Conquer Runoff

Runoff is just around the corner and with the Winter and Spring weather we’ve had, this could be a long one. though it seems that as soon as Spring pokes it’s head out of it’s hibernation hole, Winter comes around and says “Not today!” We won’t get into how long this runoff season will last, but we will cover 5 techniques to conquer runoff and help you catch fish when the rivers are high and off color.

Fish Bigger and Flashier Flies

This time of year, the rivers are high, muddy, and cold.  This means the fish have a hard time seeing smaller flies and they won’t move far to eat.  Runoff isn’t the time to fish 7x tippet and size 22 midges.  Large flashy and large dark flies are often the way to go.  Black Rubber Leg wooly buggers, caddis nymphs, larger rainbow warriors, squirmy wormy’s, mops, and Kreelex flies are all excellent options for tempting runoff trout.  However, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean heavier.  Often, fish hold near the banks and just because you’re fishing near the bank doesn’t mean it’s deep. You don’t need a ton of weight to get down when fishing near the bank, but sometimes it does help.

Concentrate on Fishing the Banks

Due to the high flows and strong currents, the fish hug the banks during runoff.  You shouldn’t be fishing in the middle of the river where the strongest current is.  The fish will look for areas where the current is moving the slowest.  Typically, this is behind large boulders, in eddies, or even in current breaks caused by the bank or willows lining the banks.  One of the best techniques for fishing runoff is finding pockets of dead water just off the bank and jigging your flies up and down in the pocket until a fish strikes.

Move Slowly

Because of the temperature of the water due to the melting snow, the fish’s metabolism slows back down to that of its wintertime state. This means that the fish aren’t as active as they were just a few short weeks ago.  Your flies need to be where the fish are so they have a chance to see them and eat them.  Runoff isn’t the time to try and cover miles and miles of river.  By concentrating on the areas that a fish should be holding means you should slow down and spend time fishing in those areas.  It’s not uncommon to only fish 100 yards of stream in 8 hours.  In many ways, fishing during runoff is easier than other times of the year because there are only a few places that the fish can be.  Use your time wisely and concentrate on those areas.  Sometimes you may need to give a spot 20-30 minutes before moving on.

Use Heavier tippet

As I mentioned before, runoff isn’t the time nor place to fish 7x tippet.  Because the water is off color, you can get away with fishing 0x-3x without any problems.  Using larger tippet will help you land fish faster, and you’ll also lose far fewer flies from getting stuck on sticks and rocks on the bottom.

Fish Lakes

If all else fails and you decide that fishing rivers during runoff isn’t for you, the trout fishing in lakes is just heating up.  There are plenty of lakes around that support trout, as well as other warm water species.  Many lakes in Colorado that offer fantastic fishing are easy to drive to and you don’t need a boat to have a great day on the water.

There are plenty of fish to be caught and not many anglers around to spoil the fun. Use these tips and you’ll be sure to conquer runoff this spring!