A Trout-First Approach: Reading the Water and Rigging for Success

What that means is, considering a trouts biological proclivities and then considering the type of water you will be fishing. Using the above data points you can reverse engineer your rig for each days unique situations. I hope this video and the charts below help you put a few more trout in the net this season!

The core of my approach to any water is what I call a “trout-first” mentality. This simply means considering the biology of a trout as the primary driver for all my rigging decisions. This isn’t just about the trout’s inherent biology, but also about the specific water we’re fishing. Today, we’ve picked a stretch of river that’s quite pocket-water oriented, so we’ve opted for a Euro nymphing setup. It’s a bit chilly today – I haven’t taken a water temp, but given the recent heat, I’d guess it’s in the low 50s. My initial assumption is that these trout will be stratified throughout the water column, which directly influences how I rig. I’m starting with a tippet length of five and a half times the water depth to my point fly (the furthest fly down). I’m running double 2.8-millimeter beads to get down. We’ll see how it goes, and adjustments are always on the table. While I’ve been guiding a lot of dry-dropper and indicator setups lately (and I promise to get some videos on those soon – the fish have just been cooperating so well!), today, with a half-day to fish with a friend, Euro nymphing feels like the most efficient way to connect.

So far, the fishing has been good. You can probably hear the wind whipping around – I actually made a video with Noor Mac a while back about dealing with windy conditions and some helpful tricks, I’ll try to link that up here somewhere. But despite the gusts, we’re still picking up fish, running double 2.8s on five and a half x tippet. With the wind, I’m casting a bit further upstream, giving the flies time to sink and letting them drift naturally in the lower, slower currents. I did take a water temp, and it’s around 58 degrees, which reinforces my initial thought that the fish should be holding throughout the water column. Interestingly, most of the fish we’ve landed have been on the top dropper. But we’re going to keep at it and hopefully put a few more in the net for you to see.

I just dropped four fish in a row, and I think I’m not getting a good enough read on my sighter here. The wind is a bit more aggressive than ideal. So, I made a quick adjustment: I removed my point fly and bumped up the bead size on my remaining fly from a 2.8 to a 3.3. Now, beads won’t make your fly sink any faster, but what they will do is help your fly hold its position better against wind and thicker tippet. The best way to explain it is to think of a wiffle ball and a bowling ball. If you drop them, they’ll hit the ground at roughly the same rate. But in a 50 mph wind, that wiffle ball is going to get carried away, while the bowling ball will hold its ground better. Similarly, a heavier bead will help anchor your flies in the current more effectively than a lighter one. Let’s see if this tweak pays off… and it did! Nice little flat there. (Why did I just talk with an Alabama accent? No idea!)

Alright, trout first. We have a classic run in front of us. Think of a typical run stretch: riffles at the head, deepening out to the gut or middle – kind of like a hammock – and then shallowing out at the tailout. When I’m fishing, or when I’m guiding, I always like to fish near to far, shallow to deep, and I also prefer to start from the back and work my way up. Why? Because trout face into the current. We’ve already established that there isn’t a significant bug life to draw these fish into the riffles right now, so we know they’re likely holding in the deeper water and those transition zones. John’s on the stick here, and we’re just going to carve across the run, trying to pick up fish. Isn’t that what we’re out here for? Let me flip the camera around and break it down for you.

John’s working through that first transition, that initial little trough. We’ve had a couple of eats already. I’d advise taking a half-step. John’s going to step forward and continue carving across the run. By casting above his target, it gives his flies time to sink and bite into the lower, slower currents where the fish are holding. Cold-blooded critters, remember? Oh, that was a fish! Try keeping the sighter from touching the water; you’ll get a better read. Yep, not a rock, but you did get an eat in that pocket. Again, trout first. That happened pretty fast. We patterned the fish, identified that they were in the deeper water, pinpointed those high-percentage spots, carved through the run, and John was able to pick up a fish pretty quickly. That’s really the essence of a trout-first approach: using the prevailing conditions and trends to dial in your rig and, equally importantly, the water you’re going to target. Obviously, not all water holds fish. We can look down and see that they’re not there. There’s no significant hatch to bring them into this transitional water below the riffles. But we’re going to keep fishing and put some more fish in the net… release the man gently.

Alright, that was a great day. Hopefully, what you guys took away from this video was that “trout-first” approach – basing your rig and the water you’re targeting on the biology of a trout. Where they’re going to be in the water column is very flow-dependent, as is where they’re going to hold. Bug life also plays a significant role. We were able to isolate those high-percentage spots here in the meadows. Now we’ve just bumped our weights up to deal with the increased flow. Anything you want to add, brother? Nah, man, this was a great day. We had a lot of fun, caught a lot of fish, and given the conditions we faced, I mean, I’m surprised we had as much success as we did. Trout first! Well, thank you guys so much for watching. Actually, I’m booked for the entire month of June, so I’m not sure how many more videos are going to come out. I’m going to try my best, but thank you everyone for the support and thank you everyone for booking trips post-COVID. It really means a lot to my family and me. I hope all you guys and girls out there are catching some trout.