Montana Woods N Water May 2016 Print Edition | Page 31

FLY FISHING CONTINUED
As I do I try to put myself into the position of that imaginary baitfish, and think while I
retrieve ”Ohh, goodness! I see a big trout! I think I’ll scram!” I move the fly, not quite
far enough to avoid disaster, trying to inject that note of panic in my retrieve, and wait
for the response.
Sometimes I feel a solid chomp. Sometimes I snag a willow. Sometimes there is
nothing. If I can, I drift the fly back into the lie and try again. I might repeat the cycle
several times before I take the fly out of the water. Sometimes it takes a little agitation
and persistence to get a high-water trout stirred up enough to strike.

High water, a stealthy approach, and a burly
cutthroat headed for the net.

Streamers give me more options than nymphs for this kind of fishing. I can keep them
moving, or let them hang still and swim in the current. I can try to trigger a strike
response from a lethargic fish that wouldn’t bother with a naturally drifted nymph. I
can cover a lot of water. But I always carry a batch of nymphs, dries, and emergers, and
look for any opportunity to use them.

During pre-runoff and post-runoff high water here in the West it’s not uncommon to see localized hatches of several insects. There are gray
drakes. There are March browns and smaller blue winged olives. And there are my personal favorites, caddisflies.
The so-called Mother’s Day Caddis hatches were on the river in flurries, right at the appointed time this year. As caddisflies tend to hang
around for a while after hatching and can appear on the water at random, they can be fished reasonably well just about anytime. And, they
scoot along the water. Scooting a Caddis Variant over the lie of a trout holding in pre-runoff cold water is likely to wake him up and make
him strike. When nothing is on the water, it is usually more effective than dead drifting a small mayfly imitation.
The dry fly activity, if you hit it right, can be superb. When it isn’t, there are always small streamers. Armed with some unusual tactics and
the willingness to explore a little, you can expect to do well during high water for as long as you can find water along the edges to fish.

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