Whether fishing from a boat or off the bank, casting lures and spinners could be the most popular approach for trout anglers throughout the West.
Summer time is trout time on many rivers throughout the West.
Summer is here and with it trout fishing in rivers throughout the West. Last summer I got into some epic trout fishing with good friend and guide on our local river, Chris Wright of McKenzie Tackle Guide Service (mckenzietackle.com, 541-913-5963).
“Throughout much of June we’re targeting trout in eddies, pockets, and along slow moving current edges,” shares Wright. “But once the water temperature rises, the trout will spread out. Hatchery trout will mostly still hold in the softer water, but they’ll also move into shallow riffles.”
“If you want to target larger, native trout in June, concentrate on fishing deep holes,” continues Wright. “Due to the volume of water and boiling conditions, these can be challenging places to fish, but once the water warms up in early to mid-July, then focus on fishing the fast water. This is one of the things I can explain to people over and over–to fish the really fast water–but not until they see how fast the water truly is that we’re catching wild trout in, will they actually try fishing it.”
During our day on the river, Wright pulled two nice wild trout out of super fast moving water; water I’d have been hard pressed to run a steelhead presentation through. A lot of wild trout hold in fast moving water, anywhere from three to eight feet deep, in July. Of course, depth may vary depending on the river being fished. Search for the fastest moving riffles in the river you’re fishing, and that’s likely a good place to target wild trout in the summer heat.
Author, Scott Haugen, with a dandy redside he caught and released while fishing dry flies on his home river, Oregon’s McKenzie River, last summer.
Whether fishing from a boat or off the bank, casting lures and spinners could be the most popular approach for trout anglers throughout the West. Hardware like the Thomas Buoyant, Mepps Spinner, and Rooster Tail are traditional go-to’s, but Wright encourages anglers to change things up from time to time. “Last season our hot spinner was a size 2 Blue Fox with an orange body and gold blade. I wouldn’t have fished this thing in a million years, but a client who hadn’t fished much, insisted on trying it because the thought it looked cool. What’s even more crazy, the previous two years found the gold and red Thomas Buoyant being the hot lure, but the trout shied away from it last spring. In fact, we were struggling to consistently catch trout on lures, period, until the Blue Fox started producing–the rainbow pattern was the go-to choice.”
I’m a fan of Rooster Tail spinners, in a range of sizes and colors. I’ve also had good success on Rooster Tail Minnows in clear water conditions. I think the detailed design, including a prominent eye, entice finicky trout into biting.
When fishing from a boat, I also love backtrolling plugs for trout. Whether I’m fishing the plugs, or removing the hooks and using it as a diver with bait, this is a great way to cover water and search for fish. The past few summers my go-to trout plug has been the Mag Lip in sizes 2.0 and 2.5. I’ll use a 3.0 Mag Lip as a diver, removing the hooks and running a two-foot leader off the back, to which I’ll have a single egg, half of a nightcrawler or a pinch of nightcrawler with a salad shrimp threaded onto the bend of the hook. Trout have a powerful sense of smell, so targeting more than just their sight can pay off.
“Most of the trout anglers I take want to catch fish on flies, especially dry flies,” points out Wright. “In June it’s hard to beat a Green Caddis on the rivers we fish. On those cloudy days when there’s a green caddis hatch, concentrate on fishing riffles that are moving about walking speed, with a little bit of chop on the surface.”
Chris Wright specializes on getting clients into big, wild, catch-and-release redsides all summer long on Oregon’s McKenzie River. He targets these fish multiple ways this time of year.
Wright is quick to remind anglers to research the hatches on the rivers they’re fishing, as that’s the key to consistently hooking trout. “We have a lot of caddisflies in our rivers, too, and we’ll switch things up all summer long, between an Orange Elk Hair Caddis and a Green Elk Hair Caddis.”
Wright runs a lot of two-fly setups, also. “The Parachute Adams, Chubby Chernobyl, Possie Bugger, and a host of other beadhead nymphs are tough to beat this time of year.” While these patterns can be fished on the swing, Wright has a fondness for drifting and mending these presentations, too.
During these summer transition periods, pay attention to river conditions, letting them be the deciding factor on where and how you’ll fish. By being prepared with a range of fishing options, all you have left to do is just go fishing.
Note: Signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Bank Fishing For Steelhead & Salmon, can be ordered at scotthaugen.com.
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