Fishing Reports

Fishing Tips: Catch Monster Brown Trout at These 7 Best Tailraces


Big trout are not necessarily genetic mutants—they’re simply nike nfl jerseys voracious feeders that are constantly on the prowl for an easy meal, which means some of the slabbiest salmonids of the year are highly catchable right now in the tailraces below dams.Whereas most of the year big fish sulk in deep holes and feed mostly at night, in winter the baddest brownies and most reckless rainbows head to the churning waters of dam outflows. These behemoth Cheap New York Jets Jerseys trout—​­particularly browns and rainbows—abandon their usual cautious ways to get in on the food buffet and chow down on churned-up bait pieces spit out by dam turbines.“It has been my experience that tailwater fish act much different from regular [river] fish,” says big-trout fanatic Kelly Galloup, author of Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout and owner of the Slide Inn on Montana’s Madison River. “First, you have the filter feeders that sit and eat Mysis shrimp all day. Then you have the fish that basically take up residence below the dams, becoming free-foraging meat-eaters. Here on the Madison in Montana, I have that situation. The fish are generally taken with bigger diving crankbaits and mostly at night. They Cheap Oakland Raiders Jerseys seem to look primarily for really big food sources, such as chubs, crayfish, and medium (6- to 12-inch) trout. Targeting these fish can be difficult simply due to the volume of water that dams can put out. The unique situations are when you get a push of stunned fish. Obviously when that occurs, the forage base is right in your face, so you simply match the food with an appropriate-size fly or lure. I have seen where killed or stunned cisco and shad (not all the fish are killed; many are simply stunned and have trouble regaining equilibrium) can go for miles below the actual dam. In my experience, this is the ultimate in feeding frenzies for truly huge fish.”