Thursday, July 15, 2004
Tips from a pro on catching Smith River trout
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Al Kittredge, who operates Al’s Smith River Guide Service and is a frequent contributor to Bill Cochran’s Field Reports.
I consider the Smith River to be my home water and don’t mind sharing what I have learned over the past dozen years. Most of us are in it for fun, and with the exception of a few stocked trout for the skillet, we release our catches.
FLIES
I seldom fish a dry fly on the Smith. With the exception of a sparse hatch of sulfurs, the river seems void of insect life that the fly fisherman can rely on. Also, there are very few bait or forage fish in the upper reaches of the river, so I do not use a streamer unless there has been a recent stocking rainbows and my wife has put in her order for the table.
NYMPHS
Nymphs are my first choice. Some anglers do well on Pheasant Tails, others like Zug Bugs and I have seen moderate success with a small Bead Head Inchworm. I have had great success with my version of a black wooly worm, which I call the “Allieworm.” See this 2001 column Bill Cochran wrote about the Allieworm. I suspect that any small, dark nymph will do about as well. I also suspect my success centers more around how and where I fish the Allieworm.
FISHING A NYMPH
I fish a nymph very similar to the way that most folks fish a dry fly. I tie on a long leader and a large dry fly or small piece of yarn as a strike indicator. My nymph is on a dropper about 12-to18-inches under the indicator.
Cast above the anticipated strike zone and let the indicator drift through the sweet spot and beyond. Pick it back up and without using a false cast place it right back down again. Repeat this two or three times and shuffle your feet forward so you can reach the next likely spot.
Of course you are keeping your eye on the indicator and when it goes down or acts funny, you raise the rod to set the hook. Don’t react too soon; better to be a bit late then a bit early. If it is a false alarm or you miss a fish, follow through with your back cast and put it right back in the strike zone again.
CASTING
This method requires you to forget all your fancy false casting techniques. False casting just wastes time, dries out the nymph so that it will not sink properly and often spooks the fish.
If your cast does not land where you anticipated, fish it through anyway. Who know, there may be a fish there! You don’t want to do a lot of picking the indicator and nymph up near where you think the fish will be. Let it drift a couple feet past the sweet spot before you pick it up. Try to avoid making a sucking sound as the indicator comes off the water. It helps if you begin your pickup slowly without putting real effort into it until the indicator and fly line are both moving toward you.
FISH UPSTREAM
I usually fish upstream the way most fly fisherman do. In the Smith, trout like to settle into the tails of pools, so fish the shallow water as you move in, then direct your attention to the more fishy looking pools.
Smith River trout like to hug the banks, where they find refuge from the generation surge flowing downstream from Philpott Dam. Make the banks your target, but don’t overlook all that flat water right out in the middle. Give it all a shot or two and keep your feet shuffling forward.
You are not looking for just any fish; you are looking for a fish that’s ready to feed. My experience working with the Virginia Tech fish survey crew is that there are plenty of trout in just about every pool and riffle. Our challenge is to be there when they are feeding.
NEXT WEEK, PART II
