During July and August you should fish where most of the trout are residing in the stream. And if you know of a stream of six miles long – or less, that flows into a bigger stream, and it does not have habitat improvement then you should be wading and fishing that stream. There are a number of reasons why this is the best plan for catching a lot of trout.
First, when they perform habitat improvement on the steam they deepen it and make it almost impossible for you to wade the stream. Why wade the steam? Because, I always catch more trout when I’m cautiously wading up the stream than fishing from the bank. Trout are known to identify your approach from 50 feet away if you are approaching from the bank. And, when wading upstream slowly your movement is being washed downstream away from the trout. The vegetation growing on the bank can be over six feet tall and you could get lost in that environment. If you are on the bank you could run into wild parsley. It is in full bloom during July. It looks like Queen Annes-lace. However, Queen Anne’s-lace has a white top and wild parsley has a yellow top. Near the end of August, wild parsley is dying, and in September it has lost its ability to cause a blister on your bare skin.
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As the bright sun of summer warms up the water some large trout swim upstream to cooler water. And they are anxious to bite on your lure in water that is about three feet across. So if you have a storm at night that dumps water in the steam and you can see your lure in two feet of water – that is the perfect time to catch the large trout. Because the big trout will move from under cover and be searching the pool for a big meal. Hopefully, you will have a cloudy morning for the trout to swim the pool.
Why get up early? Because the water temperature is lowest early in the morning. And you should be at the big hole in the creek at 8:00 A.M. This is when the water temperature will rise for the first time in the day. When checking my trout records I found that I catch more trout of seventeen inches or more in July. At first I thought that is strange because I fish less in the warm days of July. Then I realized the trout of summer needs more food because it’s his metabolism is working faster in the warm water to consume food. The trout of summer is in a protective mood and it is guarding his territory and as a result it will hit your lure two or three times to chase is away.
You know by now the fly or spinner that big trout prefer. Your lure should be a large enough that will attract a trout over 20 inches. Fly fishermen use a streamer fly that appears like the minnows in the creek. And Spin fishermen use a large spinner, about size three, that you know trout prefer.
Now you know where and went to fish for trout. However, one more consideration. Most of my large trout, of 17 inches or more, are caught under the shade of black willow trees. If the black willow tree is undercut, on the bank, it is an excellent place for a large trout to hide.
Coulee Creek flows into Rush Creek from the north and I fished it a number of times. About a mile upstream I came to a big black willow tree with an undercut bank – a perfect place for a large trout to hide. For three years in a row I caught a big brown trout under that tree. On the fourth year a large beaver managed to cut down the tree and my hole was gone. That beaver had to spend a lot of time sharpening his teeth on that tree. And the fifth year I decided to go back up the creek and see if a trout was under the big tree lying in the water. However, a flash flood had washed the tree downstream and out of the water.
It’s been 20 years since I fished Cooley Creek and it is time for me to fish it again and see if there is another black willow tree growing on the bank to shade the water for a big trout. Early in the morning, with the air temperature below 90 degrees, I will be wading up Cooley Creek looking for a black willow tree.
Why, do I want the air temperature below 90 degrees? I don’t fish water if the air temperature is 90 degrees of above. Because the higher the water temperature is, the less oxygen in has in it, and if you play a trout it can die from lack of oxygen.
So if you are a fly fishermen remember to roll cast your big streamer fly under the black willow tree. And, if you are a spin fisherman remember to cast underhanded and get your lure back into the shade of the black willow tree. The big trout is waiting!
Jay Ford Thurston is the Broadcaster’s trout fishing columnist. He can be contacted at trout@mwt.net.