Fly Fishing During Algal Blooms

Currently most stillwaters are being affected to a greater or lesser degree by algal blooms in the water. At best it reduces visability into the water, tinting it green or brown, at worst it builds up large mats of scum and turns the water to the consistency of pea soup!

During this period through August, lakes offer trout the most abundant feeding of the year, leading to a reluctance on the trouts' part to go out of their way to take food items. This often leads to what seem perfect fishing conditions with flies hatching in profusion, but not a sign of a trout anywhere.

In fact you can be left feeling that someone is having a joke at your expense and in fact the lake contains no fish! This is not the case.

During such conditions the largest factor in success is finding feeding fish. If trout show on or close to the surface great, you then need to get a fly right in front of them to maximise the chance of them seeing it in turbid water.

If on the otherhand nothing is showing, searching the depths with a nymph or lure that has a little flash to catch the eye of a trout is required. This can be hard work, but stay mobile and keep trying, the takes will come.

Every now and then we have to accept defeat. One such day happend yesterday, despite having caught well on Wednesday at Willington on dry and nymph with two clients, Thursday nothing moved. The lake was dead all day, search tacics produced one bang late in the afternoon but that was it.

The key difference? Thursday storms were forcast and arrived mid afternoon. Was this the reason the trout were subdued? I don't know. Certainly the fishing did not improve after the storm passed so I am going to look into this further.

Do you have experience of trout behaviour in these conditions? Some further advice on fly fishing under these circumstances? If so please leave your comments here!

Tight Lines

Steve