Skinny Water Culture

The Native 

We are not talking about flats fishing here. We are talking about Maine streams and rivers- in April. Flows are super low. The lowest I can ever remember for April. Things are getting warm very quickly as well. Big rivers are already pushing into the 50's. A drift on the Kennebec earlier this week turned out pretty good- they were eating streamers, but it wasn't the full on blitz that's going to go down any day now. The smaller rivers are solidly in the mid-50's- and with those water temps the fish have strapped the feed bag on.

It's a whole new game out there from where it was two weeks ago. They are midging subsurface pretty hard. Zebra's, Barr midges, brassies are the good stuff. Put your ninja slippers on and get stealthy. Stay low and in the shadows. If you don't need to get in the water- don't.

Forget about indicators and a bunch of split shot. Strip your leader down. When conditions are low and clear an bobber can be more of a liability than an asset. A Rio Indicator leader  and the Rio Indicator line are perfect for this game- the orange butt and tip become your indicator. Lead your drift with the tip of your rod- don't drag it, lead it- like a Czech would do. You will feel the tug almost instantly- if you don't see the flash of the take first.

Be a hunter- not some guy standing in a river wearing rubber pants waving a stick.

Tyler