Runoff and high water are essential to healthy trout rivers, and the more days of fresh pow we get in winter, the more likely fat trout will be looking up for dry flies come summer. Fishing during runoff and high water is just a fact of life on many trout rivers.
Here are some tips to muscle through runoff as your explore your water with the onWater app.
Local knowledge
There are quality fly shops servicing many of our local communities and the rivers we fish. Internet fishing reports are reliable, but a quick phone call might garner more info, or better yet, pay a visit to a local fly shop.
Tailwaters and spring creeks
Rivers originating from dams or small, spring creeks can often run clear when other rivers are mud. Tailwaters may have high streamflows this time of year so a boat or a local guide may be important. Plus, it is always a good idea to inquire locally at a fly shop for up to date information. For a moderately experienced do-it-yourself angler, a spring creek can offer a challenge. For those fishing with a guide, spring creeks serve up a unique angling experience. If you’ve never done a spring creek, now is a good time.
Go big or go home
Runoff fishing demands an adjustment in your tackle. Fish stouter tippets, and unless you’re on a spring creek or fishing a very clear tailwater with picky fish, leave the 5X at home. Expect to fish subsurface more than not. A standard leader this time of year is a 9-foot 2X. The you may need to add the appropriate 3X or 4X tippet with the appropriate amount of weight—this helps get the flies to sink quickly in the fast currents of runoff.
Tippet change
Invest in quality Flurocarbon tippet material such as Rio Fluroflex, TroutHunter, Scientific Anglers, or Orvis Mirage. But before you do, practice your knots. Fluorocarbon ain’t cheap and you want to spend your time fishing not tying knots.
Keep hope alive
The sooner runoff starts and gets rolling, the sooner it will be over. You are not alone in your search for clean water. Be congenial and share the water out there – a little friendly conversation with a fellow angler might yield a hot fly, a tackle adjustment, or a new place to fish.
Parts of this post originally appeared in Explore Big Sky.
To learn more about streamflows and understanding CFS charts, read our blog, Go with the Flow.
Looking to support coldwater fisheries in the West and elsewhere? Support Trout Unlimited, we do as an Endorsed Business.
Smarter Fishing Starts in the App
Introduction
Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.
Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.
Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla. Aliquam vestibulum, nulla odio nisl vitae. In aliquet pellentesque aenean hac vestibulum turpis mi bibendum diam. Tempor integer aliquam in vitae malesuada fringilla.
Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.
"Ipsum sit mattis nulla quam nulla. Gravida id gravida ac enim mauris id. Non pellentesque congue eget consectetur turpis. Sapien, dictum molestie sem tempor. Diam elit, orci, tincidunt aenean tempus."
Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.
Conclusion
Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.
Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.
Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.
