MidCurrent Plus Live Event – April 23, 2026
Synopsis
This MidCurrent Plus live event pairs host Phil Monahan (Vermont) with guest Landon Mayer — Colorado guide, author, and one of the most recognized voices in modern Western trout fishing — for a wide-ranging conversation on spring runoff tactics, high-water strategy, and the often-overlooked productivity of stillwaters during the freestone blowout.
Reading High and Off-Color Water — Landon opens with the foundational shift anglers need to make when rivers swell and stain: fish move, but they don’t disappear. As flows climb, trout slide to soft-water seams along the banks, behind boulders, and into flooded grass and willow margins where current breaks form just inches from dry ground. Water clarity dictates fly choice and presentation distance — the dirtier the water, the closer the fish will tolerate you, and the more profile and contrast your fly needs. Landon emphasizes that turbid water isn’t a reason to go home; it concentrates fish into predictable holding zones and often turns off the wariness that defines low-water fishing.
Streamers and the Double Trouble Rig — A signature Mayer technique gets full treatment: tandem streamer rigs joined with micro swivels, allowing the trailing fly to swim independently and dramatically increasing hookup rates on short strikes. Landon walks through pairing combinations — a larger articulated leech or sculpin pattern as the lead fly with a smaller baitfish or jig-style trailer — and explains why the swivel matters more than most anglers realize for preventing line twist and preserving action. He also covers casting adjustments for heavy rigs in high water: open loops, water loads, and the value of having two rods rigged and ready so you can switch tactics without losing the window.
Nymphing in Runoff — Landon argues that nymphing remains the most consistently productive method during runoff if you adjust depth, weight, and proximity. He details rigging for fast, deep, off-color water — heavier tungsten, larger profile flies, shorter tippet to the indicator, and casts kept tight to the bank rather than out into the chocolate main current. The discussion includes how to read foam lines and current creases that signal feeding lanes even when you can’t see the bottom.
Stillwater as the Runoff Solution — When freestones blow out completely, Landon makes a strong case for pivoting to lakes and reservoirs, where conditions remain stable and fish are often actively feeding on midges, leeches, and emerging callibaetis. He covers reading stillwater structure (drop-offs, weed lines, inlets, and wind-driven food lanes), retrieve cadence, and why stillwater fishing develops skills — line control, depth management, patience — that translate directly back to moving water.
Dry Flies in High Water — Counterintuitive but real: dry-fly opportunities exist even in big water, particularly along the edges where backwater eddies form and where caddis and stoneflies get pushed into protected pockets. Landon explains when to look for these windows and how to identify the micro-habitats that produce them.
Safety — The conversation closes with a direct discussion of high-water safety: wading judgment when flows are pushing, the value of a wading staff and PFD on bigger rivers, recognizing when to fish from the bank rather than push deeper, and the broader point that no fish is worth the risk of a cold-water swim in spring conditions.
Throughout, Landon returns to a guiding philosophy worth keeping: always remain a student. The anglers who fish well in difficult conditions are the ones who treat every blown-out spring as a chance to learn something new about where fish go when the water rises.
