Spring Runoff Fishing Roundup

All my local creeks are blown, and even my tailwaters are high right now. For a lot of anglers, that means it’s time to head out to local ponds and lakes while the rivers get back into shape. If you’re like me, though, you either aren’t all that great at fishing stillwater (I’m awful, unless it’s a high-country pond, because anyone can fish those) or prefer moving water.

If that’s the case, you really aren’t out of luck this time of year. There’s a bunch of different ways to effectively fish during runoff, and it can be some of the most rewarding fishing you’ll enjoy all year. So, I rounded up some of the most helpful content I could find on the topic.

Kelly Galloup – Streamers in Runoff

Kelly needs no introduction in fly fishing. As you’d expect, his tips focus primarily on streamer fishing during runoff, and this video is an excellent visual example of how he accomplishes what he’s talking about.

Landon Mayer – High & Dirty

In this article for Fly Fisherman Magazine, Landon Mayer takes a 100-foot-view of fishing during runoff. He gives a great overview of how to read water, as well as the recommended rigs to get your flies down to where the fish are hanging out.

Evan Garda – 5 Tips

Over at Fly Lords, Evan Garda has a good collection of 5 tips to help you fish during runoff, including some basic safety tips that beginner anglers should absolutely be aware of.

Untangled – Runoff Tips

Over at the Untangled podcast I host, I recently did a show all about fishing during runoff. You can catch that episode here.