Summer Beading For Trout

As it is in the months of June and July every summer the rivers levels reach a yearly low and the majority of anglers leave there fishing till the hours of dusk, when the fish are rising freely for sedge's and summer olives. 
This is also the time when I get out during the hotter days and go beading for trout that are sitting in the pockets behind stones and among the weed beds. Preparing for the All Ireland river finals over the last number of weeks this approach was producing some good catches and was my preferred method on the day. The location was the River Function in Glanworth and while the dry dropper method took its fair share of fish in the flat sections the small beads were devastating in the parts where the light streams tumbled through the rocks and weed beads.

This approach to catching fish is quite simple but you mush have the confidence and faith that when you punch in your nymphs that fish will be lying in the pockets and they will take. Beat management is a very important factor here also as you don't want to wade through any pocket that may hold fish; so start at the end of your section and slowly make your way through the water presenting your beads in every possible holding spot where a fish might be. More than likely there will only be one or two fish in the majority of lies and once you have cast effectively into the area don't dwell to long there as you have a long section to go and search out for more possible fish. You will be very surprised  where the fish will sit this time of year and I would check every square inch of the river with my beads no matter how low it looks or even if I cant see any fish in the shallow water.
Using a 2 or 3 weight nymphing rod I generally set up a 4.40 meter leader from point fly to my Rio Nymphing line; I prefer to use a leader I make myself as I can make it as aggressive as I need to punch the light nymphs into pockets and if I encounter a breeze I have no problems being accurate with my casts. The diameter of this leader ranges from .45 down to .20 which is also my indicator, I boil the leader before use also to give it extra spring which allows me to fish tippet as low as .080 with confidence. Using either one or two nymphs I generally have 1.5 to 1.7 meters of tippet attached to 2.90 meter made up tapered leader.  

From here I use size 18 and smaller nymphs with 2mm or 2.5mm tungsten beads with a turn or two of lead behind the bead to help the nymph reach the fish lying on the bottom. The patterns are not greatly important once they are slim and dark, the most important factor to fishing this way is contact, if you are not in contact with your nymphs they will not produce fish. With the made up leader suiting my style of fishing I am in contact with the nymphs before they even hit the water. Once the nymphs are submerged I will drag them back through the pockets slightly faster than the current so I remain in total contact and if any thing touches the nymphs I know automatically and strike. 
With my landing net in one hand and the rod in the other I make my way through the beat effectively fishing all the water. Netting the fish in this type of water must be quick and make as little noise as possible, so you don't spoke any other fish that might be lying in the pocket or you could lose the fish in the weed beds. As soon as you strike into your fish you should lift the fish straight out of the pocket into your waiting landing yet in a split second. This form of netting means also you will lose less fish when fishing barb-less hooks or catching fish that are lightly hook and generally pop of during the netting process. 

Here is two simple and effective nymph patterns that have been working for me on several rivers during the month of June.

Hook: Hends Jig hook size 18

Bead: Size 2.5-2mm Tungsten black or sliver 

Under body: Fine flat lead 

Thread: Black Twist tying thread 

Tail: Coq De Leon

Body: Cock phesant tail dyed black
Rib: Hends red wire 

Collar: Hends UV blend dubbing black

Hook: Hends Jig hook size 18

Bead: Size 2.5-2mm Tungsten copper or sliver 

Under body: Fine flat lead 

Thread: Black Twist tying thread 

Tail: Coq De Leon

Tag: Glo Brite no 5

Body: Black thread 
Rib: Fine copper wire 

Collar: Hends spectra dubbing no.46

These simple nymphs will produce catches during the low water months of the summer for you, but remember being in contact with your nymphs is everything and once you hook up get those fish out of the water fast as possible regardless of size. I hope you enjoy reading this post and if you have any comments or questions just drop me a line below, also you can sign in and follow us. Thanks for reading.