Swinging Streamers with Success
As my eyes open this first day of November, I am greeted by the same noise that I fell asleep to. Heavy rain fall. My immediate thought is that the river must be blown. Making my way to the coffee machine, I reach for my phone to check river flows. Looking at the Coeur d Alene river first, I see that indeed the fish have received their first good bump in river flow. The river has gone from around 160cfs to almost 600cfs. I also immediately check the St. Joe river. Wow! Totally blown. Its up to 1550 cfs. Having made up my mind yesterday to swing streamers no matter what the choice is easy, I'll be on the CDA River today. Dropping over the back side of Fourth of July pass I am greeted by a small window of sunshine. A brief smile appears on my face as the slight possibility of staying dry today seems like a possibility. That smile is short lived as the next rain cloud bares down on me.
Pulling up to the river, I immediately notice a welcoming sight. Fairly descent water visibility. The river is definitely bigger, but still fishable. Having picked up some new fly lines designed for streamer fishing, I decide to only grab my box of streamers. I will later regret this decision.
My first run of the day was a fairly short one with only one solid grab from a rock cod. I fought him for a solid 5 seconds or so before he came unbuttoned. Thankful I didn't break off because that was my favorite streamer . I didn't want to lose it on my first run. Walking up river to my next location, I start to think of all of those steelhead fisherman fighting for position on the Grande Rhonde. My last few trips there have been a bit frustrating with all of the fishing pressure to say the least. With the lack of fishing etiquette and shear number of people, I wont be heading back there until some of the cold November weather drives the fair weather fisherman home.
Arriving at my next run I bump a few cow elk back into the tree line. A slight fog rises from the river and with it comes a sense of calming. Slipping into the run careful not to spook any fish I see my first rise. Laughing to myself knowing all I have is a box of streamers. That's when I notice the green, medium sized, stoneflies. I laugh out loud now, knowing what they are eating, and I don't have a single one with me. After several good swings with my streamer, I am met with a fierce grab. I was ready for him and with the hook set came an unbelievable jump. A solid fish! I manage to keep him pinned up. As he slides into my net I observe a really nice cut-bow. Thankful for my first fish of the day, and a great fight, I quickly release him back to the river. Taking a moment to take it all in I notice several aquatic insects making an appearance on this overcast day. BWO's, Stoneflies, mahogany duns are all showing up. Having only streamers I once again shake my head with a smile. I landed one more trout in that run, but it was a lot smaller than my first one.
As I finish up my second run the rain increased significantly and so did the wind. I headed for my third run of the day, but due to the black clouds and increasingly heavy rainfall, I decide to get some lunch. I'll head back out when the rain lets up. Heading to my vehicle, looking around I see all types of trout snacks. I think to myself how incredible the hatch and the fishing is on our local river.
As the rivers recede from the rains over the next few days, the fishing should get even better. If you only have a hour or two to go fishing, I would highly recommend it. Over the course of only a couple hours I stumbled upon no one. Solitude is easy to find this time of year on our trout rivers. Streamers in olive/black/white seem to be the best. For drys flies try Blue wing olives, mahogany duns, small to medium size stones, and of course some October caddis. If nymphing is your game try some tungsten warriors, Hogans military mayfly, jig assassins, and October caddis nymphs. If you have never swung flies its fairly easy. A cast slightly down river to the opposite bank. as your fly lands mend a soft "J" in your line and your bug will start to swing. After your bug stops to swing and is directly below you feel free to take a few steps down and repeat. Get ready for the grab because they can come and go in a hurry. Stop in to North 40 fly shop with any questions you may have about this process.
Swinging streamers for trout can be very productive. Not only is it a great way to find big fish in your local rivers, but its a fun way to practice your spey cast and hook set. Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics offers a wide range of lighter compact Skagit heads that offer incredible options for your single hand/switch /spey rods. Its also great to feel the grab! Now grab your streamer rod and head to your local trout river and swing that run.
--Nick Slomski, North 40 employee, Coeur d'Alene ID