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5/16/2001
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Article/Press
Release
Get
Primed for Early-Summer Trout
News from the Pages of Sports Afield
It’s
high-water season on the freestone streams and high time to grab
your flybox and rod and get out on the water. Target areas that have
large aquatic insect hatches coming off, and most importantly, think
outside the box.
“This
time of year, you’ll want to have a good assortment of salmonfly
patterns—better too big than too small—and split-wing attractor
patterns in various sizes and colors in case you run into green,
gray, or brown drake hatches,” advises trout fishing guide Paul
Roos in an interview with Sports Afield magazine. But rest assured, wet flies are
often highly productive this time of year also. “Make sure
you’re packing both black and white streamers to handle different
water-color applications, and fish them fast, right off the bank,”
says Roos. As for nymphs, you can strip them, but when that
doesn’t get the job done, don’t hesitate to dead drift them with
a dry line and 9-foot leader.
“Slow
down; be observant,” advises Sports
Afield’s Anthony Acerrano. “In a mixed-hatch
situation, don’t assume that the fish would prefer the larger,
more abundant flies. Look into the water. Watch the riseforms—they
are not all alike—and determine what fly the fish are dialed in
to.” Step further outside the box: Sometimes the fish are rising
to something else, like emerging nymphs or spent-wings just below
the surface; other times they’re rising to a terrestrial, like an
ant or tiny beetle that’s been windblown from a tree.
“Listen
very carefully. Trout tend to take midges and other tiny flies
softly—a tip and a blip,” Acerrano asserts. “On calm water,
they leave a little bubble floating on the surface. Trout generally
take large mayflies and caddis with an audible gulp.”
Look
beneath the surface. “A shimmer of silver indicates that the fish
are grabbing underwater nymphs—not floating adults—and when a
rise shows only a fish’s back or dorsal fin, chances are they’re
snatching emergers or pupae just at or under the surface film and
possibly not interested in adult–fly patterns,” says Acerrano.
Slow
down, and observe carefully through sight and sound—then assess
the pattern. When fishing’s tough, solving the puzzle—or
cracking the code—is often your greatest reward.
If
you’re a trout angler, the June issue of Sports
Afield magazine will leave you reeling. This issue
features everything from destinations to seasonal patterns to how to
catch even the wariest fish to the reflections and insight of SA field editor John Gierach. Look for it on newsstands today.
Sports
Afield Facts:
-
Bronze
hooks from Crete date as far back as 3400 BC. By 1650, English
hookmaker Charles Kirby had developed both a hook design and the
basic method of manufacturing still in use today.
- In
1937, hunters took 183 deer in Arkansas. By 1998, the Arkansas
deer harvest reached 179,000.
- A
nationwide survey of anglers found that the top-three
impediments to pleasurable fishing are water quality, work
obligations, and interference from others.
- Largemouth
bass that inhabit streams have thinner bodies than bass that
live in lakes because they must constantly expend energy to
fight current.
Founded
in 1887, Sports Afield
is America’s original outdoor magazine with 2.3 million monthly
readers. To learn more about these and other outdoor topics, or to
register to receive these releases electronically, visit www.sportsafield.com.
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