One of many rainbow trout Sam landed before we left the
gorge that afternoon; notice the two fly rods.
Reverting back to the title of this post, I showed Sam
how to fish in fast moving water today. We fished some of the fast runs that I
had fished before. The key to attracting a take when fishing water this fast is
no drag at all. Some of the runs can be 10 ft. to 30 ft. long or more. I like
to fish all the runs here standing where the fast water begins and letting the
nymph float though the run as I release fly line to keep the nymph drag free. The
current is going sink your indicator a lot in the form of false takes but the
reward is when you connect with a true trout take. The lesson here is never
take you eyes off your indicator when fishing any fast moving runs. I landed
numbers of trout today in runs that was no wider than 2 ft. and as shallow as 2 to
3 ft. deep. I lost a lot of trout today because I had to play the trout back to my
position at the start of the fast water. If I had waded to the trout to land
them, then I would have scared the rest of the very trout I was fishing for. So to
give me a landing advantage on my next trip I will be using my 4 weight to add a
little more muscle to steer the trout to my net. The wading staff is a must
when navigating the current to get into position to drift your nymph.
Colorful gill plate on this bow; I remember hooking this
trout at least 30 ft. down the run from where I was standing. It went airborne
several times before I netted it.
What a fitting way to end the trip on this great tailrace today. We are
blessed here in Alabama
