Drew Price shows off a 24.5-inch beast that fell for a dead-drifted streamer.
Photos by Drew Price
During runoff, trout streams tend to be a bit on the high side, and the water is cold and discolored. These can be tough conditions for fishing, but it can also be one of the best times of year to get into larger fish if you use the right techniques. I suggest dead-drifting streamers if you want to catch bigger fish. This technique has proven itself deadly in past years. On one April day in Vermont, I landed five trout with a combined length of 99.5 inches, including a 24.5-inch toad of a brown.
The technique itself is fairly simple: all you have to do is dead-drift big streamers through likely pockets. Essentially this boils down to working flies through slicks in faster water, slow seams near faster current, and other deep (or not so deep) holding spots. One of the most productive places to use this technique is the head of a pool, especially when there is some slow water near the main flow. Bigger fish will hang out in areas like this because they have a constant supply of food and don’t have to expend much energy to get to it. Big trout, especially big browns, are lazy, and if they are able to find a spot where food is delivered to them, they will definitely take advantage of that.
