Michael A. Sawyers
The period of time starting right now can be some of the best fishing of the year for stocked trout.
That is true almost every year. Tag and recapture studies have shown that stocked trout are NOT caught out in just a short while, whether you are talking about West Virginia or Maryland.
But, in a year such as this, during a spring that has had substantial amounts of high water running down trout streams such as Wills and Evitts in Maryland or the Lost River and New Creek in West Virginia, late May and June trout fishing can be very good, even though hatchery trucks have stopped rolling.
A lot of folks think real high water whooshes trout downstream and into the Chesapeake Bay. Trout are amazingly adaptable creatures. Although the human view from above shows a water expressway moving downstream at hundreds or even thousands of cubic feet per second, there are little nooks and crannies beneath the surface that the trout find so that they can hold steady with the least effort.
I have had a number of great trout fishing days fishing angle worms or nightcrawler right along the bank, drifting them behind every little rock or stick that could be noticed in the high and discolored water.
If you insist upon fishing only with size 22 dry flies, you might want to wait until the rivers recede.
High waters, even very high waters, do not send trout downstream on a wholesale basis, but they do distribute the fish to some extent.
That, of course, is a good thing, allowing the fish to move to locations away from where they were netted and tossed from the hatchery truck.
The gorge at the top of the Smoke Hole in Pendleton County, W.Va., is a prime example of such a fishery, but every spot where the river or creek bends somewhat away from the road or highway is such a place as well.
Even impoundments continue to offer good late spring and early summer fishing for stocked trout.
Consider reservoirs such as New Creek Dam 14 in Grant County, W.Va., or Piney Reservoir in Garrett County. Instead of moving horizontally to seek comfort, as do trout in a river, these fish motate vertically, swimming to where appropriate temperatures and food tide them over.
Also, because these two impoundments do not allow boating, many a trout can survive by simply being farther out than a cast can reach.
Eventually, though, they will swim within reach and perhaps your bait or lure or fly will be in the right location.
Speaking of flies, using a bubble or bobber to flip flies with spinning gear is a killer on reservoir trout at this time of year, especially early or late or on overcast days. Local avid and very successful angler Wes Powell has made a living whacking trout in this fashion.
If the fish are surfacing, almost any type of fly will work. It is probably best to try to match the size of what you see hatching naturally.
Toss the ungainly rig as far as you can and retrieve it so slowly that it is barely moving.
If that doesn’t work, well, then try something else.
Contact Outdoor Editor Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
