We’ve been seeing some great days on the river this week as the flows went on a roller coaster ride once again this week, starting below 600 CFS on Easter weekend and sitting at 1,700 CFS as of today. The water started out fairly muddy earlier in the week but has since cleared up to 2-3 feet of visibility now that flows have stabilized. This quick bump will shuffle some fish around in a hurry and keep our finned friends on their toes (or pectoral fins) when it comes to having to boogy if conditions change.

These fish have certainly seemed to put on their feeding bags over the last few days and are throwing caution to the wind when taking flies. Bigger attractor nymphs such as worms, eggs, stoneflies and crawdads are fishing well, and the streamer fishing being equally as good using patterns imitating sculpins, whitefish, or juvenile trout.

There a quite a few advantages to using larger attractor flies during this time. For instance, giving them a bigger bug increases their odds of finding it when the water is high and dirty. Additionally, larger flies are tied on larger hooks which will give you an advantage of staying pinned when that fish gets into the fast water. Lastly, these larger flies mean you can effectively use stouter tippet decreasing your odds of breaking off on the trophy. The use of a heavier tippet is also possible due to the decreased water clarity, so if heading out to the river in the coming weeks use 2x - 3x fluoro to have that turning power when you tie into a big fish that’s looking for that fast water. If the thought of fishing during runoff intrigues, or still intimidates you after reading this, consider booking a trip with us and we can show you what it’s all about. If you’re more of a DYI angler, stop in the shop and we can get you dialed in for a successful day of spring melt fishing. To become a good angler, one should be able to find fish in all conditions, and this can be a great time to step a bit out of your comfort zone with the potential of some killer fishing.