Advice: High & Muddy Waters
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MoscaPescador
Well-known member
Fish the edges.
Fish behind rocks.
Use flies with UV flash.
I'm sure others can chimb in.
Dennis
Fish behind rocks.
Use flies with UV flash.
I'm sure others can chimb in.
Dennis
jaybo41
Well-known member
You covered most of my thoughts Dennis:thumbsup:
Flies with a large profile and dark colors are a good way to go. I wouldn't leave home without some black buggers or leeches.
Flies with a large profile and dark colors are a good way to go. I wouldn't leave home without some black buggers or leeches.
jpbfly
Super Moderator
+1 what the others said....+ fish shallow waters near the banks when the water gets a bit clearer with black nymphs or even black dries
mcnerney
Administrator
The others have all given good advice. Besides black for a color, I also like Chartreuse (sp?) for visibility in off colored water and out here in the Rockies stoneflies are a good choice as well as San Juan worms. Good luck and be safe.
itchmesir
Well-known member
I'm not sure what you mean by "Behind rocks" but if you mean directly behind them that is probably one of the last places a trout will be... right behind a rock is where very turbulent water lies... you can see it during clear water... sand and rocks tumbling behind the rock... this makes a trout have to spend a lot of energy for little reward... you best bet is to look for a rock... and then look down stream to the next rock... likely the trout will be holding in front of a rock downstream from a rock that is splitting the current...
Depending on how high the water is... look for pockets of flooded grass... along the edges... where the water is slower... also the trout stay rather shallow in high muddy water as lower down in the column the water just gets more turbulent... don't be afraid to get right up to that pocket of slow water and high stick your nymph through the pocket for optimal success...
Big flashy flies with tungsten heads will also be your best bet... leave the small stuff at home
bigjim5589
Well-known member
I'm in agreement with what the others have said. When I fish high, muddy water, which isn't often, I prefer lures over flies. ( Bass or Striped Bass) There are others who prefer dark colors, and some as Mcnerney has said, that prefer bright colors. Both can be productive, because they're easy to see at short range in muddy water.
Generally, you want something that pushes a lot of water, provides a great deal of vibration, makes a good amount of noise, and has a big profile. All of these help the fish find your offering.
My preference for flies is for black & big, and when possible something that includes rattles, or other materials that may add some noise.
Generally, you want something that pushes a lot of water, provides a great deal of vibration, makes a good amount of noise, and has a big profile. All of these help the fish find your offering.
My preference for flies is for black & big, and when possible something that includes rattles, or other materials that may add some noise.
HUH?
itchmesir
Well-known member
Have you ever looked at the water right behind a rock? It's turbulent.. That's why you'll find holes behind them... from heavy current digging into the sediment behind it... Not trout friendly... and the food goes right around the rock... as the current pushes to the right or left of the rock... a trout will not be directly behind a rock... but rather off to one side or the other of that rock... usually at a distance from that rock... not directly behind itHUH?
---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 AM ----------
Here you can check this video... start at 6:00... Tom explains it better than I can
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9hg0DoSdt0]How to Read Trout Streams for better Fly Fishing with Orvis' Tom Rosenbauer Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]
brookfieldangler
Well-known member
Two thoughts...
First, pounding the banks is probably one of the most effective ways to fish high and muddy water. The water is almost always slower there than in the middle of the river. The bank offers 2 areas of friction that help slow that water down - the first is the bottom of the river and the second is the vertical bank itself. This not only means that the predators have to work less to hold a position but it also means that the prey it self has to work less hard. The name of the game in the fish world is efficiency (least amount of effort for the biggest reward = success). This is a perfect equation for predators.
My second thought with the whole no fish behind rocks is that despite Tom's wonderful explanation, I call BS. I have caught so many fish that were staged behind (downstream) of a boulder that I just don't buy into it. It's the same principle that I made in my first point. While there may be some turbidity to the water behind a rock, it is less current than in the main current to the left or right of the rock where the foam is. This spot also serves as a prime ambush spot for feeding fish. As prey washes by under the foam, the predator can dart from the slower water behind the rock, grab their food, and dart back to the slower water; i.e. less energy and big reward= success.
The trick to that is to not necessarily place your fly behind that rock but rather where they foam is just as natural food would do.
First, pounding the banks is probably one of the most effective ways to fish high and muddy water. The water is almost always slower there than in the middle of the river. The bank offers 2 areas of friction that help slow that water down - the first is the bottom of the river and the second is the vertical bank itself. This not only means that the predators have to work less to hold a position but it also means that the prey it self has to work less hard. The name of the game in the fish world is efficiency (least amount of effort for the biggest reward = success). This is a perfect equation for predators.
My second thought with the whole no fish behind rocks is that despite Tom's wonderful explanation, I call BS. I have caught so many fish that were staged behind (downstream) of a boulder that I just don't buy into it. It's the same principle that I made in my first point. While there may be some turbidity to the water behind a rock, it is less current than in the main current to the left or right of the rock where the foam is. This spot also serves as a prime ambush spot for feeding fish. As prey washes by under the foam, the predator can dart from the slower water behind the rock, grab their food, and dart back to the slower water; i.e. less energy and big reward= success.
The trick to that is to not necessarily place your fly behind that rock but rather where they foam is just as natural food would do.
bigjim5589
Well-known member
Any species of fish will get out of currents that drain their energy. That may be behind rocks if the rock is large enough to provide sufficient break in the current. I agree with itchmesir, that not all rocks will provide enough of a current break. Muddy water certainly makes reading the water more difficult to determine if a particular rock provides enough of a current break. However, unless you're extremely familiar with a section of water, if you cannot determine visually how much current break is provided, then a few casts doesn't hurt. I've caught fish in places that I don't normally find them due to the higher water, so, a rock, or other obstruction can provide a sufficient current break under such conditions, particularly if it's close the bank.
troutdoorsman
Well-known member
When the Truckee is high and dirty I fish streamers often. Big bulky water pushing streamers. I'll throw a few different colors until I find one that is working.
dabluz
Well-known member
I like to use big bright coloured streamers when fishing murky water. Streamers like the Mickey Finn, Tri-Color, smelt patterns that I tie myself....all of them having some added flash like flashabou. My favourite size is a 4 to 8 X long size 2 streamer hook.
For brook trout, I fish the streamers deep. I add a short length of lead core line to the end of my fly line. I have a few different lengths of lead core line with a loop at each end. I just add the lead core between the fly line and the leader. I don't like to add lead to the streamer because I want the streamer to be as light as possible in order to reduce snagging on the bottom. The tapered leader is a good 6 to 9 feet long. This way, the line may rub on bottom but the streamer is above bottom.
If the water is very muddy, I prefer using a big hammered silver flutter spoon on spinning equipement.
For brook trout, I fish the streamers deep. I add a short length of lead core line to the end of my fly line. I have a few different lengths of lead core line with a loop at each end. I just add the lead core between the fly line and the leader. I don't like to add lead to the streamer because I want the streamer to be as light as possible in order to reduce snagging on the bottom. The tapered leader is a good 6 to 9 feet long. This way, the line may rub on bottom but the streamer is above bottom.
If the water is very muddy, I prefer using a big hammered silver flutter spoon on spinning equipement.
stl_geoff
Well-known member
Wait another week or so for the water to clear up and drop back down
itchmesir
Well-known member
Maybe the problem here is more so what one considers "behind the rock" or rather "down stream of the rock"... I know what you're getting at... the slack downstream of the rock is where a fish will hold... not behind it...
Imagine "O" as a rock and "X" as the trout... "~" for water...
A fish will not be staged here:
~~~~~
OX~~~~
~~~~~
... because the the amount of turbulence is just gonna be too much energy for a fish to sit in and feed effectively...
A fish is more likely to be sitting here:
~~~~~~~
O ~ ~ X~~~
~~~~~~~
as there will be a break in the current from the rock... allowing for a pocket for the trout to sit and weave in and out of the current to feed on a drifting buffet
Nice make-shift graphics there itchmesir... well done, but I have to go with brookfieldangler on this one. Not sure what/why Tom would say that about the current being unpredictable behind a rock.
At the surface - YES - very violent and swirling. Fortunately for trout, they hold closer to the bottom where the currents are calm and food naturally funnels in and collects. A large number of fast water macro species actually migrate INTO the calm eddies behind midstream boulders to hatch... and the trout follow 'em right in there.
I never pass up mid-stream obstructions. That would go for warmwater rivers/species as well. Tom R. missed this one badly IMO.
At the surface - YES - very violent and swirling. Fortunately for trout, they hold closer to the bottom where the currents are calm and food naturally funnels in and collects. A large number of fast water macro species actually migrate INTO the calm eddies behind midstream boulders to hatch... and the trout follow 'em right in there.
I never pass up mid-stream obstructions. That would go for warmwater rivers/species as well. Tom R. missed this one badly IMO.
silver creek
Well-known member
I wrote a short article for our chapter newsletter on how to fish during high flows. For those of you who are interested, it can be found on page 3.
http://www.wrvtu.org/pdfs/TU newsletter mar april 2010.pdf
http://www.wrvtu.org/pdfs/TU newsletter mar april 2010.pdf
I've always found that when the conditions are truly 'high & muddy' taking a stream side stroll with the camera and my Zeiss 10 X 25 mini's along for some birding is the best use of the day.
I know what it's like to be chomping at the bit in the spring. I've been suffering from this since I was only 8 years old, as the years add up on you you may go for the camera and binocular thing as well.
Ard
I know what it's like to be chomping at the bit in the spring. I've been suffering from this since I was only 8 years old, as the years add up on you you may go for the camera and binocular thing as well.
Ard