish if things work out. These are just the tip of the iceberg as far as fly fishing goes.

One of the great beauties of fly fishing is that no matter where in the world you are you probably have fish near you that will eat a fly. I think that sometimes people focus on trout and forget to just get out and catch fish on a fly rod. Look for areas near you that have fish, whatever type they are, and then make plans to catch them with a fly rod.

Recently I fished with a friend that missed quite a few good opportunities due to the way his dry fly leader was constructed. He’s too good a fisherman for me to say anything but I wish I could have. Here are a few things to remember about your leader when fishing dries.

A dry fly leader should generally be longer and finer than a nymph or streamer leader. I like 9 to 15 feet total, tapering to 4x, 5x, or 6x depending on where and what I’m fishing. The idea in dry fly fishing is to get as dead a drift as possible and the more loose leader you have between your line and your fly the longer you can make your drifts.

Not only should your leader be longer but the tippet section of the leader should be longer as well. Tippet is lighter and more supple than the butt and middle of the leader so it takes longer to straighten and to put drag on the fly and doesn’t catch the current that causes drag as easily. Many fine fishermen even use what may be referred to as a collapsible leader. A collapsed leader that has such a long fine tippet section that it often doesn’t transmit enough energy to turn the fly over entirely on the cast. A collapsed leader, however, provides a benefit on the drift since there is slack between the dragging fly line and the fly giving the fly a longer dead drift.

Don’t be lazy and keep tying on to the tapered leader as you work your way up it. A short thick leader will turn the fly over too hard and drown it and won’t allow the presentation nor the drift you need. Simply add tippet to the end to keep your leader long and you’ll be happy at the result it has on your dry fly fishing.

In my part of the world we’re counting down to ice-off. This is a magical time of year to be a fly fisher. Hungry fish and warming water often result in phenomenal early season stillwater fishing. Here are a few things to remember when heading out for ice-off lake trips:

1. Remember, although several invertebrate food sources may be plentiful in the early season, they are likely to be smaller than they are later in the season because they haven’t had much opportunity to grow. If your usual leech patterns are size 8 try going to 10s and 12s. If your lake has chironomids try 18s and 16s rather than 14s or 12s.

2. Fish slow. Our finned friends are cold blooded and move as fast as the water is warm to a point. If you get out as soon after the ice melts as you should the water will still be cold and may even still have some ice floating in it. Intermediate and other slow sinking fly lines are usually much better than fast sinking lines that you have to strip in quickly to avoid snagging the bottom. I like clear intermediate lines in 5 and 6 weights. Fish leeches or nymphs like hare’s ears, bird’s nests, prince nymphs, or zug bugs on your intermediate line with a slow strip and watch and feel closely for strikes on the fall even before you start stripping. Or try fishing a static rig under an indicator with chironomid and other midge or nymph patterns like bi-color brassies, lightning bugs, or chironomid pupa patterns. Adjust your depth until you find fish.

3. Dress for the weather. If you are wading, float tubing, or kicking a pontoon boat wear fleece pants under your waders and good wool socks. Even if the day looks like it will be warm be ready for Spring snow or other eventualities of the season with a good wading jacket, layered clothing, and gloves.

4. Be safe on the water. A surprise swim this time of year could be a disaster so make sure you get off the water if things get rough. Also, watch for floating ice. It may seem strange but I’ve seen sheets of ice move and almost trap people in tubes between them. A huge sheet of ice moving with the wind has amazing power.

Ice-off fishing is almost here for me. Maybe it’s time on your water. Make sure to get out and try it on your favorite lake this year. See you on the water.

No time of year seems to get the fishing juices flowing in me more than the late Winter/early Spring. Snow and ice are finally melting, water is warming but isn’t roaring yet, and the fish know it’s time to wake up and eat.

Several hatches happen and various tactics work this time of year but here are possibly my 2 favorite ways to catch hungry Spring fish:

Blue Winged Olives - In my neck of the woods BWOs can start to show by the end of February and go into May. I love tossing olive Comparaduns, Sparkle duns, and Paramergers. It’s also usually effective to drop a Humpack Emerger or Barr’s Emerger about a foot behind the dry for picky fish. Look for the little sailboat-winged BWOs riding the currents as the water warms in the mid morning to mid afternoon. Fish will stack up on current seems to sip them in.

Lake Run Hogs - Many rivers and streams that flow into lakes have Spring runs of ginormous trout. Rainbows in various forms, including steelhead, cutthroats, and a few others are Spring spawners and travel up tributaries in search of good spawning sites. This is a great time to see and pick off a few of these monsters. I search out smaller tributaries with clear water and I like to watch for big bows that are on their way upstream or for browns that are following. They are usually aggressive and will attack streamers like Orange and Olive Blossum Specials, Slumpbusters, Egg-Sucking Leeches, and Zonkers. Please don’t bother fish on spawning beds though - anthropomorphize for a second if you need a reason to refrain.

With a foot of snow yesterday and today but good weather in the forecast, words can’t explain how ridiculously excited I am to get out to try these tactics! See you on the water.

Hopefully I don’t sound smug or seem like I’m bragging in any way here, but some guide friends of mine and I have noticed that many if not most people we guide just don’t wade well. Our proficiency is probably mostly just a result of time spent in the river but here are some things to think about and to try when you venture into or across fast water:

1) Keep yourself turned to the side with your feet spread in heavy current. Water pushing on one leg, rather than both, will exert a lot less force and with a wide stance and most of your weight on your downstream foot you’ll be able to lean into the current and stay on your feet.

2) Take a kind of a practice step first to test the footing before actually stepping and putting all your weight on one foot. This will help you to find and stay off of unstable rocks.

3) From experience - don’t fish and wade at the same time. Unless you really can do 2 things at once this is just a bad idea. Just concentrate on wading while you wade, then stop, and then fish - works out better I promise.

4) Carry, and use, a wading staff. I have to say “and use” because I’ve seen people with wading staffs neatly folded up in their cases go for a swim. The best wading staffs for convenience and ease of carrying are the telescoping or collapsible variety.

5) Wear the best footwear. Felt soles are ok on freestone streams but for all purpose fishing, hiking, and serious wading I love boots with Aquastealth rubber soles. Go with Aquastealth soles and studs for maximum traction. Be wary of other “sticky rubber” that may turn hard. It won’t provide the same kind of traction in the long run. Almost all good wading boots come with felt, Aquastealth, and studded options for soles. Korkers have interchangeable soles so you can get all of these options for use in different situations.

6) Actually practice wading. For many fishing situations it is actually better to wade less but when things are slow practice walking on round rocks and in moderate currents.

7) This is the most important one - fish more! The more time you spend in the river the more natural it will become.

See you on but hopefully not in the water.

Even though out here in the West it’s still very much Winter, many tailwaters, spring creeks, and lower elevation waters should start to show signs of life in the next several weeks. Midges are usually the first really good hatches on these waters. Here’s a hatch timeline to follow for fishing early season midges:

In the morning it will probably be cold so fish won’t want to move far to eat. Start with larval patterns fished near the bottom in deep holding water. I like Rubber midges, Ghost midges, and Zebra midges.

As the water warms, fish will start to move to seams and other good feeding lies. Fish them with midge pupae and emergers like WD 40s.

As it gets warmer near mid day watch for noses breaking through the surface and go to parasol midges, dry midge emergers, and eventually single adult midge patterns. Don’t get in too big a hurry to fish dry midges, even though you may be seeing fish on the surface, you’ll probably still catch more just under the surface until they really get going.

In the early afternoon midges will start to form mating clusters and trout rises will start to be more splashy. Switch to midge cluster patterns like Griffith’s gnats, Double midges, and even small Renegades.

As the day and the hatch winds down some fish will move toward slow slicks, eddies, and foam lines to feed on spent midges. Flies like the Real Midge and CDC midges will often fool these picky feeders.

Following this timeline should help you to maximize your chances of capitalizing on early season midge hatches and will hopefully lead to some of your best fishing days of the year.