One of the unfortunate realities of midsummer angling is that when the hot weather arrives, the angling cools off. Much to the dismay of anglers who want to get into some good flyrod action on their precious vacation days off.
Here are three ways to even the odds with wary summertime trout and grayling.
Go little, go big, get high.
The hot months are the domain of little insects. Miniscule mayflies like PMDs, tricos and flying ant terrestrials made up much of a trout’s daily protein intake during the dog days. Downsize your flies and tippits to match the hatch. Key your angling to the cool of the evening when the caddis hordes come out. And a quick reminder for you old guys, don’t forget your cheaters. Threading a 6X tippet through the eye of a Size 18 Elk Hair Caddis in low light can become mission impossible without a good pair of magnifier specs.
Going big can also bring success. Grasshoppers, especially on warm windy days, get very active and end up in many Alberta meadow trout streams.
Slapping a hopper pattern along grassy undercuts can bring out trout that under normal conditions confine the feeding to the dark hours.
Getting high has nothing to do with substance abuse and everything to do with altitude. The higher you go into the Eastern Slopes the longer the seasons are extended.
So when the flies of spring are long gone on low country trout streams, they’re just picking up in the mountains.
Don’t be surprised to find golden stoneflies and green drakes hatching on rivers like the North and South Ram and other alpine rivers into the middle of August, bringing up the hungry cutthroats to pig out on them.