Fly Fishing Tips: Fishing Murky Water

This was made clear when I was fishing with a friend and several of his friends on the South Platte River, on private land near Bailey, Colorado. We had two beautiful days with bright sunshine in clear blue skies. These were the first days of real Colorado Spring weather of this year. It was slow in arriving.

When we got to the water on Saturday we found it was high and cloudy. We could see into the water but not very far. We know the fish are here - we've fished here before, and find it very productive for very large fish. Still, they are trout so the flies have to be presented in a realistic manner or the fish just won't take them.

High, off color water here means fishing a larger fly with some flash, and getting it down to the proper depth. Tippet size is not really an issue - my friend John Hagen, who guides Boxwood frequently, had two gentlemen visiting from PA, and he rigged their rods with 1X tippet while fishing size 10 and 12 Prince Nymphs, for example: these guys caught plenty of trout! No leader shyness there, huh?

I rigged Steve up with a 9' leader that tapered to 4X, then cut about 18 inches off the tip and retied it with a blood knot. To that section of tippet I attached a new pattern I'd tied just for the occasion, and then tied on another section of tippet to that fly and added a flash prince to it. Above the knot attaching the leader I put a 3/0 split shot and between the two flies one piece of B shot. We put a strike indicator about 5 feet above the 3/0 lead. Steve's friend, Beryl, had a shorter leader with about the same rigging. As the morning progressed and flies were lost to snags, aggressive fish or tree limbs - fish aren't in the trees, but boy did we lose a lot of flies to tree limbs - I found myself retying with 3X tippet; it made no difference to the fish, but we lost fewer flies.

First off, and within a few casts, Beryl hooked and landed a good fish. Sometimes this is good news, and sometimes it's not. A fish too early in the day is often a curse. I held my breath for a moment, and then Steve hooked, played and landed a nice trout and we were on our way. The fish were taking the nymphs very gently. After all, it was early in the day, the water was cold with snow melt and water coming through the Robert's Tunnel from Dillon Reservoir and so on.

Since the fish were taking the fly so gently we had to get excellent drifts of the fly. This meant casting to the right spot - my mantra for the day was let it drift, stop the rod, gently lift it a bit, look at the target and hit it with the fly! Look at the target before casting, not while casting. OK? Once the fly was in the right spot it was time to make one mend to get the fly line in the proper spot so the fly would drift right, and then fish. So, cast, mend, fish. That's it. Hard as it is, I insisted that each angler set the hook - lift the rod! - as soon as there was any movement on the yard detector. When the hook was set, fish were landed. Many were missed.

As the day continued it was clear that the water was dropping and the sediment settling out of it. The water was also getting warmer - our legs weren't nearly as freezing cold! On the one hand, warming water temps made the fish more aggressive, and on the other hand it made them a little more selective. Adjustments required!

In a few cases I switched to lighter tippet - a few times I even used 5X, but mostly 4X, just more of it for a better drift. We did start using more realistic and smaller patterns, and we kept hooking fish. As the water got lower we also had to adjust the amount of lead. My rule of thumb with weight is to keep adding it until the fly gets snagged on the bottom every second or third cast, and then remove one small piece. If the fly does not snag every six or eight casts, I add weight. With this change - and with water depth change - it is also important to adjust the position of the strike detector, which should be 2-times the depth of the water being fished above the weight. Also, take into account the speed of the water - the faster it is the more weight and so on.

After starting with my new super-secret fly pattern, which worked great and started costing quite a sum as they were lost to tree limbs - and large Prince Nymphs we switched to smaller caddis larva, soft hackle patterns - light tan, rusty orange and olive all worked - and flashback pheasant tail nymphs. Some had beads; others were without. When I tie with beads the fly always has weight on it, as well.

When fishing nymphs, other than making adjustments to the patterns, tippet size, strike detector position and weight we also have to adjust how we cast. As water gets lower, I find that longer drifts are required. This means making a mental adjustment and waiting a little longer on each side of the cast - stop the rod, wait, move the rod in the other direction, keeping the tip in a straight line (oh, and look at the target first!). Longer casts also require more line control. When casting upstream and allowing the flies to drift back to where we stand in the water, which is usually the best way to fish when possible, as soon as the flies land on the water take inventory of where the fly line is. Get the fly line under the rod hand's index finger and strip line in with the line hand, which is always behind the rod hand, between it and the reel. The line should be stripped back at the same pace the current is carrying the flies so there is always even tension on the fly line from the line hand to the fly. This way we can set the hook when a fish eats our fake.

As the day progressed a few fish began taking flies from the surface. Steve is kind of stubborn on using nymphs because he is good at fishing them and they work for him. Still, I insisted that he try a dry; he did and hooked a few lovely fish. Everyone was happy about that except the fish.

On Sunday the water started out as low as it ended on Saturday, but once again was murky. The fish were not as aggressive, and the hooking up was tougher. So, we started more like we ended the day before, with smaller flies and so on. The water cleared sooner, as well, so we adjusted by using streamers for awhile. It was a hunch on my part, and I had to coerce the anglers to give them a try. I cut leaders shorter, removed all of the lead and strike detectors and tied on a section of 3X tippet - if I'd had 1X with me, I'd have used that; forgot it.

I tied on a big black-bodied Zonker with an orange rabbit wing, and added a small split shot above that knot and right on the eye of the hook. It went down quick, which was the goal. Then, we stood on the right side of the river - looking downstream - and stripped line off the reel and let the fly drift with the current. As soon as there was enough line out I had the angler mend across the stream, making very short, quick roll casts with the upper part of the fly line, and then let the entire thing drift with the current. This moves the fly to a different drift line. As the fly starts swinging with the current we kept the rod tip low - in the water, in fact - and just let the line hang from the reel.

The key to hooking fish when fishing this way - down and across - is to just let the fly drift. When the fish takes the fly the angler has to avoid setting the hook. Don't lift the rod I said. Of course on the first pull - who can avoid it? - each angler lifted the rod and the fish was not hooked. So, in typical guide fashion, I held my hand over the rod. When a fish took the fly I held the rod down; when the fish took the fly for the second time I held the rod down; when the fish took the fly the third time it hooked itself and the fight was on!

When the fish starts running with the fly, then it is time to lift the rod and flight it out. All of the anglers were surprised that this worked - so few folks ever learn to fish streams properly - and kept doing it until it was time to once again make an adjustment.

Get into position. Determine the rig and do it. Tie on flies. Make a good cast to the right spot. Mend the line. Fish. Lift the rod to set the hook. And make adjustments. When the fishing is slow move fast - cover water, change rigs and flies until something does work. When the fishing is fast, keep on fishing like that if catching more fish is the goal. I always think it's a good idea to change when fishing is fast so I can learn something new, and try out new fly patterns, rigging, casting, drifts and so on.

The main thing, of course, is to get out there soon and often, and enjoy fly fishing fun!