Successful Still Water Fly Fishing In Low Water & Weeds For Trophy Trout

Weeds & Low Water Equals Ideal Conditions For Trophy Tiger & Rainbow Trout

It never ceases to amaze me how many so called fly fishing anglers will walk up to a beautiful body of water and refuse to fish there because of the weeds and moss in the water.  They are looking for perfect clear water and fishing conditions, for them, not the fish.

Weeds & Low Water Are Trout Paradise & You Need To Know How To Fish These Conditions

Learn To Read These Great Beds Of Food Where The Lunkers Live & Thrive



The truth is prime conditions for quality fish are usually not the conditions most fishermen are looking for.  Too bad...if you walk away from a scene like this one because of the weeds you are leaving behind the opportunity to catch truly trophy size trout.  You just need to understand what flies to use and how to approach the weeds to be successful and with a little practice you will walk away at the end of the trip catching the biggest trout of your life.

Grass & Weed Beds Means Food, Lots Of Food

For Large Hardy Fish & This Is Where You Find Them



With a little patience & the right dry fly you can avoid hanging on weeds and catch trophy rainbow trout like this!

Look At All The Insects In The Weeds & Moss

There is a trout buffet of high protein insects on top of the weeds as well as underneath the moss and that my friends is exactly where the lunker trout are hiding and feeding.  Now that you have  recognied that the trophy trout you want to catch are so close by and accessible, due to lower water, you are ready to start selecting your initial starting dry fly.  After all you are going to fish close to the weeds and in the openings!

Terrestrials Are A Great Starter Pattern In Summer & Fall When Weeds Are Plentiful

Doe Rainbow Trout 22" caught on a #20 hopper pattern

Now The Fun Begins, Catching Trophy Tiger & Rainbow Trout



In still water fly fishing it is important to think about all the insects you see as you approach the water from your car or truck.  Look for the grasshoppers, ants, beetles, bees, gnats as well as the may flies.  These insects are bigger than their aquatic cousins and provide more protein to the larger trout.  They are the cherry on top of a hot fudge sunday for these lunker rainbows.  The also float high on the water and can be cast near the edge of the weed beds or even open water within the beds and moss on the water.  The edges and open water are exactly where you want to present you fly..then hang on for the fight of your life as the trophy hits your fly and heads into the weeds to ditch you.  Now you have a fight on your hands and if you "horse" this monster he will either bend your hook or break your tippett.

So Now Try Some Other Dry Flies

Now You Know How To Fish The Weeds For Trout Try Some Other Dry Flies



Mayflies & Gnats Also Have A Place In Still Water Moss & Weeds

Now you know where to place your fly begin experimenting with other dry flies in your box.  You will be pleasantly surprised how much you enjoy fly fishing in summer and fall when others are walking away from these great conditions.  When you look at the weeds remember to focus on the open spots as well as the edges to cast you fly.  These are the areas the trout are also watching and waiting for their next meal.

Using Nymphs & Wet Flies In Moss & Weeds For Trophy Trout

You can see the weeds tangled on my line between the 24" Rainbow Trout & Strike Indicator

Use The Strike Indicator to help you spot a fish taking the fly in the weeds and moss.  This technique has you dropping your nymph along the weeds and moss just like a dry fly.  However you allow the nymph to slowly sink until the strike indicator moves away from you (it is pulled by the sinking nymph) until it stops moving.  The stop tells you the nymph is at depth.  Now slowly retrieve the nymph one or two inches at a time and allow the strike indicator to move away from you again.  Keep repeating this action until you get a "hit" or need to cast again.  You will catch the biggest trout of your life. 

Come visit us at our ranch in Utah for some great trophy trout fishing.  We are open year round.

Learn More About Still Water Fly Fishing At Our Website.....Plenty Of Photos Too!

www.trophytroutschool.com

Happy Fishing!

Winter Fly Fishing Secrets For Catching Utah Trophy Trout Part 2

Secrets For Catching Trophy Trout Part 2



As fly fishing guides in Utah we like to show our fly fishing clients a really good time catching huge tiger and rainbow trout. We accomplish a quality fly fishing trip by taking our clients to the best trophy trout producing waters in Utah. In fact these waters are close to Park City, Heber City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, Orem, Bountiful, Layton Utah on a private family owned ranch in Tooele County, Utah. I will share this location at the end of this blog. Tooele county spring creek properties located at Dove Creek West @ Hogans Ranch always offers great success for all levels of fly fishing skills by providing the ultimate quarry of huge trout offering both massive Tiger Trout and extreme Rainbow Trout for your fly fishing pleasure.

Photo 3 Lb. "+" Rainbow Trout Caught Fly Fishing Close to Salt Lake City Utah

Our last article on fly fishing secrets a couple of months ago spoke about selecting the correct location and the correct fly for your outing in search of the elusive giant rainbow trout or tiger trout of a 1,000 casts.

Now I will address proper fly selection and the best presentation of the fly. To catch the elusive trophy trout you need to be open minded and remember these big boys get big by being selective of what they eat and where they hide.

Sometimes The Right Fly Is The Right Pattern, But The Wrong Size Or Color Combination.Big Flies don't necessarily mean you will catch trophy size fish. The majority of the insects your target fish eat are really quite small in size. I have caught many trout in the 4,5 & 6 pound class on flies in the #20-#26 hook range. When using flies this small you have got to have some good steel that won't break or bend too easily, so buy the best hooks available for this task. You must also have your drag ready for the heavy load, not too tight and not too loose, because if you try to "horse" a big fish the hook, leader, tippet or knot is going to "give" and your fish of a lifetime will be gone forever.
Make That Knot Tight!!!
Speaking of knots, a quick note: I use a Duncan not that goes through the eye of the hook "twice" creating a super strong connection point between the line, hook and the most important factor in knots that slip, the tag end. The double loop created by the Duncan assures the angler of virtually "0" slippage of the tag end, which is disaster when you hook a big trophy. If you don't currently use the Duncan, look it up on the Internet and start using it. You will be glad you did. In closing, the knot is really fast and easy to tie with plenty of knot strength.
Photo Trophy Rainbow Trout Caught Fly Fishing In Tooele County, 4 Lb. "+"

Match Fly Colors With The Correct Presentation Back to proper fly selection. A few weeks ago at the start of the winter trout spawning run I started throwing a standard leech pattern in a small #20 nymph hook but changed my colors to a black marabou tail with a pinch of bright orange marabou for the body with black thread for the thorax and head. Nothing really spectacular, in fact a pretty bland and simple pattern to tie. I selected the colors of black and orange to contrast each other and to add some flair with the orange similar to a brook trout coloring. But the pattern needed a good presentation. I opted for a non standard leech retrieve.
Whip it, Whip it Good...

The presentation I used was similar to casting and retrieving a streamer or small minnow. The nice color combination with the orange and black creates some of the same color as a spawning Brook and Tiger Trout. The presentation worked! I was ripping lips in the first 2 or 3 casts and landed some nice 4 and 5 pound tiger trout. As I moved up and down the stream things seemed to cool off and I quickly switched to another color combination. Same pattern, a leech, but this time with a olive green marabou tail and orange marabou for the body and of course olive green thread for the thorax and head. Simple, same streamer presentation and wham! I nailed two really nice 3 pound rainbows in less than 15 minutes! Not bad considering the majority of the time was spent playing the fish and trying to get them to the net. These big boys run like a freight train when they feel the bite from my steel.

Share The Wealth With Others
Photo Big 4 Lb Winter Rainbow Caught fly fishing Near Salt Lake City

Now my buddy wanted in on the action and of course (he was tired of just netting my big brute trout) I shared my collection of various colors as well as the presentation. He quickly tied on the olive green and orange pattern and started nailing the trophies. About 6 fish later we were kicking back and laughing about how many times we have failed to experiment with various colors on an old standard pattern and vowed to keep experimenting with both color and presentation.

Advantage Of Tying Your Own Flies Or Not...
If you tie your own flies you can have all the crazy color variations you want, if you don't tie your own. Find a fishing buddy who does tie and you will always have a great selection. That's why my buddy always goes fishing with me. I tie and he shares in the wealth.

Tooele County Location For Giant Rainbow Trout & Tiger Trout...

As I promised at the start of this blog I will share the greatest trout fishing location near Salt Lake City, which is located near Tooele.

Visit our website for additional winter photos and fly fishing information!


http://trophytroutschool.com


Talk with you soon.

All_Tied_Up

(my fly box is always full and ready to go)