Trout Fever
New member
though you guys might like to read this little bit on the long side but informative news letter i recieve from one of my subscriptions
Tips for Releasing Trout Safely in Hot Weather
Trout caught on flies in spring and fall, when the water is cool, usually survive being played and released with no ill effects. In the summer, when streams run warm, it can be a different story. Trout played to exhaustion in warm water often don't recover. It doesn't make any difference if you're fishing for food, but most of us fly-fishers release most of our fish, and our goal is to release them unharmed.
Fortunately, it's possible catch and release trout safely during the summer, by taking some common-sense precautions.
The most obvious way to avoid temperature-related injury to trout is by fishing where the water's cold - and that begins with knowing when the water is too warm.
A stream thermometer has been basic equipment for many anglers for generations, and it will definitely tell you whether a stream is too warm to fish (generally above 70 degrees for trout.) But getting all the way to the stream only to see bad news on the thermometer is a big disappointment; some anglers are tempted to say the heck with it and fish anyway.
A better strategy is to follow local reports on stream conditions so you know before you go. The U.S. Geological Survey posts real-time data on flows at hundreds of rivers, including temperature for some. (It's usually given in Celsius but the USGS has a Celsius-to-Fahrenheit converter on its site.) Most fly shops have stream conditions available on their websites. Local online forums are often the best source of honest information on what's happening on the streams.
Two kinds of streams enjoy some protection from the summer heat: spring creeks, which are fed by cool water from underground rather than surface water; and tailwaters, which receive water from the bases of dams that form reservoirs. Near Flyshack headquarters in upstate New York, the most popular tailwaters are the east and west branches of the Delaware River, both of which are dammed to provide water supply for New York City. Water flowing from the dams back into the rivers is often ridiculously cold, even in mid- summer, and the fishing is often ridiculously good.
Even spring creeks and tailwaters can grow warm under the relentless summer sun. But most will cool back down to perfectly fishable temperatures during the overnight hours. Accordingly, the water is coolest and the fish (and the flies) are most active first thing in the morning. The good fishing makes the trouble of rising early worthwhile, and being on a trout stream at the break of a summer day is one of life's exquisite pleasures.
Once you've found a place to fish and figured out what time of day to fish it, you can greatly increase the chances that fish you catch and release will survive, by landing them quickly and releasing them with as little fuss as possible.
The ethical angler will use the heaviest tippet he or she can, to minimize running, leaping and pulling by the fish, all of which can cause potentially fatal stress when water temps are in the upper 60s or higher. Fluorocarbon tippet, with its low visibility, permits stealth even when using relatively heavy diameters such as 4X or 3X.
Having landed the fish, you can get it back into the safety of the water in no time at all if your hook is barbless. Extracting a barbed hook, on the other hand, can become a chaotic tussle that places severe stress on the trout. Compensating for warm stream temperatures is just one more reason for buying or tying flies on barbless hooks or flattening the barbs yourself with narrow needle-nose pliers. (Others include the difficulty and damage in getting barbed hooks out of nets, waders, clothes, ears, fishing buddies, etc.)
Let's face it - fishing in the stifling heat isn't much of a pleasure anyway. Seek out streams that run cool even when the weather's warm, fish them in the evening and especially the morning, and use a little extra care when handling and playing your fish. Those hours when the sun is high in the sky are better spent taking a nap or tying a few flies.
Tips for Releasing Trout Safely in Hot Weather
Trout caught on flies in spring and fall, when the water is cool, usually survive being played and released with no ill effects. In the summer, when streams run warm, it can be a different story. Trout played to exhaustion in warm water often don't recover. It doesn't make any difference if you're fishing for food, but most of us fly-fishers release most of our fish, and our goal is to release them unharmed.
Fortunately, it's possible catch and release trout safely during the summer, by taking some common-sense precautions.
The most obvious way to avoid temperature-related injury to trout is by fishing where the water's cold - and that begins with knowing when the water is too warm.
A stream thermometer has been basic equipment for many anglers for generations, and it will definitely tell you whether a stream is too warm to fish (generally above 70 degrees for trout.) But getting all the way to the stream only to see bad news on the thermometer is a big disappointment; some anglers are tempted to say the heck with it and fish anyway.
A better strategy is to follow local reports on stream conditions so you know before you go. The U.S. Geological Survey posts real-time data on flows at hundreds of rivers, including temperature for some. (It's usually given in Celsius but the USGS has a Celsius-to-Fahrenheit converter on its site.) Most fly shops have stream conditions available on their websites. Local online forums are often the best source of honest information on what's happening on the streams.
Two kinds of streams enjoy some protection from the summer heat: spring creeks, which are fed by cool water from underground rather than surface water; and tailwaters, which receive water from the bases of dams that form reservoirs. Near Flyshack headquarters in upstate New York, the most popular tailwaters are the east and west branches of the Delaware River, both of which are dammed to provide water supply for New York City. Water flowing from the dams back into the rivers is often ridiculously cold, even in mid- summer, and the fishing is often ridiculously good.
Even spring creeks and tailwaters can grow warm under the relentless summer sun. But most will cool back down to perfectly fishable temperatures during the overnight hours. Accordingly, the water is coolest and the fish (and the flies) are most active first thing in the morning. The good fishing makes the trouble of rising early worthwhile, and being on a trout stream at the break of a summer day is one of life's exquisite pleasures.
Once you've found a place to fish and figured out what time of day to fish it, you can greatly increase the chances that fish you catch and release will survive, by landing them quickly and releasing them with as little fuss as possible.
The ethical angler will use the heaviest tippet he or she can, to minimize running, leaping and pulling by the fish, all of which can cause potentially fatal stress when water temps are in the upper 60s or higher. Fluorocarbon tippet, with its low visibility, permits stealth even when using relatively heavy diameters such as 4X or 3X.
Having landed the fish, you can get it back into the safety of the water in no time at all if your hook is barbless. Extracting a barbed hook, on the other hand, can become a chaotic tussle that places severe stress on the trout. Compensating for warm stream temperatures is just one more reason for buying or tying flies on barbless hooks or flattening the barbs yourself with narrow needle-nose pliers. (Others include the difficulty and damage in getting barbed hooks out of nets, waders, clothes, ears, fishing buddies, etc.)
Let's face it - fishing in the stifling heat isn't much of a pleasure anyway. Seek out streams that run cool even when the weather's warm, fish them in the evening and especially the morning, and use a little extra care when handling and playing your fish. Those hours when the sun is high in the sky are better spent taking a nap or tying a few flies.
