It’s happened to every angler at some point in their life – they drove all the way out to their favorite trout stream and when they finally got there the river was blown out. Perhaps it was springtime and several days of rain finally pushed the river to its flooding point, or it was a tailwater stream and the dam operator just wasn’t cooperating with your fishing schedule. However, high water conditions offer many advantages over low water conditions and are often one of the best times to fish if you just change your strategies a bit.

Trout still need to eat during high water and trust me they eat plenty in these conditions. Heavy rain will wash and abundance of food into the river such as terrestrial insects and worms, causing trout to feed heavily – especially big trout. Aquatic insects do not seem to be bothered by high water and tend to continue hatching on schedule as well. Furthermore, the increase in water height and current speeds wash many aquatic nymphs free creating an abundance of food in the stream.

While the whole river may appear to hold fish when water levels increase, trout will more or less remain in the same exact locations they were under normal conditions. If trout are normally behind a particular rock in low water, they most likely are still behind that rock in high water. They may be more spread out in a pool, but they still remain in that pool.

The only reason trout would move from their typical location is if the current is moving just too fast. I always can catch at least a trout or two in a particular shallow riffle on the West Branch Delaware River in normal conditions. But during high water, I’ve never been able to catch a fish in this particular riffle. I decided to investigate in high water condition by wading all the way through the riffle and the water was drifting so fast that I almost got swiped downstream. The bottom rocks in this area were small (softball and basketball sized) and normally created a break in the current during low water. However, the rocks were too small to provide trout with a break in the current during high water and the fish were forced to relocate.

Trout will almost always be directly on the bottom and feeding under the river’s surface in high water. Since the currents are moving faster, too much energy is normally required for a trout to suspend in the water column and fight the currents to feed on surface insects. The water depth is also greater in high water, and trout would have to expend a lot of energy to rise from the bottom to the surface to feed on surface insects. Because the fish are right on the bottom in high water, you certainly need to nymph right on the bottom. Make sure your nymphs are drifting within the lowest foot and a half of the water column and unless you see multiple trout rising – put your dry flies away.

Focus on pools, pocket water, runs with big enough bottom rocks to protect trout from the current, and on the edges of fast water. It’s often hard to nymph pools in low water because the current moves very slowly and trout can clearly see that your presentation is unreal. But during high water, currents are moving much faster and you can finally make a realistic nymphing presentation through pools. Pocket water is especially excellent in high water because you know that a trout must be in that pocket. Pocket water rocks may be difficult to see in high water because they are now greatly submerged underwater – look for a boil and break in the current to find a pocket water rock and cast to it several times. Provided the edge is deep enough, trout will often hang right on the edge of fast water to feed during high water. Trout want to take advantage of the ample food that is being washed downstream in the fast main current, but the water is moving just too fast for them to hold right in the main current so they will hold on the edge of it.

Use your typical nymphs during high water and don’t be afraid to use them a size or two bigger than you normally would. Bigger nymphs will be easier for trout to see in the high water, and trout will have less time to analyze your flies since the current is moving faster. Bigger nymphs will also will be your friend when playing and fighting a fish in the faster water. Streamer fishing is also excellent during high water. Small baitfish normally have the advantage over large trout because they are more agile. But in high water, baitfish cannot fight the currents as easily as trout and are now disadvantaged. Nymphing terrestrials fly patterns like worms and grasshoppers are effective in high water conditions as well.

More information on fishing high water and all water conditions in general can be found in my guide book SIMPLE NYMPHING FOR TROUT IN RIVERS & STREAMS.

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