Overcoming Low Water Conditions

Salmon:

Overcoming Low Water Conditions

It’s the time of the year! Drought and heatwaves have conspired against fish and anglers across continental Europe and the Nordics. A lot of trout streams are virtually unfishable during the months of July and August; they are simply too hot. These daunting conditions are challenging If you happen to live in an area where the temperatures exceed a fishable level that will allow fish to recover, please be reasonable and pick some other targets. If available, barbel/carp and chub are hearty and cope with the heat much better than trout and co.

By: FLY FISHING NATION

Salmon anglers in the Nordics might not suffer so much from unbearable temperatures but other factors might conspire against them: Seasoned anglers will attest that low water conditions paired with bright and sunny days are a mood killer, even if the temperatures are still in the green.

The recreational pursuit of trout and Atlantic salmon with a fly rod oozes historic references. Some might even say, that both species are the corner stones of our great passion – a look back into the early history of both fish is deeply intertwined with the history of fly fishing as we understand it today: with a rod, a suitable fly line, and an artificial fly. Earlier attempts to fool fish with feather lures shall not be forgotten of course, but they do tell the story of an era long gone by now.

The fishing for our most prized obsession has deteriorated

Anglers disguised as traders, business men or part-takers in colonial conquests have successfully conquered nearly every white spot on the map... and with them: trout and other gamefish. Trout-void areas like Patagonia and New Zealand would soon turn into lush angling destinations. The story of the highly adaptive and invasive trout conquering nearly every river that provided a half decent habitat all around the planet is a piscatorial success story.

Atlantic salmon

Many million years ago, evolution decided that Atlantic salmon were downright perfect. With an anadromous life-cycle that accounts for potentially cataclysmic events by spreading out runs of fish paired with a remarkable homing instinct that will allow individual fish to locate their river of birth, salmon were designed to last. In all their glory, that we as anglers cherish more than anyone, Atlantic salmon are the epitome of a sport fish and simply irreplaceable.

Of notoriously unpredictable nature, subjected to a mind of their own, strong, fresh, clean, and downright beautiful in all their life stages, a fresh Atlantic salmon is about the cleanest thing you can imagine – so immaculate that the idea of even touching it with your hands would taint it. A notion that almost all salmon anglers seem to share.

As much as we collectively marvel over these magnificent creatures that have roamed our rivers for many millions of years completely unfazed, we are facing the dire consequences of a man-made problem. The evolution of monkey playing with sticks to modern man colonizing space has ushered in the era of holocene mass-extinction... and Atlantic salmon (and many other animals) are affected by it. While this is a story itself that shall be told another day, all salmon anglers will collectively agree that the fishing for our most prized obsession has deteriorated. But we wouldn’t be pursuing an impossible fish with vigor if it wasn’t for the sheer endless optimism that lives within all of those who swing flies for a fish that doesn’t eat.

Less fish, unpredictable weather, syndicates are hogging the best weeks... yet salmon fishing hasn’t lost a single bit of its allure. So what is this all about? This is about tough fishing when it get’s tougher... low water, warm water and/or bright sunny days. In the worst case scenario, a combination of all of them.

Low water conditions

From a fish’s perspective, low water alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing other than potential obstacles might be harder to pass. For us anglers, the change in dynamics will alter the amount of comfortably fishable water. Fish will trickle into the system whenever the conditions are more favorable. Since the amount of water is limited per pool, lesser fish will occupy potential holding spots. If the water is deep enough, fish will still occupy slow moving sections of the pool, but the majority will sit in the heads... ready to continue their journey.

The next pothole on the road to success is temperature. Salmon are cold water fish and throughout their distribution range, they naturally gravitate towards cold water areas. Both in the sea and rivers. The magnificent life-cycle of these fish is physically very demanding.

A fish that is designed to potentially survive multiple spawning migration circles paired with a perilous anadromous journey and the pressure of adapting to osmoregulation... to keep up with this metabolism rate, oxygen is required. The oxygen diffusion coefficient progresses exponentially with rising temperatures.

“If the watertemperatures exceed 19°C, salmon and trout deserve a rest”

In other words, the warmer the water, the less oxygen is can diffuse whilst salmon and co require more oxygen the hotter it gets. If warm water and low water conspire against fish and angler, the reduced flow rate of the water will furthermore decrease the already low oxygen levels and the fish are not happy. As a result, fish will get more lethargic as temperatures increase. According to Elson (1969) adult Atlantic salmon prefer water temperatures in the range of 14 to 20°C. Mind you that’s in the ocean... and without a fly hooked in its mouth. If the water-temperatures exceed 19°C, salmon and trout deserve a rest from our piscatorial adventures. Let them catch their breath.

Misconceptions

It’s a common misconception that sunlight is generally a bad thing. Early spring for example: A bright sunny day paired with a high pressure can often trigger fish exposed to cold water temperatures to move or take. A subtle change of water-temperature correlating to sun-exposure is all that it takes sometimes. Admittedly, bright sunny days are usually associated with the dog-days of summer... when warm and low water conditions align with bright and sunny days. In those conditions, yes, salmon and most other salmonides try to avoid direct sunlight. They move into the deeper parts of the pool, into fast moving water or anything that provides enough shadow till the sun sets again.

Salmon fishing is always a challenging yet rewarding task, so why would we “waste” our time in conditions that are not favorable? Because sometimes we cannot choose...

When magnificent salmon rivers shrink down to the size of a trout stream or simply require a more gentle approach, providing the water temperature is cool enough to fish: it’s time to rethink our approach and even pick up your single-handed and switch rods. For the last decade, the weather has been all over the place and chances that one will end up in difficult water conditions on a salmon trip grow exponentially the more we fish for them. It’s important to prepare... and after all: Don’t we all like a bit of a challenge?

No more excuses

Salmon anglers are notoriously good at making up excuses for why the fishing isn’t productive, and they are getting more creative. So what can we do? Let’s begin with the obvious:

Timing: fish the early morning and late evening intensely. The fish will either get ready to move in the shelter of the night, or they are rested after they have been running in the night. You will find fish especially in the heads and tails of the pools – the gateways into or out of the pool. As the day progresses, the fish will seek for shelter in deeper parts or close to white water currents. The brighter/ warmer/ lower the day the shorter is your window of opportunity. Remember, fish-on-the-move is good! Movement might cause territorial aggression. Don’t beat yourself up throughout the day.

Spots: when the water drops low, the fish will remain in- or close to ready positions. Ready to run into the next pool or ready to leave the water in case the water drops fatally low. If a drought period persists, fresh fish tend to stick to the lower part of the river. Firstly, because moving upstream is a chore or even restricting, secondly, because they can migrate back to the sea once the temperature reaches an unbearable level. Fish the lower section of the river... if you can get access to the pools just above the tidal water, lucky you!

Pools with plenty of flow. If the heads are too fast for your floating head in white water, don’t hesitate putting on a weighted fly to cut through the heaviest current. Search for deep lays, ideally with a bit of flow. If your line doesn’t swing fast enough, try working your fly with long and steady strips. If that doesn’t work, fish it a second time with little bumps as long as the line keeps moving across. Just imagine a salmon following and the fly drops back in between stripping pauses to kick back in it’s face... Shadows and cover near flowing water is always worth a try.

Warm days will also lure fellow outdoor enthusiasts out – prepare yourself for a flock of people! Canoes, swimming people and dogs, curious walkers... try to rest turbulent areas for as long as possible.

Focus: I am not going to lie to you –we are not in this for the crazy numbers, so it’s imperative to stay focused. Fish like you mean it. You are not yourself if you fry yourself all day in the sun. Have a siesta. Hell! -even have a beer and enjoy a good day out. But be sharp when the light fades.

Flies: you have guessed it, we need to downsize our flies or fish flies with a slimmer profile. Sparsely tied flies like a classic Stoats Tail or any variation of slim black wing doubles in 12-18 are a good reference to start with. If allowed, a dropper fly can work wonders! When all your fellow anglers fish the same tiny stuff, you might want to go a little bit against the grain and hitch and/or try some beautiful Scandi hair-wing flies with small tungsten cones to entice a bite.

I always pack a variety of small double hooks from black to maroon red, a variety of hitch tubes, banana bottle tubes, Sunray Shadows in virtually every weight and size as well as heavy but small Francis tubes in black and red. Every river has it’s own dynamic here, but remember, smaller and slimmer than usual. You would be surprised how well salmon can see...

Equipment adjustment: if we are trying to feed peanuts to elephants, we should adjust our equipment accordingly. Longer and finer tippet and lighter rods will naturally feel better on smaller flies.

Casting, presentation as well as fish-fighting wise. Of course we can rig our standard weapons with finer and longer tippet, but eventually we will end up looking for something that is more delicate and subtle.

Single-handed and switch rods

While the concept of a switch rod is nothing new, I have to say that no other rod category has experienced more miss-matched lines in fishing lodges than these. Why? Because their line classification is not so straightforward and it can be quite confusing. Also, you hardly ever see switch rods used as both, a single-handed rod and a double-handed rod (that’s what they were originally designed for). Most Switch rods are used like short spey rods these days.

My low-water salmon/sea trout kit consists of a variety of rods including a 9,6ft/10ft 6-weight rods for hitching in small waters, a 7-weight in 9,6ft for nearly every single-handed salmon situation and my go-to rod in Argentina, as well as a 5-weight in 11,6ft switch rod and my standard 7-weight in 12,2ft Spey rod. I will get into the grits and gears of the other kit later, but now I want to focus on the 5-weight 11,6ft switch - One piece of equipment that has had a significant impact on my catch-rates over the last two years. Why? Because it has served a specialised purpose better than the other setups.

“Every river has it’s own dynamic”

I have rigged my switch rod up with a Rio InTouch Trout Spey, an integrated 7meter shooting head and 10-12ft tips. I have no intentions to suffer through heavy flies and light rods, I would much rather pick up a proper rod if the situation calls for it. A switch rod is a rod that I pick up when I have to fish skinny swing water with a lot of structure. The integrated head will allow me to fish the line all the way into the leader if I have to. I do not have to deal with a connection that rips through the guides.

I need to be able to switch-, underhand- and spey cast this rig like a single and double-handed rod (something that is infinitely more pleasant with a full line) I have matched my 5-weight rod with a 4-weight line (305 grain) and I match the line with poly tips to bring it up to the 5-weight rod match. For a straight dry line fishing, I just add a 12-14ft mono leader to it and I get to enjoy a slightly lighter line that I can accelerate a bit more precisely with my line hand.

Getting matched up

As you can see, the 305grain 4-weight line match of a switch rod, is much closer to a standardised 10 - 11weight single-handed rod according to AFTMA, where a 4-weight is defined as 114-126 grainsan average of 120grains. AFTMA classifications are a can of worms I don’t want to open here, but the line casts comfortably on a 7-8 weight single handed rod.

I am definitely not a fan of 2-weightmonster-fish hero-stories - that’s why I need to point out that a 5-weight switch is the longer version of your classic 7/8-weight single-handed rods in terms of casting weight. This rig has seen several countries, a lot of guiding guests as well as fish of various dimensions. Of course, it’s not an early season monster salmon setup, but a delicate tool to maneuver and swing hitches and smaller flies across challenging water. In extra tight situations, I use my line hand to support my presentation. In open water, I can use it like a spey rod. Rigged with poly tips, I will get a delicate presentation out of it and the soft and longer action will allow me to keep the small summer salmon flies on fairly light leaders safely in the fish till it’s in the net.

Prepare yourself for summer conditions the way you would prepare yourself for prime spring conditions. It has to pay back just one time, and we all know the next one could be THE one.