Cracking the Code for Monster Stillwater Trout

Moonrise at 11:30 PM

Before our trip this month I dropped by our local FFF fly shop in Orem, UT to pick up some fly-tying materials so I could get some last-minute flies tied for the trip. As I was checking out, Lance asked “You going fishing for Pike?” I smiled and said “No, there are just big trout where we’re going”. (Funny thing is, I actually DID catch a 26” Pike on this trip but our main target on this trip was big trout).

We knew that heading to Northern Colorado on our annual June adventure for big Trout would not be complete without the millions of mosquitoes and afternoon rains. Those annoyances as usual, did not disappoint. We were lucky enough though, to see clearing skies and less mosquitoes by evening most days which allowed us to don the waders for our nightly hunt for the giant Stillwater Trout we were after.

Our night fishing ritual involved getting on the water after dinner – preferably while the last light of sunset allowed us to get the inflatables filled and rods strung. The line setup which worked best for us was WF8F line with leaders attached in this order: 12” of 20# Amnesia – a #14 swivel - 6’ of 20# Maxima with 3-4’ of 12# fluorocarbon tippet. 

Three of us were using 8-weight, 9’ Pescador on the Fly Econ 101 6-piece takedown rods and a fourth was fishing a Sage 9’ 6 wt. I have to say those 6-piece 8 weights had me a little worried if they would handle the size of fish we were after, (but after seeing them perform flawlessly on big, powerful rainbows weighing over ten pounds, I was impressed). The flies we used on this trip were tied jig-style with 1/16 oz heads and a 3 ½” wing using Marabou, SF blend and strung fuzzy fiber. Black and gray was the ticket for night fishing.

This fly was a winner

The techniques which worked best were casting to within 25 feet of the shoreline and stripping back, or simply trolling by fin power, paralleling the banks, transferring movement to the fly by twitching the tip of the rod, or stripping.

The full moon on this trip was a Strawberry moon and it provided enough light to perform pretty much all fishing operations except for tying on flies and netting fish. Headlamps were a necessity to go hands free but a small handheld flashlight was helpful to occasionally check how far we were from the shore.

Big night-feeding Rainbow

At this time in June, when the moon is right, the night is for fishing and the day is for sleeping - to re-charge for the next night’s fishing. We rarely see other fishermen on the lake joining us in our nightly addiction. There would be plenty of room out there to never bump into each other – if they only knew what kind of fish they could catch!

My brother, Eric with a monster 10-lb plus Rainbow

It is wise to bring snacks and drinks to recharge the body when sitting in a Fat Cat all night long. Bathroom breaks involve, kicking to the shore and peeling off the layers and waders, while standing in quicksand mud with fins – easy to lose balance there in the dark. I learned the hard way with a spill which filled my left wader leg with cold lake water!

Night time stillwater fishing, if done right is true trophy fly fishing. There are periods of slow time, but before long, a big fish with a freight train strike, will jolt you back into reality.

A big meat-eating Rainbow

Dusk-to-dawn fly fishing will mess up your sleep patterns but I will take that every time if it can connect me with these beautiful fish. I can’t wait till September to do it again!

Coming off the lake at sunrise 4:30 AM after fishing all night

Paul Laemmlen is a fly fisherman and wildlife artist from Cedar Hills, Utah. His artwork can be found at www.lakestreamstudio.com.