The Best Time To Trout Fish: Fishing For Trout As River Flows Normalize

There are many different times to trout fish; the spring, summer, fall, and even winter, but one of the best times of the year to trout fish is when water levels return to normal after spring rains and run off from the mountains. If you are a "drift fisherman" like I am this is an incredible time of the year for trout fishing. Many times trout feed heavily in rivers as river flows normalize and the water begins to clear up after months of muddy and extremely heavy current flows.

For this reason fishing for trout as river flows normalize is considered the best time to trout fish for many trout anglers, especially those who choose drift fishing as their "go to" trout fishing technique. What is "drift fishing" you ask? Drift fishing is allowing live bait (such as a live worm) or your favorite trout spinner or spoon to drift naturally with the current of the river that you are fishing in an attempt to catch trout, and one of the best times for drift fishing for trout is during the late summer and fall as river flows return to "normal" levels.

In this article I will outline some drift fishing strategies so that you can partake in this trout fishing technique and experience the best time of the year to trout fish (if you haven't already). The first technique involves allowing a small spinner or spoon to drift naturally with the current of the river that you are fishing. Attaching your spinner or spoon to your line with a twelve to eighteen inch leader by using a swivel is a great idea. This will prevent your line from becoming twisted and in the case of in line spinners, allow the lure to perform as it was designed to perform. Fishing your spinner of spoon within three inches of the surface is the way to go, especially as river levels continue to drop.

The next technique to employ as river flows normalize is drifting a live worm. This technique works throughout the time that river flows return to "normal" levels, but this technique becomes truly special during the fall. Drift fishing with a live worm is an excellent way to go about fishing for trout and is a technique that every serious trout fisherman should have as a part of his or her trout fishing repertoire. The goal when drifting a worm is to have it bounce along the bottom over the river bed as it flows with the current. At first this can seem strange, but with practice you will get the hang of it and realize the effectiveness of the technique.

Although the "best" time of year to trout fish more than likely varies from trout fisherman to trout fisherman, there is little doubt that the time when river flows normalize after spring rains and run off is at the very least among the best times of the year to fish for our beautiful friends known as 'trout'.