Sometimes Bugs Work Best
The Creme Lure Company manufactures a series of soft-plastic insect imitations-ants, grasshoppers, hellgrammites and mayfly larvae among them-that trout prefer to plastic worms at times. To fish one of the bogus bugs, rig it about 3 feet below a Thill Gold Medal Bite-Strike or Ice 'N Fly float (218-829-1714; lindy
fishingtackle.com) with a tiny split shot pinched on about a foot above the lure.
Tiny plastic worms will get bites in clear water when flies and lures fail.
Mar 31, 2006
Spin-fishing for trout is usually a pretty straightforward affair. Hard lures such as spinners and minnow plugs work particularly well in high, stained flows, while live bait or a bubble-and-fly is the weapon of choice for low, clear water.
But what do you do when high water runs clear? High flows render a bubble-and-fly less effective, because surface currents create drag on the weighted fly beneath. And clear water makes trout more selective, presenting a challenge to the hardware angler. Natural baits? Maybe-unless such conditions occur on a stream where they're forbidden.
I encountered all these obstacles simultaneously during a visit to Arkansas's fabled White River. Dam gates stayed open or nearly so, which made wading dangerous and bubble-and-fly angling difficult. Bait-fishing was prohibited where I fished, and trout refused to come near any spinner hardware in the gin-clear water on this bright, sunny day.
White River trout ace Frank Saksa came to my rescue. Saksa has been a fishing guide for 22 years and now works out of Gaston's Resort in Lakeview, Ark. (870-431-5202; gastons.com) Even in tough conditions like the ones I've described, Saksa's clients land impressive numbers of chunky rainbows and browns by using 3-inch plastic worms.
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