Catch More Trout This Summer!
It’s mid-July. Our miserable snowfall last winter means our rivers right now are August and September low. And they will continue to drop, even the dam-fed Taylor as water retention in the reservoir is an important concern for water managers.
Our rivers are still loaded with trout. But fishing low water brings with it a set of challenges because it’s so easy to spook the fish in shallow holds. Trout will spook with a splash of fly line or with an ill-placed strike indicator.
![sneaking up on some small stream fish](/wp-content/uploads/smallstreamfishing.jpg)
Using a mono rig or the European nymphing rig is the magic answer to fishing low water and being really richly rewarded in your efforts.
What is the mono rig? It’s a 28′ leader followed by a tippet ring followed by 4′-6′ of 4X or 5X fluoro tippet material. Forget casting fly line. The fly line just sits on the reel until we hook a big trout that takes line out. Otherwise, it just sits there on our reel.
The mono rig is easy to tie. Using the nail knot, tie this leader:
- 20′-25′ of Red Amnesia 20# test
- 2′ Green Amnesia 12# test
- 8″ Red Amnesia 12# test
- 8″ Green Amnesia 10# test
- 8″ Red Amnesia 10# test
- Tippet Ring
- 4′-6′ of 4X or 5X good quality fluorocarbon tippet material
The advantages of fishing this rig will become immediately clear, especially in low water situations.
- We get better drifts on both dry flies and nymph rigs because the wind and water aren’t wreaking havoc on our fly line
- We are not spooking wary trout on our presentation, or at least not often
- Because we can get closer to trout, our hook rate on hits increases
- The alternating red and green Amnesia makes visible soft takes in slower water
When I started fishing the mono rig it felt weird not to load up my rod during the cast. It still does, a little. But I’ve found on the East, Taylor, Gunnison and Cement Creek that there are no lies I want to get to that I can’t reach with a little careful wading and while keeping almost all my fly line on my reel.
![brook trout on dry fly](/wp-content/uploads/brookie.jpg)
My wife is a good fisherwoman. Last Sunday we fished the same stretch of the Wild Trout water on the East. We were both using a Prince nymph with a small Pheasant Tail trailer. She was using a bobber strike indicator and I was using the mono rig with a tight line.
In our three hours on the water I landed 15 fish and she landed two. We all have good and bad days on the water but the differential here is too great to be explained away by a stretch of bad luck. The difference can only be explained by the effectiveness of the mono rig.
![east river rainbow trout](/wp-content/uploads/rainbowtrout.jpg)
Want to catch more fish this summer? Try the mono rig. You may never buy another fly line.
There are plenty of videos on Euro nymphing. Here’s one: