Hi All,

I have just started fishing in a Reservoir for Trout which has very dark tannin stained water.

Need your thoughts on best fly fishing methods to use. Dry fly seems to have it's limits as I am not sure if the trout can see a dry fly on the surface.

Visability seems to be about 2ft down from the surface but the water seems to be clean but is dark looking.

Can the trout see flies (lures) at depth in such dark tannin water?

Can I expect good sport in such a Reservoir?

I know there are plenty of Tannin waters in Scotland so hope I will get advice especially on what tactics to use.

All help will be appreciated.

You may fish your normal flies but depending on conditions I find that claret flies can out perform black in coloured waters.

As subtle variation on claret . . . pinkish hues often seems to do very well and the trout will be able to see your dry fly against a light sky. Just depends upon whether or not they can be bothered getting off their wee anal fins to come and get it! I like to use a bit of sparkle in the body/dubbing too, just to let them know there's something about. Get seen . . . get eaten! And don't worry, the fish will have a reasonable view on your flies from below (so dries will work as well as anywhere) as the sky will provide a good, light background. Flies will generally just appear as a sillhouette so I would worry about form and size more than colour.

You can expect good sport probably, from lots of wee fish! The feeding will be poor because of the low light levels that limit the producvitivty of plants and that will have impacts further up the food chain. But anomolies to this general rule do occur.

Good luck,

Andy

in "peaty" stained waters orange has always done well ,orange fritz etc ...

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WHEN YOU LEAVE THE RIVER, TAKE NOTHING, AND LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINT'S!!!

THA CAN TELL A YORKSHIREMAN ,BUT THA CAN'T TELL HIM MUCH !!

Dry fly works very well in peaty waters as the trout are always on the look up for terrestrial food falling in.which is a main source of food for them.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

On the peat stained waters of sutherland and wester ross I tend to use Maxima cameleon which has a brown tint. I find this effective as clear and green stick out. I dont use flouro full stop but could see my mates before he switched over to the maxima. As for flies as Andy says if its dry colour isnt an issue. As i tend to use pearly/silver invictas,peter rosses,kates,zulus and clan chiefs as wets i suppose i dont really change flies for theese conditions.
As i am always working the bob fly i feel the distubance brings them up.

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BROWN TROUT:THE RED SPOTS HAND PAINTED BY GOD

PR is correct in that for peaty water I use Maxima Cameleon.This is the only time I use this now.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

I regularly fish Sutton Bingham reservoir near Yeovil. While not peat stained, the water almost always has a slightly cloudy tint due to the lake bed being clay. Despite that, the reservoir fishes very well, and in the right conditions ie cold water/early season, you can indeed fish deep with prospects of success (but see below).

If you were to draw off a pint beer glass or milk bottle full of the lake water, it would be clearer than you think.

The "see below" echoes what Jim said in the last but one post. The bailiff at Sutton Bingham reckons the nature of the water keeps the trout in the top layers and looking up for food...may give you a clue.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Aye you are right there Jim not much use any other time. I met a guy who used it at Watten for a week and couldnt understand why he had a disaster
(For those who dont Know Watten used to be gin clear)

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BROWN TROUT:THE RED SPOTS HAND PAINTED BY GOD

Don't understand this??????

Fluro is clear and therefore blends into it's natural surroundings.

I fished the youth world championships in Ireland. We fished on waters that all had poor visability and carried on using fluro. On some of the venues, we caught 3 times as many fish as any other team......sames flies.....the only differance was that we were the only team to use fluro. England A came first....England B second and we were both well clear of our nearest rivals.

That can't be coincidence.....