Finding Success In Dirty Water
by Michael Hatfield

Early Spring weather in the east can be a mixed bag of really, really good to really, really bad. Temperatures can fluctuate from the 20's to the high 60's in just a two day period. In addition to the up and down temperatures, we can also face snow showers one day and rain showers the next day. All of these changes can create havoc on a mountain trout stream but just because the water is off color and rising, do not let it keep you home.

In March of 2003 I was with ESPN and a group of fly anglers on Spruce Creek in Pennsylvania preparing to participate in ESPN's Fly Fishing Challenge. For several days prior to us arriving in Pennsylvania the rain had been coming down in buckets and Spruce Creek was dirty and rising. A lot of anglers would have gone home when they saw the condition of the stream the day we arrived. We all knew the fish were still there but we also knew we had to have a different approach in order to catch them. By the end of the second day of fishing, most of us had caught fish and there seemed to be a common thread to each angler's approach.

When a trout stream is in the condition I just described, the fish still have the same needs they have when a stream is running at normal flow. One of the most important needs is shelter or protection followed by the need to eat. In this case the shelter a fish is seeking is more from the increased force of the current than from a predator. A stream's velocity is slower at its bank so as the volume of water increases in a stream and the velocity becomes greater, trout tend to migrate towards the stream bank. Pockets along the bank created by old logs, rocks, cut outs, etc, all supply that soft water a trout is looking for. With that in mind, those characteristics should be what you are looking for during high stream conditions.

The need to eat is also right at the top of the list of needs a trout has no matter what condition the stream is in. As mentioned earlier, trout will migrate to the stream bank during times when a stream is being affected by bad weather causing increased velocity and dirty or roily conditions. It's obvious that when water is dirty a trout's visibility is reduced dramatically. Here again the stream bank plays an important role. Because the velocity is slower along the bank, particles in the water have the opportunity to settle out quicker resulting in clearer water.

So we are looking for softer pockets and slower water edges along the stream bank to target, what do we target them with? A trout has a very narrow window of opportunity to react to a passing meal so you would like to give them as much advance notice as possible that dinner is on the way. The rule of thumb for fly selection in this case is BIG, dark, weighted and noisy if possible. A big, dark colored fly creates a larger shadow in dirty water that is easier for a trout to see. Flies with a lot of marabou will produce a larger, pulsating profile that is excellent. Weight is important because you have to get down through the current and you want to be bouncing off the bottom. If a fly can create noise then all the better. Something as simple as an exposed bead head or cone head fly will create noise by banging off of rocks, therefore drawing attention from the trout. Some flies are also available with small rattles tied in them as well. Bead head woolly buggers, cone head marabou muddlers and zonkers are all excellent basic fly choices for this type of stream condition.

Just a closing word on safety, any stream has the ability to sweep you off your feet but a rain swollen stream is worse. A wading staff is a tool every wading angler should have as well as a fishing companion. Don't leave home without either one of them. So the next time you are faced with dirty, rising water, don't despair. Tie on a big, dark, noisy fly and work the stream banks.

Michael Hatfield lives in Richmond, VA and is a member of the Blue Fly Cafe pro team and several other industry Pro Staffs. You can reach him through his website at www.threehatsflyfishing.com