Fly Fishing Hot Topics

The New World Of Strike Indicators

by MAngler

As Euro Nymphing becomes more and more popular, the strike indicator is going through another major change. No longer is it the bobber we’ve come to know and trust- the indicator is becoming a more subtle and delicate apparatus. And that may be a very good thing.

We all remember the first time we saw a Thing-A-Ma-Bobber. For many nymph fisherman, it immediately became the go-to rig. They never sink, float better than corks and are easy to see. But about 3 years ago, we started to hear rumblings out of the Bighorn valley that trout were becoming wary of the Thing-A-Ma-Bobber and their progeny. Whether it was the heavy entrance into the water, or the actual presence of the indicator above the fly, Bighorn guides felt the indicator was negatively impacting their catch rate. Many Bighorn guides have gone back to balloons, the old Polypropylene indicator or the New Zealand Wool indicator.

One of the interesting aspects of the Thing-A-Ma-Bobber style indicator is its size, and the size most people choose to use. If you’ve ever gone swimming and played with a ball in the water, you know how much air wants to float! Even swimming a 6” ball to the bottom is a struggle. The standard 3/4” Thing-A-Ma-Bobber would float 4 Double Bead Stone Flies (if that was legal in Montana) with no problem.

The larger the indicator, the more it disturbs the water as it lands and affects the drift of the fly. The smallest Thing-A-Ma-Bobber floats almost any Montana nymph rig, and as it floats lower, it’s more sensitive. This applies to any high floating bobber style indicator. Smaller is better when it comes to stealth and sensitivity. Yes, it’s more difficult to see, but that might be a small price to pay, if the low floating indicator does a better job of transmitting strike information.

There’s a variety of multi-color tippets on the market. The Thing-A-Ma-Bobber comes in Red/White, the Thills Balsa indicator is Orange/Fl. Yellow, while the foam Palsa indicator comes in 4 colors. Bi-color indicators are so much better at indicating subtle strikes, as a multi-colored object makes movement detection much easier. It’s why classic spinning bobbers are red and white- easy to see, as the line created by the two colors detects motion much better than a solid color indicator.

The Thills Balsa Indicator is even more sensitive because of the long, tapered white peg that keeps the leader in place. When properly sized and rigged, the white peg is pulled vertically by the weight of the rig. The peg, as it stands tall, makes reading the movement so much easier. It works like a classic old school panfish bobber, that wiggles side to side to indicate a nibble. The white peg, with its additional length, exaggerates the movement of the indicator and makes strike detection much easier.

The Palsa indicators are also a favorite. These sticky back foam indicators land as softly as any indicator we sell. While the double dot shape is designed to have the adhesive back removed and then folded over the leader, the crafty angler has two different colors of Palsas in their kit. Instead of folding the single color indicator over, take two halves of different colors and paste them together. Instant Bi-color indicator. If you need more floatation or a larger size, use two different colors in their full size. There’s no doubt the glue from the  Palsa Indicators leave a residue on your leader, making depth adjustment annoying, especially when trying to go shallower. Again, the crafty Palsa user attaches a tippet ring about 4” away from where the Palsa is attached. The tippet ring allows you to change depth without having to remove the foam residue left by the Palsas. When changing to a new indicator, just put right over the old residue and keep fishing.

The classic Wool Indicators have proven themselves on spooky trout for years. This style indicator is the softest landing indicator we know of, and because it’s wool it’s size can be infinitely adjusted. Make sure you put floatant on the wool. We’re not in New Zealand, where they pull the wool off the barb wire fences, which is raw and flushed with lanolin. Treated wool needs floatant to extend its floatation. It’s very easy to create a bicolor indicator with wool, as well as control the size. It’s our most adjustable indicator, and can be as sparse or as sizable as needed.

The bicolor monofilament is proving to be very effective, and not just for euro Nymphing. Available in Fl. Green/Fl. Orange and Black/White, the colors alternate every foot. While the bicolor tippet can be used as is, many are tying blood knots with the bicolor indicator, and leaving about an inch of tag on each side of the knot. The little tag ends of leader provide two things. They add a little floatation to the rig, as well as providing a twitch when the fly is taken or hitting the bottom. If you’re nymphing, a tippet ring is very useful to keep the blood knotted indicator whole. We have also found that the bicolor indicator works very well when using emergers as well, as the take to your slightly sunken emerger is easily detected. As the bi-color tippet is used more, there are going to be a lot more uses that will appear, and we will keep you posted as we discover them.

There’s a wide world of indicators out there, so much more than the Thing-A-Ma-Bobber and other bobber shaped indicators. Which is not to say the Thing-A-Ma-Bobber is obsolete or useless. But there are other indicators available, and they will widen your nymphing options. You can add stealth to your game, as well as utilizing the multiple colors that help detect strikes. The next time your looking at indicators, widen your gaze. You might find that your catch rates go up when the fishing is tricky.

Bitterroot River Fly Fishing Guided Trip
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

In Search Of Big Trout

by MAngler

Slabside. Pig. Brother Two Foot. Doesn’t matter the slang you use, lifetime fly fishing memories are made as you venture on the water, sights set on the size of the result. But how do you find them? What’s the secret for locating that fish of a lifetime? Here’s a couple of hints to get you off the dinks and into the Dawgs!

The first step is to do a little homework, and go where big fish live. For some, it may be higher altitude lakes or a tailwater river. We try not to rub it in, but Montana has a surplus of big trout, and we know how lucky we are. If your home river is a stocked stream that hits 80 degrees in August, then its not going to hold too many large trout. A big fish in that river may be 11 inches! A trophy if you know about the water, but maybe not the photo op you’re looking for. Once you decide to land a big trout, you need to go where you actually have the chance to catch one, whether you’re driving or flying. It might take a bit of planning.

Big trout are a direct application of trout biology. This is the reason you paid attention in seventh grade. While it should go without saying, big fish get big because they have a continuous, abundant food source. They survive because they have protection from predators, and grow because they have a place to live where they don’t need to expend a lot of energy, which uses up those precious calories. These are the three things trout need to attain size. You need to find big fish holding lies, and there are no road maps. Add to the equation that big trout are natural survivors, or they wouldn’t have gotten so big, and you have a pretty good puzzle to solve.

The first thing to do when deciding to target big trout is put away the dry fly. Sure, there are specialized times when big trout will come to the surface, but it’s not something to bank on. Big fish need more calories to sustain themselves and staying near the surface requires more energy, where most often the rewards don’t cover the energy expenditure. Add in large trout are survivors, avoiding exposure to predators, and the smart money goes under water.

Missoula Fly Fishing Guides

One of the best pieces of advice ever is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! In order to start changing your result, you need to start changing your habits. If you always go to the same hole on Rock Creek in Montana, and always catch little fish, something has to change. And don’t count on an earthquake changing the nature of that hole! Take it a step further. If you always nymph with your indicator set at 3’, you might want to add some length. Change your depth. Put on a smaller fly than normally used, or a larger one. If you never use weight, maybe you should try some. Change your game, change your strategy. If it doesn’t work, so what! You’ve learned something, and while you didn’t go big, you weren’t going big before, so nothing ventured, nothing gained.

This might sound a bit contradictory to what was just said, but you still need to be familiar with the water you’re fishing before starting to take big fish. Very few anglers step into a new piece of water and start taking lunkers. You need to have some familiarity with where you’re fishing before the big fish will start to show themselves. And they do show themselves. Sometimes you find them by clumsy or inattentive wading. Who hasn’t walked to the edge of a river and spooked a huge fish from the bank. Remember that! Remember where you spooked that big fish! They’re coming back to that spot, because they were there for a reason. Make a note, and choose a different path next time.

Floating anglers have this built in, but for the wading angler, the best tool they have for finding big fish are their boots! You are NOT a tree- move your feet. Big trout don’t come find you, you go find them. The more territory you cover, the better your chances are of finding a bigger fish. This can prove to be problematic for the wading angler on larger rivers. Often the topography simply doesn’t allow for a wide range of movement. Which is too bad, as larger rivers hold a disproportionate number of big trout.

That’s another aspect of big trout hunting. The bigger the watershed, the bigger the trout. In Missoula, the Clark Fork River holds the largest Brown Trout and Rainbow trout in our area, simply because it’s a our biggest river. Everything is oversized, the currents, the lies, the food supply. You name it, it’s bigger. By comparison, though Rock Creek has the most trout per mile of any Missoula River, the average fish size is less than that of our other local rivers. When you’re on the prowl for Mr. Big, the journey often begins at a larger river, but this isn’t always the case.

Missoula Fly fishing

As you cover more ground, be alert for any motion in the water. Your movement along the river creates sensations that big trout don’t enjoy, and the first time you spot a larger fish may be as it slides back under the bank or sideways  to a downed log. Again, remember that spot! If a big trout is there now, it’s there later. Pay attention as you walk the river. Remember, you’re not on salary! Slow and watchful beats fast and careless 99 times out of 100. Walk like you’re being paid by the hour. Of course, if you’re walking through ankle deep water, you can move at pace, but the moment any decent water presents itself, slow down, put your head on a swivel, and start looking for places of food, shelter and low current speed.

Sid Gordon wrote a book called How To Fish From Top To Bottom. He was paid to go to lakes and ascertain if there were any fish in them, and if so, what were they. When coming to new water, he used a white pie plate on a harness that he lowered into the water. If he had 6 feet of visibility, he would cast his lure out and retrieve. If he had no strikes, he would make his next cast 12 feet from the last. His theory, and its a good one, is that if a fish is out and eating, they can see your lure. Whether the fish eats or not can’t be changed, but why go over old ground. A 12’ casting radius with 6’ of visibility covers the most water efficiently. A good lesson when looking for any fish, but especially big ones.

Let’s go one step farther. Big fish are wary, and the act of draping your fly line across the water is disturbing. Focus on what you’re doing, and make the first cast your best cast. Results diminish with every cast, so make the first one count. Unless you’re euronymphing, and making a very light disturbance on the water, each successive cast is more intrusive and less likely to take fish.

Earlier, we said look for fish sliding out of their feeding lanes and back under cover. Big trout are exceptionally structure oriented. If they’re not feeding, they’re under cover. When you go in search of big trout, have a lot of flies with you, because you’re going to lose some. Our Bitterroot River is known for trees in the water, grounded, stump end facing upstream. The root wad breaks the rivers flow, carving out deep side channels on each side. Those root wads scream big fish. Not surprisingly, they’re also full of roots! Which will snag your fly and keep it. It’s a risk/reward situation. Are you willing to put your bug where it needs to be, knowing you probably won’t get it back? That is a question every big fish fisherman asks before they cast. Is it worth it? Before you set out to chase Big Papa, you need to know the answer to that question.

Clark Fork Rainbow Trout Downtown Missoula

Contrary to what was previously said, there are people who come to new water and catch big fish. They’re your everyday, average streamer junkie. You know that angler! Runs a 7 or 8 wt., doesn’t have a floating line, and the flies they throw are close to the size of a trout taking mayflies. They catch big fish. Because that’s all they’re going to catch. Biologists (back to 7th grade!) will tell you that a trout strikes only if they are at least 3 times the prey’s size. When you’re throwing a 6” streamer, unless you find a kamikaze trout, the smallest fish you’ll take is 18”!  Specialized equipment for a specialized task. They keep score in a different way. A brutal yellow flash that turns aside at the last instant counts! You moved a fish as wide as most fish are long. It’s a different game when you’re hunting big fish, and a flash is almost as good as a strike! Keep this in mind, those big fish chasers remember that spot for the next time!

Big fish require different tactics, and a different level of commitment. You’re going to leave your comfort zone, and venture into a new area. It can be frustrating. Success is not going to come walking down the river to shake your hand. There will be days when fish count is lower than flies lost. Chasing big fish is a mindset. For many anglers, it’s not important. But as with all aspects of fly fishing, when you decide to learn something new, the spillover will up your game in every aspect. Learning to examine the water closely will pay dividends no matter what size fish you catch. Expanding your boundaries will quickly improve your casting. This may sound funny, but losing flies makes your knot tying faster and stronger. So as you bumble about on the water the first few times you target that Hooknose, know that whether you’re successful in the short run or not, expanding your fish size will expand your skill set, and that’s never a bad thing!

Missoula Fly Fishing Guide Chase Harrison
Montana Fly Fishing Guide Matt Robb
Missoula Clark Fork River Fly Fishing
Montana Guided Fly Fishing Float Trip
Montana Brown Trout - Missoulian Angler
Montana Fly Fishing

Streamer Fishing Resources

13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers
Best Streamer Fly Patterns
Streamer Overview

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Beginner’s Guide To Streamer Fishing

by MAngler

Intimidation Factor

For novice fly fishers, learning how to fish streamer’s can feel very intimidating. Which is strange, because as a technique streamer fishing is the easiest to master. Nymphs and dry flies demand a drag free drift, which is not always easy to obtain. Because a streamer imitates a minnow or leech- creatures which can control their movements in the water- they do not require the subtleties of the dead drift. They can be tugged and pulled through the water in any desired direction. Instead of searching for no drag, you’re creating drag that will entice the fish.

Choosing Streamers

The number of streamers available to the angler is absolutely mind-boggling. They’re found in every color under the sun, and range in size anywhere from 1” in length to 7”. Start to add variables like weighted v. weightless, articulated v. single hook and other variations, and it’s enough to send you back to the nymph section!

Choosing streamers is not as difficult as it looks. There are considerations to take when choosing your streamers. The first is the size of the streamer. It needs to be compatible with the line weight you’re using. The lighter the line weight, the smaller the streamer should be. Think of it this way. If you attached a fly to a Ping Pong ball and threw it, it would go a certain distance, and land fairly lightly. In comparison, if you attached a fly to a baseball, you could throw it much farther, and land with much more disturbance. The Ping Pong ball will carry less weight and travel less distance than the baseball. In a nutshell, that’s how fly lines work for streamer fishing.

If your main rod for trout is a 4 wt., you’ll need to choose flies small enough to be controlled by such a light line. However, if you’re using a 7 wt. for trout, you will have access to much larger streamers. The 7 wt. is a much heavier line, and will be able to control a much larger fly. If your fly line falls between, adjust your fly size accordingly.

The leader also plays a critical role in streamer fishing. With nymphs and dry flies, anglers try to use the lightest tippet possible for a better drift. In streamer fishing, a light tippet is counterproductive. Trout taking streamers are not leader shy- they are slashing at a moving target with very little concern for tippet size. If you decide to fish streamers, a spool of 1X tippet, or a 7.5’ 1X tapered leader will prove to be very helpful. The thicker leader will transfer more of the casting energy to the fly, allowing you to straighten line and leader with less difficulty. The thicker tippet also resists abrasion, which is important, as larger trout often live in some pretty gnarly spots!

Once you know the correct and approximate streamer size, you need to decide what colors you’re going to carry. To simplify matters, we’re going to fall back on some classic thoughts on streamers from the 40’s and 50’. Dark day, dark fly- light day, light fly- bright day, bright fly. Which means on a cloudy day, or in stained water, a black fly will provide the best silhouette. On a lighter day, try a tan or white fly. On a sunny day, try a fly with a lot of flash. So as you choose your streamers, choose with that in mind. The other thing to keep in mind is size. Have a big and small fly in light dark and bright, always remembering the limitations in size as defined by the line size you’re using. Now you have your flies, it’s time to go fishing!

Streamer Tactics

If you’re floating the river, tactics for streamer fishing are quite easy. Since 80% of the fish are found within 10’ of the shoreline, you will be casting your streamer to the edge of the bank, and moving your streamer away from shore. Correct streamer technique has the angler pointing the rod tip directly at the fly, and manipulating the fly with your line hand by pulling on the line. If you use the rod tip to move the fly, the tip is moving backwards, and if the trout strikes near the end of your rod’s backward swing, the rod tip will not be able to move further back far or fast enough to set the hook. The streamer is a large hook, and it takes a lot of force to set it it. Additionally, the trout is slashing at the fly, and the time you have to set the hook is very brief. Having the ability to sweep the rod its entire length while yanking on the line gives the angler a better chance to hook the fish in that brief moment.

A wading angler has a different approach. You will be fishing your streamer across the river, casting at approximately a 30 degree angle downstream. The fly will swing down downstream through an arc. Allow the fly to extend almost straight out below you. The line should extend for two reasons. One, if you’ve attracted a fish from mid river, the extension of the cast allows the fly to stay in the water longer, allowing the trout a longer time to decide to eat. Second, since most fish live next to the bank, the full extension allows the trout by the shore to get a look at the shore.

Once you’ve completed a cast, take a step downstream and do it again. Streamer fishing is about covering water. You want to give as many fish as you can a chance to see your fly. Standing in the same spot limits how many fish will see the fly. As you cast downstream, again, you will be manipulating the fly with your line hand as you follow the path of the fly with your rod tip. The manipulation should be arrhythmic, imitating a wounded or injured baitfish. As a strategy for manipulation, start with small, slower movements, and as you progress, make the movements bigger and more forceful. Don’t worry, you can’t move the streamer so fast a trout can’t catch it if it wants your fly. Let the trout tell you how they want the streamer moved, so make sure you vary your retrieve throughout the day.

Streamer fishing is never the “wrong” way to fish, though the results will vary widely from day to day. At any given time in a body of water, there are smaller fish available for larger fish. So the streamer is never wrong. However, biologists say a trout needs to be at least 3 times larger than its intended prey. That means if you use a 3’ fly, the smallest trout that will eat that fly is 9”, and will probably be larger than that. When you fish a streamer, you are removing approximately 60% of the trout population from eating your fly. It’s too big for those trout to eat/attack. Which means streamer fishing can be slower than other types of fishing, but the rewards can be very big!

Final Thoughts

A last thought on steamer fishing. When thinking of dry flies, nymphs and streamers, the least intrusive type of fishing is dry fly fishing. Since dry fly fishing only disturbs the surface, it affects the least amount of water. Nymphing, because it’s underwater, disturbs the stream a bit more. Streamer fishing is the most intrusive style of fly fishing, as the streamer is subsurface, and pulled vigorously through the water over a longer distance. So if you’re planning on fishing a section of river for an extended period of time, don’t start with streamers. Work the water with a dry, move to nymphs, and then try streamers. Unless you plan to keep moving all day, the streamer may not be your first choice when you approach the river. But when you decide to dedicate some time to the streamer, you’ll find the size of the trout you’re catching will get much larger. Big fish eat little fish!

Additional Streamer Fishing Resources

Streamer Overview
13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers
Best Streamer Fly Patterns
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

The Search For Clear Water

by MAngler

When the rivers are high and brown, there’s a feeling that goes through the Missoula fly fishing community. It’s a combination of frustration, annoyance and a little bit of optimism. If only just, if I just did this, I would find clear water. The eternal optimism of the Missoula fly fisher comes through in the month of May. This optimism is always tempered by a trip across any bridge in downtown Missoula. Before they re-did the Russell Street Bridge, you could feel the bridge vibrate as the brown water raced under it. Not the first thing you look for in a place to fish!

But there is clear water, you simply have to decide you’re going to find it. Lets start at the wrong end of the spectrum, and move forward from there.

The worst place to find clear water in Missoula in May is below Kelly Island. Within 26 miles of Kelly Island, the Blackfoot River, Rock Creek and the Bitterroot River all pour into the Clark Fork River. The entire sum total of all the mud, logs, trees, and anything else that found its way to the edge of the river is coming downstream, and the lower Clark Fork is the catch all for everything. The lower Clark is pretty much the last place to search for clear water.

And from there, we start to follow the general wisdom of clear water in rivers. The further upstream you go, the clearer the water gets. It only makes sense. The higher you go in the water shed, the less chance there is for all the discoloration attendant to run-off to enter the water. So with the Clark Fork in mind, the best place to find clear water is the Warm Springs area. It’s as far upriver as you can go, and the water will be as clear as you can find in May. The same holds for all our local rivers. East and west Forks of the Bitterroot, the Upper Blackfoot and Rock Creek- the farther up river you travel, the clearer the water will be.

On the 3rd Saturday in May, the upper reaches of the rivers become so much more accessible as the tributaries open. The same rules apply to the tribs as do the rivers. The further up you go, the clearer they get. But many tribs are higher gradient, and high gradient streams hold less silt, and run clearer. Tribs are also smaller (Duh) and they have less junk floating down them. The higher sections of the tributaries offer instantaneous access to clearer water.

You’ve had to read this far to get to the easiest answers. If you’re looking for clear running water, the Missouri River is the answer. With the dam at Wolf Creek, the Missouri River is a tailwater. The bottom release water is almost completely unaffected by the mud pouring into the water behind the dam. Comes in dirty, comes out clear! There are two things to take into consideration when thinking of the Missouri. The first is its size. The water may be clear, but the dam can only hold so much water. The water levels in the Missouri go up during run-off, just as if it was a freestone river. The wading access isn’t always ideal. Given an option, the Missouri is a river better floated in May. Additionally, while the Missouri itself isn’t affected by runoff, the larger tributaries to the Missouri are. At the peak of run-off, the Missouri is really only fishable from the dam to where the Dearborn comes in. The Dearborn will be brown and high, and as soon as it enters the Missouri, the entire river clouds up and the fishing slows way down. Keep that in mind as you head to the Missouri in May.

In such a river-centric city, it’s easy to overlook the still water fly fishing around Missoula. It’s good all year round, but most anglers are focusing on the rivers most of the time. In May, many of the higher altitude lakes are icing off, and the fish are looking to feed after a long, cold winter. The ice out can be an amazing time in Missoula, with Brown’s Lake, Beavertail reservoir and Harpers’ Lake coming rapidly to mind as some of the best Missoula still water fisheries in May. And those are just the lakes we talk about. The mountains around Missoula are full of lakes- pick up a gazetteer and you’ll find hundreds. A nice hike in the mountains, and the possibilities of wild WestSlope Cutthroats- it’s a great spring day.

And we’re going to say it, but kind of in a whisper. There are bass in Montana. Big ones. Feisty and ready to eat in the lakes around Missoula. As the Spring warms the waters, the bass start looking to the surface. There’s very little more exciting than watching a Largemouth bass crush a surface popper as you rip it through cover. The blowup is something to be seen. And where you find bass you often find pike, which are also on the move as the warm weather starts to heat up the water. Some fine bass fishing is found in Upsata Lake, Nine Pipes Reservoir and Kicking Horse Reservoir. Remember that Nine Pipes and kicking Horse are on the Flathead reservation, so a separate license is needed to fish those waters. Nine Pipes is also a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, so there are specific rules that apply to fishing there. Consult the regulations before heading up there to fish.

We know, every time you cross the Clark Fork River in Missoula the brown gets you down. But the rivers aren’t off color everywhere. Nor are the abundant high mountain lakes and lower reservoirs. The tribs will soon be open, and the fishing is going to be better than our limited city vision will lead us to believe. It’s just like our local ski slope. The crafty veterans can’t wait for the snow to melt in town, because many skiers think, “Oh well, no snow.” Not in the mountains, and the crowds go way down. Same with the brown Clark Fork, we see off color and think no fishing. But with a little thought, you can find fish through the month of May and the first two weeks of June. The fishing is there, you just have to widen your gaze just a bit.     

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Why You Should Try 10′ Fly Rods

by MAngler

Euronymphing has startled fly fishing with it’s effectiveness and micro control over the drift. I’m going to stress that. Micro control of drift. What’s the biggest deterrent to catching trout? Drag. Why are the best Missoula fly fishing guides first three recommendations when fishing, “mend. Mend! MEND!” It’s fun listening to guides talk. Got this story from a Missoula guide……

“Late June, guy’s in my boat doing jack.  Won’t listen, doesn’t pay attention, the whole 9. Seems like everyone on the rivers doubling up and this guy is about fishless. We get close to another boat, and my guy says, “How’s the fishing?” The reply is, “Real good.” In that confident voice that says we are kicking some serious Adipose fin ass. My guy asks, “What are you using?” Reply, “10 feet of drag free drift.” Cold. Callous. Cruel. Stone Nuts Accurate. Drag is the curse of fly fishing. Want to sum up fly fishing with an insect imitation in 7 words? Make your fly behave like it’s unattached.

Euronymphers learned fast that a longer rod helps control drift. Basic geometry tells us a longer rod can mend exponentially further. (Euclidean geometry. It’s why you paid attention in high school)) So when you’re  highsticking, the higher your stick, the better your drift. I haven’t consistently used a rod shorter than 10’ since about 1995. Oh, I’ve dabbled with my favorite 8’8” 2 wt, I’ve revisited my first 8’ 4 wt, but never for long. I lose too much doing it.

Straight physics tells you that a longer lever is more effective. A 10’ rod is more powerful- you can simply apply more leverage and attain higher tip speeds. As said before, a 10’ rod mends exponentially better than a shorter rod. What does that add up to? You can drop a line weight and still have 95% of what the higher line weight delivers. So my go-to rod is a 10’ 4 wt, not a 9’ 5 wt. Does all the work of the 5 wt, but now I’m throwing one line size lighter. Better for stealth. To quote John Geirach, “Fly tackle has improved considerably since 1676, when Charles Cotton advised anglers to ‘fish fine and far off,’ but no one has ever improved on that statement.” Nuff said.

So why does no one conventionally fish a 10’ rod. I’ve been in the fly fishing industry for 35 years, and I can honestly say I have no idea. I’ve explained it countless times, and people look at me and say that makes complete sense. And then continue to use a 9’ rod. I don’t get it…..

Do have to confess, there is one thing a 10’ rod doesn’t do as well as a 9’ rod, and that’s fight fish. It takes more energy to apply pressure on a longer lever. But we’re fishing for trout, not billfish. I can’t say I’ve ever lost a fish because I couldn’t get enough pressure. Could be I’m not catching big enough trout to know. Ought to ask Bryce. . . . .

Look at those Euronymphers. They know what they’re doing. They’re using a longer rod and having ridiculous success. Might not be coincidence. Just saying. Don’t listen to me! I haven’t  figured out why no 10’rods for 35 years! But try a 10’ fly rod. Do it because its the new, zippy, hot way to fish. Do it because it works. And you’ll come to find out the bonus is all the things I listed above.  It’s a better tool for the job.

Montana Fly Fishing Creek
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

High Water Tactics

by MAngler

Runoff is here, and it’s here to stay. The weather is warm, and the mountains still have snow. We’re going to have high water for the next five weeks. But that’s no reason you can’t fish. It’s not like the fish get to go on vacation when the water gets high. The trout are still in the Blackfoot River, Clark Fork River, Rock Creek and the Bitterroot River, doing the same things they always do. You just need to change your tactics.

Changing tactics means revisiting some basic principles. A trout can’t survive expending more calories than they take in. The high water has dramatically changed the nature of the river, and for a trout to survive, it must find shelter from the fast flowing water. While it might be obvious, the faster the water is moving, the more energy a trout must expend to maintain its lie.  As you approach the river, you’re looking for places where the water is eddying, or very slow, as that’s where the trout must be to conserve calories. Use the foam on the surface to locate these places.

Another basic principle is 80% of the fish are found within 10 feet of the bank. That is so important during high water. The currents are always lesser near the banks, and since trout are looking to avoid the pressure of the water, they are hugging any shelter they can find. This is so much more prevalent near the shore, so much easier for the trout to locate. So you’re working the shore, looking for eddies and slower water.

When you’re standing at the river’s edge, it’s not always easy to see where the eddies are moving, or where the slower water will be. If you’re having difficulty defining the slower holding water, leave the edge of the river and go find a higher vantage point to view the river. It might be a high bank, a bridge or just walking up the bank a little way. As you get further from the river, the patterns of current become clearer. Once you’ve identified the slow water and places of trout shelter from above, then head to the river’s edge and look at those same places up close. It will soon become apparent what the best holding water looks like up close.

Another factor comes into play near the shore once you’ve identified the better holding lies. As the water moves more slowly next to shore, the mud, dirt and everything else the river is carrying will begin to precipitate out. This means near the shore, visibility will be better. We didn’t say good, only better. Because fish have to eat even in run-off, any advantage they can find they’ll take, so slow water next to the shore offers better sight as well as requiring less energy expenditure to stay there. Keep an eye on the weather. A couple of colder days will slow  down snow melt, and the slower water will get more visibility as less debris is entering the water.

Finding access to the edge of the river can be challenging during high water. Gone are the days of long gravel bars and easy access. Right now the rivers are bank full, and running through the vegetation that is normally 25 feet from the bank. Run-off fishing is often about where can you get to the river and safely access casting to trout. 

Safety is no accident in run-off. Not only is the water moving as fast as it will all year, which of course makes wading very dangerous, the high water is moving all the debris that’s gathered on the rivers edge since last June. That means logs, downed trees and other flotsam are floating down the river as well. So even if you’re in shin deep water, if a tree or log goes by and you don’t see it, it will sweep you into the river. Be smart, stay dry during run-off!

It also takes some planning to actually land a fish in run-off. You might find a place to access the river, but you also need to plan how you’re going to land a fish when you hook one. The first move is to use tippet about two sizes heavier than you usually would. Not only are you fighting the trout, you’re also fighting the current. A little extra pound test will help you bring the fish to the net, which is a critical piece of tackle for high water. It’s just too dangerous to get so close to the water so that you can grab the fish. Bring your net and use it. Before you cast, think about how you’re going to land the fish. Check for impediments, and make sure you have a clear, safe space to bring the fish to hand.

99% of run-off fishing is going to be subsurface. Sure, the stars might align, and you’ll run into a Mother’s Day Caddis hatch or an early Stonefly hatch, and even water where they’re rising. But don’t count on it. Be ready for nymphs and streamers. The most important part of your rig may be lead weight. You don’t have much room to cast, and your flies don’t have a long time to sink. Think about it this way. If your flies sink at a rate of one inch per linear foot of river covered, you will need to cast 60 feet upstream to get your fly 5 feet deep to a trout’s lie. But if your fly sinks at one foot per linear foot of river covered, you only need to cast 5 feet above that trout suspended 5 feet deep. It makes a huge difference, so have your lead weights and tungsten bead flies.

The Wire Worm, Pat’s Rubberlegs or any dark DoubleBead Stone are great flies to use during run-off. These are some of the fastest sinking flies we carry, and they will be very useful for getting deep quickly.  But just because the water is big and fast, that doesn’t mean the fish only take big flies. Make sure to drop off a SR Quill Bullet, TH Duracell Jig or any other quick sinking smaller nymph off of the larger, heavier point fly. Most insects in the river are small- so don’t be fooled by the thought big water, big fly. Make sure to run smaller bug off the back of the big one. Don’t worry about using a heavier tippet and fouling up your drift. In fast water, the fish need to make a quick decision to eat or not. Add the difficulty of locating food in stained water, and you’ll find the fish to be a bit less fussy than mid-August. The heavier tippet also helps control the cast when you have an indicator, two flies and two split shot running along your leader.

When choosing a streamer, fly choice depends on the line you’re using. If you have a sink tip or sinking leader, a bulkier fly that may not sink as rapidly is very effective. The bulky fly helps the fish find it in off color water. If you’re using a floating line, a sparse fly with weight and maybe even a split shot or two will get the fly to where the trout are. (Dirty Hippie). Whatever streamer you choose, make sure you allow the cast to fully extend downstream. Work it as close to the shore as you can, for all the reasons that have been mentioned before. Fish where the fish are, so make sure your streamer spends as much time as close to the bank as possible.

It’s not easy to find the prime spots during run-off. The access points are few and far between, and it seems to change every day. A few cold days and nights, and the water starts to drop. Warm temps of course bring the water levels up. What’s good today may be gone in two days. While the access points may be few and far between, so are the anglers! If you’re looking for solitude, it can be easily found in the month of May. There’s not a lot of pressure on the Blackfoot River, Rock Creek, Bitterroot River and Clark Fork River. We can’t say you’ll find the best fly fishing in Montana of the season in May, but you will find some fish. Be safe, stay dry, and good luck when the conditions are difficult!