Trout in Stained Water

[Dejon Hamann]

I'm sitting at my desk watching the first good spring rain of the year and It reminds me that at least half the competitions I've been to in the last 5 years have been on "blown out" water.  Within this time I've seen some interesting trout behavior and once or twice stumbled into an approach that yielded fish to more than the "strip big streamers across the bottom" approach. 

I was wondering if anyone out there had any interesting insight, research, or learned knowledge that deals with Trout behavior and capabilities in stained water.

More specifically, how far can trout "see" in X type of stained water?  And do you think we often miscalculate our difficulty with catching them, not because of the clarity of the water, but because they have changed their holding positions and feeding behaviors?

[Pat Weiss]

I think that each scenario is unique, some cricks fish better than others when discolored, likewise some species are easier to catch than others in these discolored situations.  We dont have alot of wild rainbows around here (some, but not alot), but its always seemed to me that browns fish better in discolored or even downright muddy conditions than do Brooks or Bows.  As for how far they can see, only they know that, but I think it does depend on conditions.  A clear and sunny day with muddy water is a great day to stay home and drink beer.  The sun bounces off the silt particles in the water and ( I believe) screws with their vision.  A dark rainy, nasty day with muddy water offers less reflection/refraction and a better situation to sillouette items flowing by.  They may not be able to see as well, but there are likely to be ten times the number of food items available, so the odds are in their favor.  How well a crick fishes also can depend on the timing, in most scenarios, fishing is better when the crick is on the rise, not on the fall (ie. NE Qualifier).  Trout will make little "mini migrations" to water that is preferable in either a clarity or comfort. this may only mean a move of a couple feet, to lay flat behind a rock the size of a shoebox, or it may be the whole way across a stream or the the upper or lower end of a pool.  In the end theyre still just fish, but they can be downright tough to catch in certain situations, no matter how you go about it.

[Rob Twombly]

I have been dealing with high mountain runoff for 4 seasons now and fish during that time.  A few things I have learned for certain but there are guys on here with much more experience than me in these conditions .   Fish congregate to the edges...most of my fish are within a few feet of the bank most within 18".  They do hold in the likely looking spots, behind trees and boulders if available but right on the bank because there will be some natural structure there...sometimes very tight, you will lose flies. Dark flies work best(black or brown), then chartreuse, pink and orange...see where I am going here...I use large black nymphs, SJ worms and Egg flies...sometimes bacon and eggs(worm and egg on a dropper).  But large dark colored nymphs(#6-10) slowly fished along the edges yield fish.  Streamers can be productive(Gartside soft hackle streamer in Chartreuse at this time is a favorite of mine) but if you fish them upstream like a nymph you will fare better than dragging them across current or up from downstream.  If the weather is good and bugs should be hatching keep your eyes peeled for risers in quiet water.  Fish can be approached very closely and will be rather active if you just keep working the edges.  I dont think their visibility is any better than ours in these conditions and I dont think they get super selective because of it. 

[Jim Frazier]

Rob i agree 100% percent , black behind every rock sticking up out of the water with 3' of the bank !

[Bob Lux]

The days down here in the South when it rains is when I head to the mountain streams with vigour. The big rivers can get dangerous, but those medium size ones are awesome. We have such a poor insect population that when those fish get food running into the water, they gorge themselves.
Now when it comes to the snow melt up North, that can be some cold and scary stuff. I used to attemp it on steelhead streams back in the days before they had year round streams in NY and you just couldn't stand the cabin fever, but that water is just too powerful. Not to say that the days of stained water during steelhead runs are bad. Those are some of the better days when the fish are a little more eager to take.
I'd rather fished stained water than clear water, but not mud water like what you see in the massive snow melts.