Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Autumn Small Stream Trout - March 2021
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Autumn Small Stream Trout - March 2021
After doing some gardening around the home in the morning, I was in two minds whether to go fishing or just stay home. I decided to go fishing.
Even though it was late morning, 11:40am, while I was making my way to the stream, the conditions were ideal... dull, overcast and no wind. I was in the water ten minutes later. The area that I headed to, with the stream running at a low water level, was one that I knew had quite a few knee deep runs in it and that's where the trout would be.
The choice of lure to use shouldn't matter all that much with the dull conditions, however with the water being a light tannin colour I thought I'd start with a Copper #00 Mepps Aglia Mouche Noire spinner. I always fish by casting the lure upstream and retrieving it downstream because it's more natural to the trout, with an insect, bug or small baitfish coming down the waterways with the flow.
Today, as I entered the water, I noticed a trout sip something from the surface. This fish was in a short stretch of water that was well covered with dense foliage. I could have hopped out of the water and gone around this stretch of water, then fished it. However I decided to just flick the spinner down past the trout and slowly retrieve it upstream. On the retrieve a bow wave soon appeared behind the little Copper Aglia, so I gave the rod a light twitch to make the spinner blade flutter and that was enough to get the trout to take it. A fish on the very first cast. It doesn't get any better than that and it was a nice (425g) size, well-conditioned trout to catch first up as well.
It was pretty quiet from here on. I did have some nice size trout follow the lure but no takers, which was a little disappointing. After trying several different Mepps spinners, I finally had a trout take a #00 Gold Aglia Mouche Noire. It had taken an hour to catch this fish and it was my 350th trout of the season. The fish was taken at the top end of a deep stretch of water.
The next cast and retrieve was back into the same area and no sooner had the spinner hit the water and another trout grabbed it. This was a larger fish that fought all the way to the landing net. With two trout caught in two cast and retrieves it was more to my liking and with another deep stretch of water ahead I was hoping it would continue.
No sooner had I moved into the next stretch of water and I spotted a trout surface feeding toward the top end of it. The first cast and retrieve was all that it took to get the trout to take the Gold Mouche Noire spinner. This was a solid brown and fought hard in the deeper water. It made several leaps and runs, before I had it under control and eased it into the net. Three trout caught and released in ten minutes was great and I was hoping it would continue on like this... though it rarely happens. I was right in thinking that because I then lost two trout in a row, in the same stretch of water, right after the release of the trout I had just caught.
From here I had to bypass a couple of very shallow runs, after spooking a few small trout in them as I slowly made my way upstream. It's near impossible to move up a shallow stretch of water without spooking any trout that may be in them. I came across another small deep pocket of water, which was one that I'd caught trout in on previous trips. It was during the second cast and retrieve into the deeper run, on the left side of the stream, where a medium size trout took the spinner. This trout put a good tussle before it tired and I had it in the net.
As I made my way to the next deeper stretch of water, I noticed it was getting lighter. Then the sun started to break through as the cloud started to break up. This was the last thing I needed. Sun on light coloured low tannin water was going to turn the tables in favour of the trout. Once I had reached the next stretch of deeper water there were patches of sun hitting it and I did think about changing from the Gold Mouche Noire to a Black Mouche Noire.
I stayed with the gold spinner, to see if the patches of sunlight had any impact on a trout taking the lure and it didn't. As soon as the spinner hit the water a brown darted out and grabbed it. I had the sixth trout of the spin session landed in quick time and that fish like the other five was in top condition.
From here on I was fishing open, shallow water and the fishing slowed down. The trout were still there but with the stream being in full sun they were shutting down. I did have a couple of hit and misses on the gold spinner, before changing over to the Black Mouche Noire. The black blade isn't as bright in open water, when compared to the gold one. Even with the black spinner the trout were skittish as they followed it for a short distance, before darting off in a few of the shallow runs that I fished.
It wasn't until I reached another deeper piece of tail water that had a small section of shade on it, that I caught my seventh trout. It was 12:35pm when I caught that trout and with the sun full on the water I felt that I was really going to struggle catching any more trout from here on. I did flick the spinner into a shallow stretch of water as a last resort, before I exited the stream and called it a day.
That last cast resulted in a small brown getting caught and that was enough to keep me in the stream for another fifteen minutes, for one hooked and lost fish. My day was done at 1:15pm. Had the cloud not dispersed, I'm sure I would have caught several more trout. Low water and full sun always shuts the trout down, like it did today. Next time we have a dull morning I will go fishing early... then do the gardening when I get home.
Adrian (meppstas)
Equipment Used During the Season:
Okuma Celilo Finesse Spin Rods - ULS 1-3kg trout rods
Okuma LRF Spin Rods - Split Grip 1-3kg
Okuma Inspira Blue Spin Reels - ISX-20B
Okuma Helios SX Spin Reels - HSX-20
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels - EXPT-20
Okuma Ceymar Spin Reels - C-10
Platypus Super 100 Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Pre-Test Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Mepps Inline Spinners
Boomerang Tool Products