Category: Fly Fishing for Trout

Backcountry Fly Fishing on the Rooftop of Wyoming

If you are looking for a remote western backcountry experience where the variety of the terrain and scenery is equally matched by the variety of fish you will catch then look no further than the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. The WRR encompasses 2.25 million acres in an area roughly 110 miles long and 35-40 miles wide. The crest of the range forms the Continental Divide and three major western rivers are born on the 175+ glaciers still clinging to the peaks: the Gros Ventre River, which flows into the Snake River; the Green River, which is the largest fork of the Colorado; and the Wind River, which becomes the Bighorn and is the largest fork of the Yellowstone River.  This is the land where the Shoshone Indians once lived and portions of the range are inside the Wind River Indian Reservation. The paths they pioneered back and forth over the mountains are incorporated into the over 700 miles of trails that can be utilized to access some of the most remote and beautiful areas in the lower 48.Historically most of the alpine lakes in this region were devoid of trout. Isolated in hanging valleys their outlet streams contained steep waterfalls that proved to be a barrier to upstream migration.  The native cutthroats had managed to establish populations in only a handful of the lakes at the edge of the mountains. In 1929 Finis Mitchell established a fishing camp in the Big Sandy Openings and for the next seven years through the Great Depression he stocked hundreds of remote lakes with an estimated 2.5 million trout by horse packing in five gallon buckets full of fingerlings.  Today we benefit from these efforts and others that followed including federal and state stockings programs.  We are blessed with a wilderness area that is four times larger than the Smoky Mountains and contains over 1,000 lakes with miles of creeks connecting them. With cutthroat, rainbow, brook, golden, brown and lake trout to be found throughout the range the hardest decision might just be, “Where do I start?”In August my buddies and I completed a six day backpacking and fishing trip through the Winds.  Our forty mile loop led us over a route with elevations ranging between 9,000 and 12,000 feet.  We went through forests of lodgepole and whitebark pines, climbed into alpine meadows, and traversed through barren passes and plateaus where it was hard to even spot a tree below us.  We crossed the Continental Divide in two separate places and walked past more than twenty lakes ranging from the size of a football field to over two miles long.  Perhaps our greatest challenge was having to decide where not to fish because we simply did not have time to fish them all.Our trip started and ended at the trailhead at the Big Sandy Lodge.  This is the site where Finis Mitchell had established his tent camp eighty-five years ago. We headed north along the Continental Divide Trail gradually gaining elevation to the open meadows of Fish Creek Park.  We passed several lakes and creeks until arriving at Skull Lake to set up camp.  Here we were surprised to find a group of rangers with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.  We were over 10 miles from the trailhead and these guys had carried in a raft and a system of nets to assist in fish population studies. It was great to see these men working to further improve the fishing in such a remote wilderness.  Hungry brook trout sipped BWO duns and emergers nearly every cast we made into the lake as the evening sun set the crest of the Rockies on fire in the background.

 Views of distant mountains emerged as we arrived at Fish Creek Park

Mae’s Lake is guarded by the distinctive Pyramid Peak

 Alpine terrain surrounds Pyramid Lake

The next morning we continued on past Mae’s Lake to the desolate Pyramid Lake.  This stunning fifty-five acre lake sits about a half-mile from the Continental Divide at 10,570 feet and is completely above tree line.  At this point we had left the trail but a one mile cross country scramble brought us to the Continental Divide at 11,600 feet where we dropped down to reconnect with the trail at Hailey Pass. We had now left the waters that ultimately drained into the Colorado River and entered the Wind River drainage.  It was hard to imagine that the snowfield just below our feet was destined to flow all the way to New Orleans via the Wind, Bighorn, Yellowstone, Missouri, and finally Mississippi River!

 Descending from the Continental Divide towards Hailey Pass

We descended over 1,600 feet in the next 1.5 miles to reach the shore of Grave Lake.  This two hundred acre lake with a shoreline over two miles long would be the largest we would pass and the wind took advantage of this open space; as the waves crashing into the shore and spraying foam gave one the feeling of being at the beach instead of in the mountains.  We caught cutthroat here and lake trout reportedly patrol the deeper depths that exist out beyond the shelf that extends in some places over 100 feet from the shoreline.The following morning we dropped our packs at the outlet and fished the stream and the lake.  Once again the wind was in our face but we were rewarded with nice trout that would rise to dry flies as well as ambush deep damselyfly nymphs that were dredged through the channel creating the outlet.

 A view back up Grave Lake from near the outlet

From the outlet we descended through the forest and within two miles arrived at the South Fork Little Wind River. This beautiful stream ranged from 10-20 feet wide and was full of trout.  We    dropped our packs and set up our rods, eager to fish moving water for a change. Speckled Wing Quills were in the air and the four of us spread out across a half mile stretch of the creek. Nobody was disappointed.  Almost every cast was met with a strike from a brookie, cutthroat, or cutbow hybrid.

 A typical stretch of water in the magical South Fork Little Wind River We shouldered our packs and hiked upstream into the headwaters, a tremendous basin called Ranger Park which contains over a dozen lakes holding trout.  We climbed up to a shelf and found Valentine Lake tuck up against the steep walls of Windy Mountain.  After setting up camp we fished the lake, catching numerous brook trout on dry flies as well as damselfly and streamer patterns.  Fishing the lakes can be hit or miss.  Sometimes the trout seem to be out and feeding and other times you can walk around the entire shore and never see a trout.  Fortunately, this evening the trout were cooperating and we fished till dusk.

 Crossing the creek in Ranger Park with Buffalo Head looming in the backgroundThe next day our destination was the headwaters of the North Fork Popo Agie River, another tributary to the Little Wind River.  Our travels took us up and across the barren windswept slopes of Windy Mountain.  The trail runs for over five miles above tree line at elevations exceeding 11,000 feet.  A brief scramble to the top of nearby Cathedral Peak gave us an unrestricted 365 degree view from the 12,326 foot summit.  The broad ridgetop of Windy Mountain is not a place you would want to be during fog or storms and we were fortunate to have crystal clear skies (and wind, of course).  We arrived at Lizard Head Meadows and set up our camp at a point where the valley began to lose elevation as it dropped to the east.  This gave us an opportunity to fish both a section with swift runs, plunge pools and pocket water as well as an upper section where the creek more closely resembled a swimming pool – crystal clear and just a few feet deep with hardly any measureable current.  This turned out to be an excellent place to practice casting as a poor presentation or shadows from your line would set off a chain reaction of spooked fish. 

 The barren slopes of Windy Mountain. Not a tree to be found.Our campsite was located about two miles below the headwaters of the creek, which is formed in a stunning granite basin called the Cirque of the Towers.  The cirque is an international rock climbing destination, with hundreds of technical climbing routes available.  If there is a more beautiful place to catch trout then I have not found it.  We were rewarded with incredible views as the sun set and dusk came upon us.

 North Fork Popo Agie with Lizard Head in the background.

From left to right: Joe DeLisle, Neff Jenkins, David Ewing, and Derek Porter.

  Sunset in the Cirque of the Towers

The following morning we broke camp and walked upstream in the cirque to the aptly named Lonesome Lake.  The lake sits at 10,166 feet and is surrounded by a horseshoe shaped string of peaks towering over 2,000 feet above. After four days of wind we were finally rewarded with calm conditions.  The location of the lake deep in the bottom of an ancient glacial valley sheltered us from the winds blowing high above.  The calm conditions allowed us to see the trout cruising around the gin clear waters of lake.  They were sipping emergers just below the surface.   We spread out along the shoreline to find positions where we could make the long backcasts.  There were boulders that could be waded out to as well as a shelf that could be waded out on so that you could reach the deeper water beyond.  At first my offerings were met with mixed results but things improved immensely after switching to a 12 foot leader with size 20 midge adults with a pupa dropper. The longer leader with small flies definitely increased the chances of fooling the trout.  For a few hours we all caught cutthroat after cutthroat.  Never before have I fished a spot where every single trout was spotted before being cast to.  Many of the trout were over 70 feet offshore which was feasible to reach when the wind was light and if you could find a spot for your back cast.  The larger trout when hooked would take wide, sweeping runs as they desperately attempted to return to the depths of the lake.  The combination of the scenery and the water conditions was surreal.  We had plans to move on and fish other waters that day, being skeptical of how many trout we could catch in a lake at an elevation over 10,000 feet.  On this afternoon however those plans were scrapped without even a discussion.  There was no way were leaving this spot to fish anywhere else on this day.  The fact that our car was over ten miles away and on the other side of the Continental Divide is the only reason we grudgingly broke down our rods, packed up and left.  It turned out to be the perfect spot to make our final casts of the trip. 

 Sight fishing on Lonesome Lake

 A view of the cirque and Lonesome Lake as we climb towards Jackass Pass

We crossed back over the Continental Divide at the curiously named Jackass Pass and began our descent towards Big Sandy Lake. Soon thereafter we were walking downstream along the Big Sandy River, reflecting on the trip as the sun set over the mountains to our left.  A few miles later we set up our last camp in the dark, satisfied that we had made the most of our time in Wyoming’s Wind River Range Range. 

Reflections on the Big Sandy River near dusk  Fish caught along the way:  (next page)

Introduction

The Word Hatch

     The is the first article of a new series of posts on “matching the hatch”. The phrase “matching the hatch” is often used by fly anglers fishing for trout and sometimes for other species such as bass, pike, etc. During the last several years the phrase has even been used by anglers using conventional tackle fishing for many different species of fish. In those cases, the word hatch doesn’t necessarily mean the same as it does when it is used by fly angler.

     When fly anglers are fishing for trout and other species of fish that feed on insects, the word “hatch” refers to the point an insect begins to crawl or accent to the surface of the water to change into its adult stage of life. Keep in mind, that is usually a short time ranging from a few hours to a few days depending on the species of the insect.

KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid

     I will do my best to keep the articles on “matching the hatch”, as simple and understandable as possible. All aquatic entomology books use more technical explanations of hatching insects. To begin, they are classified as complete metamorphosis, which has four stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Insects that go through three stages of change in their life cycle have an incomplete metamorphosis.

For example, mayflies undergo complete metamorphosis. Caddisflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis. Stoneflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis and midges undergo complete metamorphosis.

     Mayflies go from an egg to a nymph, to a dun and to a spinner.  Caddisflies go from an egg to a larva, to a pupa, to an adult. Stoneflies go from an egg to a nymph and to an adult. Midges go from an egg to a larva, to a pupa, and to an adult.

The Book “Matching the Hatch

The Word Matching

The book, “A Practical Guide to Imitation of Insects Found on Eastern and Western Waters” written by Ernest G. Schwiebert, pointed out the importance of using flies that match whatever insects are hatching at any time and place. The only problem I have with it is that it focused only on matching adult insects such as mayfly duns, stonefly, and caddisfly adults. It didn’t focus on the importance of matching the nymph or larva stages of life of the insect. Neither did it focus on the importance of matching the imago stage of life, which in the case of mayflies is the final stage of life that anglers call spinners. Most of the emphasis was focused on matching the subimago stage of life which in the case of mayflies is what anglers call the dun.   

     The word “matching” as used in the phrase “matching the hatch”, is intended to mean anglers should use flies that closely resemble the insects that are hatching at any time and place. One major problem with the book is the lack of pictures showing artificial flies that look like the real things. Out of the hundreds if not thousands of flies on the market at the time, few matched the real insects well. In fact, almost none of them matched the nymphs or larva stages of the insect’s life. In fact, except for Perfect Flies, that is still the case. Perfect Fly’s approach to matching the hatch includes matching the larva or nymphal stage of life as well as the adult insect.

To be continued in the next article.

Matching the Hatch is what Perfect Fly is all about. You can match what is going to hatch (nymphs and larvae, what is hatching (emerging and adult stages of life) and what has hatched and returned to the water to deposit eggs for future generations – the egg laying activity. In the case of mayflies, it would consist of matching the spinners. be continued in the next article.

The top picture is a Perfect Fly Light Cahill Dun. The lower picture is a real Light Cahill.

First, although I’m sure most of you already know, I just want to make sure you understand what the term terrestrial insect refers too. Terrestrial insects are insects that are born and spend most of their life on land. They get into the water only by accident. Windy conditions and other natural conditions can cause these insects to sometimes loose their caution and end up becoming a meal for a trout.

It would be a rare occasion that trout ever became selective on any terrestrial insect. It would be possible during a flying ant fall, or possibly when a large amount of ants or beetles were washed into the water by heavy rains or high winds. This means that most all of the time, the trout are just looking for something to eat on the surface of the water. They do not recognize the various types or species of terrestrial insects that may come floating by. The strictly feed opportunistically on them. When there are few insects on the water trout are likely to take every insect that comes by.

If a large amount of any one insect became available over a period of time, then it would be likely that the trout would search only for that insect or feed selectively on it. When this happens, they begin to settle into a steady feeding rhythm and focus on individual insects. Facts are, it would be rare that enough terrestrial insects fell, blew or got washed into the water to cause selective feeding.

Imitations of Terrestrials: (Flies)
This means that you can get by with, except for a few rare exceptions, fishing an imitation of any terrestrial insect you desire to imitate. As long as it is something of the size and shape of an insect, the fish will see your fly as something to eat. Their brain isn’t large enough for them to be able to identify it as something they saw last year at the particular time of the year. They they don’t need to be able to do so in order to survive. They may eat a beetle one minute and a grass hopper a few minutes later.

If the fly sinks, it will probably get more takes from trout than if it floats beautifully on the surface. Most ants, beetles and hoppers that fall into the water slowly sink.

These are some of the more plentiful and common terrestrial insects that get into the freestone streams of Yellowstone National Park.

Beetles:
The most common terrestrial insect in the park is the beetle or Coleoptera. There are both aquatic and terrestrial forms of beetles but here we are concerned with the terrestrial form. Some species of beetles can fly and these are more likely to get into the water than the others that cannot fly. Overhanging limbs of trees, grass and shrubs provide the places for beetles to fall into the water.Flying Ant Grasshopper Beetle

Ants:
Ants, the Formicidae family of insects, is one of the next most plentiful terrestrial insect found in the park. Fast rising water caused by heavy rains is responsible for ants and terrestrial beetles getting into the water more than anything else. Ants live in colonies and when they do get washed into the water, they usually do so in large quantities.

Some ants can fly and these flying ants can easily end up in the water. When they do, they are usually preyed on by trout in a feeding frenzy. These great swarms of arts perform their nuptial flights, the winged males or drones, die shortly after they swarm. If the flight of ants happens over a stream they fall in the water and usually just carpet the water. Don’t stand around waiting for this to happen, you may grow old waiting. But if you find flying ants falling in the water, the trout will usually go nuts. Be prepared for a flying ant fall. They usually occur during the late summer months.

Grasshoppers:
Grasshopper exist on every stream in the park but they are not as plentiful in the forest as they are in the streams that flow through meadows and open areas where high grass exist.

Wherever you find banks with lots of grass there most likely are lots of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers become important starting in July but much more so in the latter part of the Summer and early autumn. They are apt to get into the water much more so on windy days.

Bees and Wasp:
Bees live in colonies. These colonies are usually very large and contains thousands of insects. They sometimes fall into the water.

• by James Marsh
•      When the weather and water turns cold, the first question we usually get from anglers is when they can they use dry flies and when should they use sub-surface flies such as nymphs. The first warning I could give is that making this decision solely based on water temperature could be a big mistake. There are times when you may want to fish a nymph when the water temperature is 65 degrees F. and higher as well as times when it is 40 degrees F. There is no magic range for either the dry fly or one designed for subsurface presentations. A better question may have been “when does the water get too cold to catch trout on the dry fly”. With some exceptions I won’t get into, the general answer is around 45 degrees F. I have caught trout on dry flies at slightly lower temperatures ranges from 40 to 44 degrees F. This sometimes happens after an insect begins hatching following a day or two of 50 degrees or warmer water. If there is a lot of food on the surface the trout will usually eat it. By the way, when this happens, trout will usually eat the emerging pupae and nymphs much more readily.

     During the spring months, trout will usually respond on the surface very well when the
water reaches 50 degrees F. for a day or two. Dry fly fishing can even be excellent at this temperature provided hatches are occurring. Angie and I generally would start out fishing a nymph if the water temperature was below 50 degrees and not expected to rise to that temperature. Trout will eat the nymphs and pupae readily when the water is between the 45 to 50 degrees F range. You can catch them very well in this range provided other conditions are favorable. If you find the fish fairly concentrated, you can sometimes catch a lot of them when it is between 40 and 45 degrees F.

     The next subject I will address pertains to where to find trout in cold water. More specifically on the bottom, mid-range, or surface. There’s no good answer to this question. The trout may be at either of those water levels depending on many factors. The water temperature is not one of them.

     When trout are inactive, they tend to stay on or near the bottom. This also gives them some protection from overhead predators. You may also find them in very shallow water and of course, suspended between the bottom and surface. The water temperature is not the factor that controls this. Remember, the fish are perfectly comfortable anywhere in the stream, as far as the temperature is concerned. The main thing to look for is slow to still water. Trout want tend to hold for long periods of time in fast, very cold water because they will expend more energy than  they can acquire food to replenish.

     Now the problem with this is that you may be looking at a fast run, for example, with the
surface water moving very fast, when down near the bottom, between and behind rocks, or within holes in the bottom, the water may be moving very slowly. In some situations, it may move very little. You cannot always go by what you see on the surface. For another example, water near the banks may be swift. However, there is usually some pockets along the bank where it is moving slowly. In eddies, water can even be practically still. Just keep in mind, moving water can be deceptive. Trout do not need depth from a temperature standpoint. It would be a rare situation in a trout stream for the
water to get warmer deeper. Trout streams are generally not that deep. Even if they were, keep in mind, trout do not move to warmer water for comfort. They will feed more in warmer water but they won’t  move strictly for temperature purposes.

Another cold-water question we often get, is very easy to answer – do you need to fish the sunny
areas of the water in the winter months”? The answer to that (unless you can find some still water in the stream you are fishing, and there is usually little of that, is no. The sun has the effect of helping to warm the entire stream, even if it shines in only a few places. Since the water is moving, it makes little to no difference in the water temperature, even in the area the sun is shining on. It may help you keep warm, and it may even help you think you will do better but that is about it. It doesn’t mean the water is warmer there than it is downstream.

     As ridiculous as it is, I sometimes believe that just the fact that anglers sometimes feel cold when they are fishing during very cold weather, allows their mind to play games on them. Solutions like “Fish the sunny spots line of thinking that the trout are cold and looking for warm water in the same sense we warm blooded creatures get cold can be very deceptive. “Fishing deep and on or near the bottom is a much better line of thinking. Line of thinking such as “you can’t catch trout in cold water” and other mistaken beliefs about fly fishing cold water, compare well to some of the best “Old Wives Tales”.    

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Yours Truly,
Angie and James Marsh

• by James Marsh

09/26/22
Someone sent us an email asking which method of fishing catches the most trout – dry fly fishing on the surface or fishing flies below the surface of the water. The subject of email was fishing dry flies versus fishing flies below the surface. I first thought of responding by writing that it greatly depends on the percentage of anglers fishing dry flies versus flies fished below the surface of the water. I realized a different way of asking what amounts to the same thing could be, “what percentage of food trout eat is acquired on the surface of the water versus below it”.

As I was thinking of a response, it quickly flashed through my mind that the food wild trout rely on the survive could be aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, crustaceans, minnows, baitfish, fish eggs and other odds and ends. It also quickly occurred to me that the food varied depending on the type of water, species of trout, and many other factors. As those thoughts quickly flashed through my mind I realized that is also depends greatly on the intent of the angler, and by that I mean is the angler fishing for food for the table, fishing a European trout tournament, fishing for newly stocked trout, fishing for wild trout, or strictly for the sport of it. Probably everyone reading this knows that catching a trout on a dry fly on the surface is usually more fun and exciting than catching one on a nymph or streamer. No sooner than this thought crossed my mind, memory of a trip to Alaska several years ago, brought about pictures of very large rainbow trout jumping two to three feet in the air with my egg fly in its mouth. Not all trout caught below the surface fail to display a lot of acrobatic action. As I finally tried to get my mind focused on the question again, it occurred to me that if I was lost on a wilderness fly fishing trip about to starve to death, I wouldn’t dare tie on a dry fly to catch something to eat unless it was the only fly I had and even then, I would choose a live grass hopper or other creature over anything else.

As soon as I again become focused on the question, my thinking continued along the lines of probably less than one percent of the food trout eat is taken from the surface, versus 99 percent or more is taken from below the surface. Before I began to type that response on my computer keyboard, I realized many anglers who don’t tend to think about the things trout eat quite as deeply as I do, it may seem more logical that something more like ten percent of a trout’s food comes from the surface of the water would be a better answer. That is simply because it may seem to the person asking the question that I was insinuating that is is stupid for an angler to fish a dry fly. If I wasn’t thinking so seriously about the question, I may tend to agree with the ten percent of the food is taken from the surface answer. On the other hand, why should I respond with an answer that would likely be more pleasing to the person asking the question than I should respond with my true belief?

I’m well aware that I’m still not giving you proof or justifiable reason for my answer. I’m still trying to get your interest up about the subject, but now that I hopefully have accomplished that, here’s why I still think less than one percent is a good answer. First of all, consider the types of food trout eat. All crustaceans are all eaten below the surface. In some streams, there are only a relatively few and in some streams, such as spring creeks, crustaceans represent a huge part of the trout’s diet. The amount of minnows and baitfish depends greatly on the type of stream as well as the species of trout but in all cases, minnows and baitfish are eaten below the surface.

Next, lets consider a food source many of you will probably disagree with me about. Terrestrial insects are eaten by trout and many of them are taken on the surface, again depending on the type of terrestrial. Ants, beetles and inch worms generally sink when they land on the water. Hoppers usually float on the surface for a short time before sinking. Here again, the location and type of stream varies the amount for sure, but all things considered, terrestrials represent a very small percentage of the food eaten by trout.

Yes, I’m aware stomach sample taken during the Summer and early Fall in many locations show terrestrials are eaten by trout. I’m also know that Angie and I have set surface skim nets in trout streams nationwide for long periods during this time period (nights and days) only to discover almost nothing was captured. The results was far, far less than we anticipated. To get to the point another way, If you sit down and stare at the surface of a stream for hours, I would bet my last dollar you wouldn’t see the first terrestrial insect floating on the surface unless you were positioned on the bank of a hay field when a farmer was passing by cutting hay or you were fishing during high wind conditions. Also, consider that most terrestrial food is only available to trout for part of the year.

Now, let’s consider what trout mostly rely on for food and that is aquatic insects. Starting with mayflies, consider that a mayfly typically lives 364 days of the year beneath the surface of the water. It lives for only a few seconds as a dun on the surface. Some species of mayflies live two and a few even three years below the surface versus only seconds on the surface as a dun. Some mayflies, such as the Slate Drakes are never on the surface as a dun. They crawl out of the water to hatch. The female spinners of mayflies do mostly fall on the surface of the water when they deposit their eggs at the end of their life, but even they, they sink rather fast. The males mostly end up dying on land but they can fall in the streams.

Caddisflies are on the surface even less than mayflies because many of them crawl out of the water to hatch. There are not that many species that hatch on the surface. They too, spend a few seconds as an adult on the surface versus a year beneath the surface. The female egg layers do end up on the water, but only float for a few seconds and again, it’s mostly the females that land on the water. The males usually end up dying on land. Also, many species of caddisflies crawl below the surface or dive to the bottom to deposit their eggs.

Stoneflies are a different story altogether. They all crawl out of the water to hatch. They are eaten up to that point only as an nymph. The female adults do come back to the water to deposit their eggs and most of them probably end up on the surface for a few seconds or minutes, but they too, end up sinking.

Midges, the last major category of aquatic insects trout feed on, are similar to the caddisflies. The adults are on the surface only for seconds compared to weeks and months below the surface. Most of them are eaten below the surface as a larva or pupa during the hatch.

When you really think about it, in most cases, one percent is probably a high figure for the food trout eat from the surface. By the way, just to add another curve to the answer, how often do you think a large brown trout acquires its food on the surface? The answer is very, very little.

What does this have to do with your fishing? The answer is simple. The odds are far greater you will catch a trout below the surface as opposed to on the surface. Now, what is James Marsh really driving at? The short answer is trout see nymphs and larvae of aquatic insects, all of which are below the surface, far, far better than they see insects on the surface of the water. Even so, anglers pay far, far more attention to their dry flies than they do their subsurface flies. In fact, in general, they tend to think all nymphs look alike and they certainly don’t. By the way, that is why Perfect Fly nymphs that look like the real things. Most anglers completely disregard larvae. Many don’t even know the difference in the larvae and pupae. By the way, it is more difficult to catch a trout you can’t see, on a fly you can’t see, than it is on a fly you can see and a trout you can see when it takes the dry fly.

I’m not about to get into the argument of what is the best approach to fly fishing for trout – fishing with dry flies or subsurface flies such as nymphs, larvae and streamers. That is up to each and every individual angler. Personally, I enjoy catching trout. I enjoy catching a lot of trout and I enjoy catching small trout as well large trout. I enjoy the challenge including fishing the days it is almost impossible to catch one as well as the days it is like taking candy from a baby. I enjoy fishing for trout even when I don’t catch one.

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• by James Marsh

In the northern parts of the U.S., brown trout will soon be starting their annual spawning activity. Of course, this is due to the cooler climate which results in water temperatures that are much lower at this time of year than those in the middle and southern parts of the nation. Yes, it is still early for the great majority of spawning to take place. The water temperature is still on the high side, nation wide for spawning. Also, many streams are still to low from what would be considered ideal from the brown trout spawn.
From talking to anglers just about every day throughout the country for the past several years, it is obvious to me that many are not aware of what actually takes place during the spawning cycle. I think all anglers should be at least basically aware of what takes place. The brown trout are much like salmon in that they will travel upstream long distances to spawn. It is thought that many of these trout will actually return to the same location that they used in previous years to spawn. I understand some testing showed this to be a fact. They have to come out from their normal hiding places to do that and they can often be spotted in a stream during this time.
To begin with, the trout need to be in excellent shape to begin the spawning process. It takes a lot of energy to make the moves they make. They need to be in prime condition and many may not be due to recent periods of drought. Ideally, there are several factors that the trout take into account when spawning or maybe I should say, that Mother Nature takes into consideration. One is the water temperature which I just mentioned, but others are water depth, current, light penetration, type of bottom and probably many other things that we are not off hand aware of. The water depth can vary for sure. After the trout have made their trips upstream, all these things affect the exact time and place the spawning process takes place.  
The female brown trout builds her redd using her tail to move the gravel around. Some call this a nest and bass fisherman call it a bed. She selects small gravel areas. They prefer gravel about the size of a single peanut but will take whatever they can get as far as the size of the gravel is concerned. She cuts a trench or area of bottom where she will deposit her eggs. At just the right time, she will deposit her eggs in the gravel. Prior to her covering them up and usually during the same time period, the male will deposit his milt or sperm on the eggs. She will then proceed to cover the eggs up with gravel. This process helps by improving the flow of water through the eggs by cleaning the sand and dirt from the gravel. It is my understanding that this is critical in whether or not the eggs survive. This may not all occur at once. She may move to another area of the redd and repeat this procedure along with the

male. It is my understanding they deposit as little as a thousand eggs (not over two or three thousand), much more than I would have thought. Obviously, many of these eggs never make it. This entire procedure from the beginning to its end puts the fish in a stressful situation. It takes a lot of energy.
It is also my understanding, that the adult fish experience their largest morality rate during the spawning process. The eggs themselves can be destroyed by insects, fungus, and silt, to name a few things.

Anglers are another culprit that can destroy the eggs as well as the entire process of spawning.
During the spawning process the fish are very aggressive and territorial. This is especially true of the male. During the time the fish are building their nest, depositing their eggs and sperm, etc., anglers catching either the male of the female, can destroy many brown trout. Even if the angler doesn’t catch the fish he or she poses a threat to the process by adding additional stress to the fish. If he or she steps in the nest either before or after the eggs have been deposited, many or even most all of the eggs can be destroyed. If the female doesn’t deposit all of her eggs, she can die.
These spawning fish are large fish. Although it is not exactly the same case with brown trout, they remind me of redfish that must be older to successfully spawn. The angler can easily catch these spawning fish, smile and show others how great they are at catching big fish and many will never know what actually occurred.  It doesn’t matter if they catch the female or the male, a lot of brown trout can be destroyed from the results. Both are critically important to the spawning process. In many streams in the country, the fishing season is closed during the brown trout spawn. In other sections of the country, certain sections of the river or stream that are know spawning areas are off limits to anglers during the brown trout spawn.
The fishery managers will tell you that fishing for spawning trout has little overall effect on depleting the population of brown trout and I am sure that is correct. It is not against the rules and regulations to catch the spawning brown trout in many streams throughout the nation. That is a decision you must make. If you can take pride in catching an over aggressive, easily caught trout (male or female) that will stay in one area of the stream trying its best to play its part in reproducing its like, then go ahead and catch them. Personally, I don’t want any part of it but neither am I going to be critical of those that disagree and choose to do so.

Our hottest selling product: Flies including Stream and Species Fly Selections

     We have our own line of products for fly fishing including our own fly patterns as well as our own line of fly rods, fly reels, fly lines, leaders and tippets, vest and packs, and many other fly fishing items. That allows us to sell directly from us to you the angler, without markup in price from distributors, representatives, or other middle men. Our number one selling products are our fly selections for different streams and locations throughout the nation and/or different species of fish. The selections can cover a specific time interval, season, or complete year. The selections can match any dollar budget amount you desire or our standard good, better, or best selections. There are specific fly selections for certain species of fish such as Pacific or Great Lake Steelhead, just for an example.

Click Here to see the different types of fly selections. Note: there are two pages of them and be sure to note the “custom selections”.      
     website: www.perfectflystore.com

A family fly fishing trip to the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains

Several years ago I had a call from a North Carolina man named Jerry Maslar who said he wanted to know if Angie and I would sell Perfect Fly Company. The answer was no, but after meeting him in person, I encouraged him to form his own fly fishing company. After a brief time of operating as Trout University, Jerry decided that in addition to educating anglers fishing for trout that he would sell the complete line of Perfect Fly products and fly patterns, which he was helping Angie and I promote, Knowing the tremendous success of Johnny Morris, from the time he and I fished many of national BASS tournaments at the same time during the late 1970s, prior to his forming Bass Pro Shops, my advise to Jerry was to name his company Trout Pro Shop or Store. That he did – Trout Pro Store – www.troutprostore.com. Jerry and I soon became close friends. His Trout Pro Store started out selling and still sells all of our Perfect Fly trout fishing products and complete line of trout flies. Jerry was a huge help to Angie and I. Not only did he provide excellent advise for our company, he even built the wooden cabinets that we still store our flies in. He visited us often and even worked some local Fly Fishing show events with me.

Through the past approximate fourteen years of being very good personal and business friends, I had the privilege of meeting his son Steve, who now runs the company. I have yet to meet Drew, Steve’s son, now twelve years old who was just a baby in our early years of friendship. It is quite obvious, he is following his father and grandfather’s fishing footsteps. Steve and his wife Carleen, took Drew and his two sisters Emma and Caroline on a family vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park. The girls took some pictures and video of the trout fishing and went hiking with Steve and Drew. They managed to catch several trout in beautiful places in a rather short time.

This is about how a father and mother can influence their sons and daughters in a fun and pleasurable way in the great outdoors. This should be dedicated to the many father and mothers who do just that. The Maslar’s recent trip to the Rocky Mountains reminds me of many trips my father and grandfather spent time taking me fishing in my early years. I can remember many trips in detail from as far back as seventy years ago. I have two beautiful daughters rather than a son. Both of them fished with me often from their early childhood. They are now both in their middle ages and they still fish together in lakes nearby their homes in central Alabama rather often. I do have a grandson that I have been able to take both fresh and saltwater fishing.

From 1980 to 1985, I produced and was the host of a thirty minute, weekly television show first called the “Gulf Coast Angler”, and later when we expanded nationwide “Fishing with James Marsh”. It was the first ever national syndicated TV show on saltwater fishing. At the conclusion of the program, I made the following statement over background music from Don William’s song “Lord I hope this day is Good”. It went like this – “Do yourself a favor friends and take a child fishing. You will gain a friend for a lifetime but teach them to protect our natural resources. You know if God didn’t intend for us to spend more time fishing than working, he wouldn’t have put more water here than land. Keep what you need to eat but release the rest for me to catch. Until next week, God Bless”. Of course, it was a little silly but my intent was to push “catch and release” which in those years was in its early stages.

Creating a great outdoor relationship isn’t complicated. It’s very simple. If you are lucky enough to have one, just take your son or daughter fishing. If not, take any youngster you know fishing. You will gain a friend for a lifetime. It almost always creates an unforgettable experience for both of you.

Sorry, we forgot to show Steve, the “Dad’s” trout.

Our hottest selling product: Flies and Stream and Species Fly Selections

     We have our own line of products for fly fishing including our own fly patterns as well as our own line of fly rods, fly reels, fly lines, leaders and tippets, vest and packs, and many other fly fishing items. That allows us to sell directly from us to you, the angler without markup in price from distributors, representatives, or other middle men. Our number one selling products are our fly selections for different streams and locations throughout the nation and/or different species of fish. The selections can cover a specific time interval, season, or complete year. The selections can match any dollar budget amount you desire or our standard good, better, or best selections. There are specific fly selections for certain species of fish such as Great Lake Steelhead, for example.

Click Here to see the different types of fly selections. Note: there are two pages of them and be sure to note the “custom selections”.      
     website: www.perfectflystore.com

If you plan on fly fishing for trout, you better get used to the term “(the name of the stream) flies”. For example, Madison River trout flies. Although the name infers there’s something unique about the flies you need to fish that stream, there isn’t. The purpose of the fly is to fool the trout into taking it for one of the insects or other items of food the trout are eating at the time. If the fly does a good job of that, there won’t be anything unique to the stream you are fishing about it. The insects and other trout foods that exist in trout streams are the same insects and other items of food that are found in the streams of most other states within that geographical area. Just to make a point, consider that in fact, several species of aquatic and terrestrial insects found in Yellowstone National park in the West exist Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the East. The same thing is true of most of the baitfish, minnows, sculpin, and crustaceans that are in trout streams.

Since the various foods the trout eat aren’t unique to the streams of the particular stream you intend to fish, neither are the flies you need to catch the trout. The only thing that should be unique about the flies is they should imitate the specific insects and other foods the trout eat in that particular stream. The more your fly resembles the appearance and behavior of the most plentiful and available food the trout are eating at the time you are fishing, the easier it will be for you to fool the trout into taking your fly for the real thing.

Please don’t refer to this solely as “matching the hatch”. It involves much more than that. It’s also matching the 99.9 percent of the aquatic life in the streams that has not yet hatched. It should also mean “matching the egg layers insects”. It should even include “matching the dead”, or the mayfly spinners and other aquatic and terrestrial insects that fall into the streams and die. Don’t forget the other trout foods. Call that “matching the sculpin and minnows” if you like. Instead of improperly calling everything “matching the hatch“, just call it “matching the naturals“. Even better, just think of it as matching the food the trout will be eating at the time and place you are fishing with a flies that closely resemble those particular food‘s appearance and behavior.

To make this simple, first determine or find out what the trout are most likely feeding on at the time and place you plan on fishing. This information is available from Perfect Fly by phone at 800 594 4726 or email at sales@perfectflystore.com. and match that food with flies that look as much like the real things (Perfect flies) which are available at the same place.

Our hottest selling product: Flies and Stream and Species Fly Selections

     We have our own line of products for fly fishing including our own fly patterns as well as our own line of fly rods, fly reels, fly lines, leaders and tippets, vest and packs, and many other fly fishing items. That allows us to sell directly from us to you, the angler without markup in price from distributors, representatives, or other middle men. Our number one selling products are our fly selections for different streams and locations throughout the nation and/or different species of fish. The selections can cover a specific time interval, season, or complete year. The selections can match any dollar budget amount you desire or our standard good, better, or best selections. There are specific fly selections for certain species of fish such as Great Lake Steelhead, for example.

Click Here to see the different types of fly selections. Note: there are two pages of them and be sure to note the “custom selections”.      
     website: www.perfectflystore.com

During the late Summer and early Fall, many trout streams become very low due to the lack of rainfall. In these cases, if the air temperatures become very hot, trout streams can get low of oxygen in bad condition and fishing can become very tough and stressful on the trout when you are successful in hooking one.

If the water temperature is not too warm and catching trout isn’t going to place too much stress on the trout, you can be sneaky and make good presentations you can still catch plenty of fish. By too warm, I mean water temperatures that are over seventy degrees F. Everyone is probably aware that you should stay low, dress correctly and stay hidden from the trout. Those things are basic for fishing small streams, especially under low water conditions. What prompted this
writing is a factor that I think many anglers overlook.

If you move extremely slow, the trout are far less likely to notice you. Trout can see almost all the way around themselves. There’s only a small area directly behind them, called the blind spot, that is not within their peripheral vision. I have found that as long as you move extremely slow, they won’t notice you in their peripheral vision area of coverage nearly as quickly as they will when you move at a normal
pace. By that I mean not only move you body very slowly, but refrain from the
making the movements necessary to cast. Low, side arm and low roll cast made while wading help avoid the trout seeing your or your rod’s movement.

By using this the low side arm cast procedure, you can often approach trout in extremely clear water. I have fished spring creeks in Pennsylvania and Montana using this procedure without spooking them, but doing so is not easy. Moving at a slow, slow pace is not easy to do. It seems you will never get into a position to cast and then when you do, you must do so with the flip of a wrist, side-armed and very low. That means you can’t cast very far and that means you have to get very close to them. I have caught brown trout as close as fifteen feet from me in shallow, extremely clear water, looking at the fish when I was standing my full height which is six feet, two inches.

Most of the time I make the mistake of moving too fast. I am not very patient any way and fishing at the pace of a snail isn’t easy for me to do. What I am describing is not a cure all for catching fish in low, clear water by any means. Casting to a trout may take a few minutes of ultra slow-motion movement before you attempt the first and only cast you will get. If I am on the bank, I usually stoop down to my knees in slow motion when I do get close to the fish and then cast side-armed with as
little body movement as possible.

Please note that I’m not contending that this is the way to fish normal, low water conditions. I don’t think that extent of extreme caution is necessary in most cases. I do wish to stress the point that trout do not notice your presence by identifying or determining that you are some type of creature from out of space that is going to harm them. Without turning and placing you in their very narrow binocular area of vision, they cannot see you well enough to determine anything other than something is in their area that doesn’t belong there.

If you were in the woods observing the forest and one of the trees suddenly moved a couple of feet, you would spook. If a tree started moving towards you at a rather fast pace, you would really freak out. When a portion of the trout’s surroundings suddenly moves, it will freak out. Slow your movements way down and you will catch more trout under low water conditions.

Another little used method is to drift the fly downstream to fish. It helps to spot one rising so you can target it as opposed to blind casting but both approaches can be successful. The key is to not let your fly line cross over a fish’s position. Only the leader or better, only the tippet should do that or otherwise, you will be done with that trout. Just make a little short cast and feed the line downstream to likely position that may hold trout. Mend the line to place the fly at least a couple of feet or more either left or right of the line of the drift of the fly line. This method is commonly used on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River in Idaho where the water is smoother and slick such as it is in the old railroad ranch section.

Trout still eat in low, warmer, clear water. In fact, they need more food under these circumstances than they normally do. The single most important thing to keep in mind is to always fish water that is highly oxygenated, not slow moving still water regardless of the depth. Plunge pools, riffles and runs will hold feeding trout under low, warm water conditions.

Our hottest selling product: Flies and Stream and Species Fly Selections

     We have our own line of products for fly fishing including our own fly patterns as well as our own line of fly rods, fly reels, fly lines, leaders and tippets, vest and packs, and many other fly fishing items. That allows us to sell directly from us to you, the angler without markup in price from distributors, representatives, or other middle men. Our number one selling products are our fly selections for different streams and locations throughout the nation and/or different species of fish. The selections can cover a specific time interval, season, or complete year. The selections can match any dollar budget amount you desire or our standard good, better, or best selections. There are specific fly selections for certain species of fish such as Great Lake Steelhead, for example.

Click Here to see the different types of fly selections. Note: there are two pages of them and be sure to note the “custom selections”.

       email: sales@perfectflystore.com  Tel. 800 – 594 – 4726
     website: www.perfectflystore.com

Some anglers tend to want to avoid fishing during the so called “dog days” of summer. Dog Days are usually considered to be the hottest days of the year ranging from about the second week of July to the middle of August. In ancient times, people associated the heat during this period with the concurrent rising of Sirius, nicknamed “the dog star. When it comes to fly fishing for trout, much of this line of thought has to do with the particular part of the country one is considering for the next fly fishing adventure. For example, if one is considering a stream located in Montana, this period of time may be considered to be one of the best times for fly fishing for trout. If one is thinking of Southern California or North Carolina, August is usually the prime time of the so called dog days and many anglers tend to think it is a bad time to catch trout on the fly. If the main consideration is choosing a comfortable time to fish, fishing during the dog days isn’t considered a good choice. If the main consideration is catching trout, it shouldn’t be a factor at all. Fishing during the dog days of summer, shouldn’t approached any different than fishing during any other time of the year. It does require some different strategies. It usually does require imitating some different types of food the trout will be focusing on, but it shouldn’t be approached with any negative attitude or thoughts about ones odds of success.

First of all, I think it is a big mistake to start thinking in terms of only fishing during the early morning and/or very late afternoons when the weather may be a little cooler. That may be a proper consideration if one is fishing water that is reaching a temperature over seventy degrees during the hottest part of the day; however, the best solution to that would be to choose another location with lower water temperatures. In some rivers, that simply means choosing a location on the stream at a higher elevation. In many streams, that means choosing a completely different small stream or river.

A huge factor to consider is the type of water you fish within the stream. It isn’t the direct affect of the temperature of the water that affects your odds of success or strategies you should use. Warmer water holds less oxygen and that should be a main consideration. You should fish the sections of the stream that contains the most oxygen such as runs, plunges and riffles. You should avoid fishing still water within the stream and other areas with the slowest moving water such as found in most large pools. The water depth makes little to no difference. The most oxygenated water in the stream may be only inches deep.

Another very important consideration as always is you should be imitating the most plentiful and available food the trout have to eat at the particular time you are fishing. Yes, many anglers turn their attention to terrestrial insects and they are important during the dog days but as I recently wrote a short article about, they shouldn’t be considered more important the the aquatic insects that may be available unless it is during times that mother nature is putting a lot of the land based terrestrial insects into the water with strong wind or water flowing into the stream from heavy rainfall.

Aquatic insects tend to be a little smaller than they are at other times during the spring, summer and fall months. The little White Wing Curse, or Tricos, are present in most streams and very important. Little Blue-winged olives can be important in many trout streams. Little Sister caddis, is one of the smaller size caddisflies that can be important during the dog days. Little Yellow stoneflies usually continue to be important. I don’t mean to imply that there are not any large aquatic insects that may also be hatching although there are usually less of them than they are at other times. I’m only pointing out some small ones that are usually very important. Crustaceans and baitfish usually don’t vary in size from other times of the summer months.

A bottom line consideration here is you should know how to properly present the small aquatic insects like the tiny BWOs and Tricos. You should also know how to change the fly your are using to match the stage of life of the little mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies for the time of day you are fishing. The final statement I will make for this article is I pay no attention to those who want to distinguish the so called dog days of summer as being a poor time to fly fish for trout. It isn’t.

Our hottest selling product: Flies and Stream and Species Fly Selections

     We have our own line of products for fly fishing including our own fly patterns as well as our own line of fly rods, fly reels, fly lines, leaders and tippets, vest and packs, and many other fly fishing items. That allows us to sell directly from us to you, the angler without markup in price from distributors, representatives, or other middle men. Our number one selling products are our fly selections for different streams and locations throughout the nation and/or different species of fish. The selections can cover a specific time interval, season, or complete year. The selections can match any dollar budget amount you desire or our standard good, better, or best selections. There are specific fly selections for certain species of fish such as Great Lake Steelhead, for example.

Click Here to see the different types of fly selections. Note: there are two pages of them and be sure to note the “custom selections”.

       email: sales@perfectflystore.com  Tel. 800 – 594 – 4726
     website: www.perfectflystore.com