Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Chasing Trout in Low Water

Chasing Trout in Low Water

By Adrian (meppstas) Webb

I thought it may be worthwhile checking out one of the small tannin streams today, mainly to check out the water level and hopefully pick up a few trout. I arrived there at 7:40am, only to find the water level on the low side and a light tannin colour. Not what I was hoping for at all.

With the water being so low I thought I'd start the session off with a #00 White Miller Bug spinner, seeing as there was the odd caddis moth hovering about. If that didn't work then I would choose another Mepps spinner. Fifteen minutes into the spin session I had a follow from a small brown and that was it. Time for a lure change and it was on with a #00 Gold Mepps Black Fury. As light as the #00, 1.5 gram spinner was it was still bottom bouncing in most stretches of water. Each time the lure bounced off the river bottom it became fouled with green algae.

All up I had been fishing for twenty five minutes by now, with just the one trout sighted. I was seriously thinking about heading elsewhere. Another change of lure was due and this time I went for the Stone Fly coloured Mepps Bug spinner. If the trout didn't show up and take this lure, then I would be heading elsewhere. As I continued to fish my way upstream, I remembered the last time that I fished this area the trout were scarce to start with and it took close to an hour before the first trout was caught.

Finally I had reached a wide and deep stretch of water that can often give up a fish. If it didn't give up a fish today, I was thinking I would be in trouble. Two thirds of the way into this deeper water and it wasn't looking too good. That was until I made a direct cast straight up the stream and on the retrieve I spotted the white outline of a trout's mouth behind the spinner. A lift of the rod and a light twitch at the same time was enough for the trout to take the bug spinner. It was a nice medium size (310g) trout that played up for a minute or two, before I had it in the net. The first trout was caught at 8:50am.

That was the one and only trout caught for that stretch of water and it wasn't until I was forty metres further upstream that I picked up my second trout. This one was taken in a deepish run, close to the right hand side of the stream, after I nearly muffed the cast to lob the lure where I wanted. What happened was that the cast was near perfect as it went through the air, then as the lure came down the fine 4lb Platypus Super 100 mono line clipped a leaf on a thick bush on the way down. Thankfully it wasn't enough for the line to become entangled in the bush. Luck was on my side as no sooner had the Bug spinner hit the water, it was snapped up by the trout and it was only fifteen minutes on from the first trout. I'd be happy if the trout were caught every fifteen minutes from here on.

It didn't happen and it wasn't until I reached another wide deeper stretch of water that I caught the next trout. This fish was taken after a long cast to the left hand side of the stream. A couple of turns of the Okuma Inspira reel's handle and it was fish on! This fish was a solid brown too and it, like the last two, made it into the net. Better still, this trout was the biggest one landed so far, a beautifully coloured brown that weighed 335 grams. The funny thing about this trout is that it was taken in the same spot as one I caught here on my last trip here back on October 21. On that day the water level was twice the height that is was today.

Two casts later, directly upstream, and I was onto another solid trout. Unfortunately this one didn't stay on, tossing the spinner after giving a solid head shake. With the water being so low and by staying to the right hand side of the deep stretch of water, I didn't have to hop out and bypass it like I normally had to. It wasn't until I had reached the top end of it, where the stream had a right hand bend in it, that a backhand cast was required to lob the lure to where I thought a trout would be holding out. The lure landed right where I wanted it and no sooner had I turned the reel handle a trout took the Bug spinner. Trout number four was landed and it was the exact same weight as the last one caught.

It was good to have picked up two more trout in ten minutes and with around half a kilometre of stream left to fish I was hoping to finish the day with a double figure catch. My only problem from here on was that the majority of the stream ahead of me had a lot of shallow runs in it, which made for some very tough fishing. To make matters worse, the cloud cover opened up and the stream was in full sun. Each step that I took on the fine rocky bottom and the slightest crunching noise of the rocks was enough to spook trout that were at the tail end of the runs.

As time went by I could see the trout darting off each time that I neared a decent stretch of water. I knew then that I wasn't going to reach the double figure target. I did finish up catching two more small browns, from five hook ups and had several follows from some skittish small/medium size trout, calling it a day at 11:30am. I doubt I'll return to the small streams from now on, unless we get some decent rainfalls. The forecast is for 20-40mm of rain in a few days' time, whether it happens is another thing.

Adrian (meppstas)

Equipment used on various trout trips:

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