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A range of techniques to master
To fish properly in reservoirs, you need to learn a multitude of fishing techniques to cover all layers of water from the surface to the bottom.
It's not a question of throwing a "vulgar" coloured streamer to catch these trout, which may be farmed, but which quickly become wild and wary.
In my opinion, this is one of the most technical types of fishing there is, as it requires you to know how to read a body of water or a lake, to understand the biotope, to fish with different densities of silk, types of rods, leaders, sometimes several flies, and to master fine fishing to heavier fishing.
In reservoirs, there's a wide range of techniques for fishing on the surface when the trout have their noses up, below the surface if the insects are emerging and rising in the water column, but also in all the lower water layers depending on the positioning of the fish, which depends on weather conditions and above all water temperature.
- Dry fishing :
It is mainly used when trout are gobbling or when conditions are mild, and fish can be brought up even when insects are not hatching.
Depending on the lake, pond or reservoir, this surface activity will be more or less important, depending on water quality and the presence of natural insects (aquatic and terrestrial). The wilder, feeding trout will be mainly fixated on a particular food, often based on mosquito larvae or "chironomids", but sometimes also mayflies, trichopterans or odonates (dragonflies).
You need to choose the right fly by observing fish activity and what's on the water. Or, conversely, sometimes provoke them with incentive flies.
Nymph fishing can be practised in a variety of ways. Either by sight, by circling the lake and looking for trout wandering around the edges or offset, or with one or more flies. The nymphs present in these lakes rise to the surface from the bottom, or from the weed beds, to emerge and thus interest the trout chasing them.
The choice of stage, size and color of these nymphs is sometimes very important in catching active and therefore selective trout.
- Streamer fishing
The streamer defines a fly mounted on a generally longer hook to imitate a small fish, a large dragonfly larva, a leech or simply a large prey. In this case, they come in natural colors (olive, black, white, brown). But they are also often in flashy colors to annoy the fish and set them off. Rainbow trout respond well to these bright colors.
They can be used on a variety of bristles, from floating to S3 plunging bristles and beyond.
You need to find the color that will interest the trout on the day, either by imitating a natural prey, for ensauced fish, or an "aggressive" color to irritate the trout and make them want to bite. So you need to change colors regularly to find the ones that work.
- Static fishing
Static fishing is used when the fish no longer want to "chase" the flies brought back by the angler (streamer, drowned, nymph, etc.).
These include tandem dry-nymph fishing, bung fishing (a float that holds one or more flies) and cork fishing (a CDC fly that floats high and holds one or more flies).
Sustained" flies are generally egg imitations, nymphs or worms, which are kept at a certain depth and inert (except under the influence of wind).
Trout may be interested in these flies, which are almost motionless, imitative or inciting. In addition to the model chosen, you'll need to find the right depth.
- Diving silk fishing
When we use sinking lines, we're talking about lines that have a density greater than that of water and therefore sink more or less quickly. These range from intermediate to ultra-sinking S7 or S8 lines.
On intermediate silks from slow to S3, a variety of flies can be used, such as nymphs, drowners or streamers. On very plunging silks, you'll often use floating flies such as boobies, blobies or FABs.
The choice of fly line will depend on the layer of water in which the trout are active, and then we'll have to work out how to keep our flies in that zone for the longest possible time to get the maximum number of hits.
The crucial choice of fly
In addition to the density of the silk used, which defines the layer of water in which we will present our flies, the choice of flies is crucial, as trout in reservoirs can be very selective.
You need a wide range of flies for all situations, conditions and moods of the fish, depending on the weather and seasonality, but also on how recently they have been introduced to the water.
Reservoir anglers must therefore constantly ask themselves the right questions to fish at the "right level" and with the right flies to attract fish and catch them regularly. This is exciting fishing if you take the time and interest to learn and master a whole range of techniques.
