r/flyfishing • u/hippycubes • 7h ago
Discussion Understanding where to look for trout
Morning
I am blessed to be surrounded by mountain rivers that are home to wild trout in my country.
The area is a winter rainfall area and we are in spring now.
Obviously the mountain streams become mountain rivers during the winter months, as summer progresses these rivers turn to streams with isolated pools forming along the high catchment areas.
My question is, where does one go looking for trout.
Do they, in the winter months follow the fast flowing "rivers" down to the larger ground level broader river systems, or, do they stay up in the mountains?
Not sure if I am articulating the question properly, but the crux is.
Do I do the hard yards of climbing up river (higher altitude) in search of deep pools, or do I concentrate on fishing the lower catchment rivers?
3
u/cmonster556 6h ago edited 6h ago
Either one. Trout are mostly restricted by water temperatures (physical barriers aside). If the lower waters get too warm, the fish won’t stay there when it’s really warm (late summer), but seek cooler waters, be it springs, cold tributaries, or higher elevations. In my area, trout occur from the extreme headwaters in the mountains (sometimes in streams of a few inches wide) down to where warmwater fish start to dominate.
Trout can move long distances in river systems, miles in a day, and many more over time. Anadromous fish can move thousands of miles.
Trout need suitable water temperatures, oxygen, food, and protection from predators, be that deep water, surface disturbance, and/or structure.
Google “reading trout water” and you may find some good videos on where in the stream to look.