Brookville Fishing Report 6/19/14

          Brookville has been on fire recently.  The flows have been good as well as the weather.  I headed over on Thursday to give it a shot.  The gauge was around 2.9, so a little low.  Water clarity was very good and it was bright and sunny.  I must have picked up 30 fish throughout the morning and afternoon.

Size doesn't always make a nice fish.

          The fish were literally everywhere.  With the water low and very clear, it was fun to stand up on the bridges and high banks to look down into the water with polarized glasses.  The fish were holding on the edges, in the middle of flats, and in the riffles.  I focused on all of the areas with different techniques.  No matter what though, long leaders and 6X fluorocarbon is the name of the game in conditions like these.  Also, stay stealthy.  This means clothes colors to match the conditions, watch your shadow, small white indicators, and be careful walking.  These fish get very spooky very fast when the water drops.

There were many nice rainbows out

          In the riffles I nymphed nothing but midges. I went through every color combo in my box and red as well as cream were the two winners. The fish couldn't stay away. Here I used a 1/2" white thingamabobber or a large dry fly as my indicator.
          When fishing the flats, nothing beats sight fishing. There was a small trico hatch early in the morning, so sight fishing to risers was pretty cool in this type of water. Another fun trick to have up your sleeve is to fish with a nymph and use the fish as your indicator. When these fish are holding in slow moving, clear, and shallow water this is my go to technique. Cast one lightly weighted nymph far enough upstream for it to sink down to the trout during the drift. This is where having a long leader is essential. At one point I have a 16 ft leader on. Cast above the fish and then study the fish very carefully. Watch for any sight of a feed: flash, open mouth, or left to right movement. Then simply set the hook. It can be intense but it's fun!

For any questions please stop by or call us at 513-871-FISH

Tight Lines,

Alexander Helmicki
Delamere & Hopkins