The spring came so rapidly in Bulgaria that it is now hard to believe that just less than a week ago it was -20 degrees Celsius. The weather suddenly became nice and the air had that smell that is always telling to a fly fisherman “what are you waiting for buddy, go out there and do it…” And then, of course, you grab your rod and the next morning you are already planning to stay for a couple of days on your favourite river … but … oh no the river is triple the size of its normal level and seems impossible to fish. What now?
“Now” it is time to use your 6 weight rod and sink tip line and fish some big streamers. That is what my friend Daniel and I did and we had the chance to catch some really nice spring brown trout. The most successful pattern turned out to be a 3 inch Zonker tied upside down with one of those new Sculpin Helmet heads. It is a bit hard to cast with such a heavy fly but with a good 6/7 wt fast rod you can do it, even on great distance. Of course don`t forget to mind your head and rod.
I've found the upside down streamers or the streamers tied on a jig hooks probably the best flies for high water conditions. I fished a very deep pool and made about 50 casts with heavy nymphs trying to reach the bottom. Nothing happened. I thought to try that big streamer I had in my box. First cast and bang....I hooked a giant trout that made my knees soft like noodles. I lost the fish but thank god I had a second chance that day and I didn`t miss it. It was a nice 62cm brown trout.
The jig hooks I use are Daiichi 4660 size 4 and I put a 7mm slotted tungsten bead on them. I also find out that if I put on some eyes the fly works better. I also think a bit of orange or red hare`s strip under the tail or behind the head also works great.
A smaller fish I caught the next day vomited in my hand a great amount of worms and, most surprisingly, two small crabs that didn't look to me like river crabs. After a bit of research I found the trout I caught had a Potamon fluviatilis in its diet which is very aggressive freshwater crab species. In the mix of crabs and worms there were also a mayfly nymph and a few terrestrials. My thoughts are that when the river is coming up it brings a lot of food and fish become so hungry they eat almost everything they are able to see. That is why big streamers are a good choice, because you can fish them at the very bottom and make that big brown trout come out of its winter den.
By all means you can dead drift a crab imitation when fishing a river in flood as well and only the trout knows what else.
Stan Mankov is a fly fishing guide and instructor based in Bulgaria. For more information please visit his website.
