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Spin Fishing Rivers For Trout In Summer..


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** This may be of some help to anyone fishing for trout during summer, I know how low & warm the rivers get in Sth Aust as I've fished them myself for many years before moving to Tassie.. But you may find a few helpful pointers from the article..

 

 

 '' SPIN FISHING RIVERS FOR TROUT IN SUMMER''

     by Adrian (meppstas) Webb

 

Well now with the warmer weather upon us it time to change a few tactics with fishing the rivers during the Summer months ahead. Lower water levels and warmer water temperatures is something that the trout don't like all that much. I have found the best water temperature for trout is between 11 deg C and 18 deg C above and below these temperatures and the fishing can become quite tough and even more so in Summer if the water temp reaches above 20deg then the trout tend to shut down.

Massive Summer dun hatch, Mersey River. Weegena (Medium).JPG

Massive duns hatch makes for a tough day on a river for the spin fisher...

 

The rods, reels and line that I use for river fishing for trout are as follows: The rods are all 1.8 mtr & 1.91 mtr Daiwa Presso L/Wt 1-3kg coupled up with small Daiwa Presso, Ageas, Revros & Exceler reels and 4lb clear mono line to a swivel and anti-kink, from there it's 400mm trace of 6lb mono with a snap swivel attached followed by a blade spinner on the snap swivel. An anti-kink to me is a must when using blade spinner as they stop line twist which occurs when spin fishing with blade spinners. I always fish as light as possible and the weight of my blade spinners are 1.5gms. These are a variety of Mepps Black Fury's, Aglia's and Bug spinners. The hard body lures are 2gms in weight and they are only 30mms long. These are Rapala F-3 in rainbow, brown and brook trout patterns plus I do have a few Ralala CD-1's in rainbow and brown trout pattern as well a few Atomic Shad4, Muzza's & Wildbait hard body lures. I have used these spinners and lures for quite a long time with plenty of success. I have been the Angling Club Champion for the past 10 years in a row, so I know how good it gets when using light tackle that works for you. Like they say, when you're on a good thing ''Stick To It.''

''One of my l/wt Daiwa rod, small Daiwa reel, & Mepps spinner, great trout fishing set up.''

Brown that fell for a rainbow Rapala.Wilmot River.(17-9-15) (Medium).JPG

Trout falls to a rainbow pattern Rapala..

 

The long slow flowing stretches of a river will rarely give up a fish unless you are on it at first light or very late in the afternoon when the water temperature is much cooler and the sun is off the water. Fast water sections always fish well during the warmer weather as there is more oxygen in the water created by it rushing over the rocky sections of the river. Trout will sit in small pockets behind rocks that have small flat water behind them and will pounce on anything that passes by. It is here that you will find Summer fishing for trout at it's best.

Cloudy water, Western Ck.jpg

Slower flowing water the trout will tend to be closer to the banks for protection..

Blue skies, great weather, Mersey River,Weegena. (13-11-15) (Medium).JPG

Bright days with full sun means for tough fishing, fast water will hold trout early in the day..

 

I use small Mepps metal blade spinners and these work a treat in the fast water too. It's just a matter of casting the spinner up and across the river, then by keeping the rod tip at just below parallel to the water, retrieve the lure at the same speed as the flow of the river and hopefully you will soon bag a trout. Keeping the rod tip high will stop the spinner from bouncing on the rocky river bottom if you're fishing a shallow fast water run and also from possible snags. Another way is to cast on a slight angle up and across the river keeping the rod tip high & the line tight by letting the spinner drift downstream with the fast flow of the river.

IMG_0434 (Medium).jpg

Perfect water for trout during summer..

 

Once the line and lure are directly opposite you (facing the opposite side of the river) then slowly retrieve the line, this also produces many hookups. This can be done by using small floating hard body lures too. Some sections of fast water may be fish less, but this is just a part of what you have to contend with when trout fishing in fast water. Do not bypass any water as you will be surprised where trout will be holding. I have caught trout in 80mms of water that most fishers would bypass..

IMG_3367 (Medium).JPG

Solid brown was taken from the small flat water next to river bank.. never bypass any water..

 

On bright sunny days with clear skies I always use the spinners with a black blade because the trout's eyes are very sensitive to light, so you should not be using a shiny silver lure in these conditions. To catch trout and be successful in doing so, you really have to be in the river wading for them. By being in the river you have more access to some of the best sections of a river that will be holding trout. Then it's just a matter of casting into pockets of water and working the lure across the river and back to you at the same speed as the water. If you retrieve the lure too fast it will more than likely spook the fish more rather than attract it, so getting the speed of the lure is quite necessary for a good catch rate.

'' With bright conditions & clear water, head for shaded areas or fast water runs.''

Mersey brown, Kimberley. (5-2-16) (Medium).jpg

A black blade works best during summer in clear water..

IMG_3298 (Medium).JPG

As does a dark hard body lure..

 

If there are sections of the river were the sun is on it, then work the areas that have shade along the on them from the vegetation that grows along the river banks. These shaded areas regularly hold trout. Wide open spaces and slower shallow runs rarely hold trout on hot, clear days, but on overcast days the trout will venture into these sections of the river more often. Some of the best fishing in Summer is when it is a humid day with light drizzle. I have had many great sessions on the rivers in these conditions. It's worth getting a little damp being in the river in these conditions that's for sure. This is when you can use a variety of spinners and hard body lures of different colours. Spinners in black, copper and gold all seem to produce some very good catches of both brown and rainbow trout in this type of weather. Hard body Rapala minnow lures in the trout patterns previously mentioned earlier will do well, as will many other hard body lures on the market and there are plenty to choose from..

IMG_3355 (Medium).JPG

Dull overcast day and humid conditions.. 29 trout caught this day..

 

The best time to fish for trout throughout the Summer months is at first light up until around 9.00am or when the sun hits the water, after that then your just wasting your time. If you're not an early riser then do as I do now days and that is go late in the afternoon. I will hit the river around 4.30pm -5.00pm when there is shaded areas along the river banks and you can work those areas and runs until the sun gets much lower and the whole river is covered in shade. Both early morning and late afternoon are some of the best times to be on a river. So if you want to catch a few trout over the Summer period then follow my lead and I'm sure you will pick up a fish or two and remember to use light tackle and hope in and wade the river. One other thing is don't bother fishing the small rivers and creeks at this time of year either, low clear water the trout spook at the slightest movement.. You may still catch a few but they stress too easily in these conditions, so wait until there's a good down pour of rain that puts a little more water back into the rivers.

5.45am Mersey River. (Medium).JPG

Early morning, best time to be on a river..

The Trout Stalker, Mersey River.. (Medium).JPG

Spin fishing the fast water..

Meander River looking upstream, Barrett's Bridge. (Medium).JPG

Right hand side of the river, shaded side should hold a trout or two..

 

cheers

Adrian

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Great informative post from the trout guru

It's interesting as I've only ever chased trout once

Had a great first day on a warm morning in clear water with shade over the little creek

When I now think back and look at the pics I took of the day it was exactly like you have described all the trout I caught or had hits from where from the shady edges except one that came from a deep pool

Makes me want to get back to the spot and give it another go

Thanks

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