As the full swing of summer sets in with high heats and less wind, so can an algal bloom. To most, the thought of algae is something dirty, or unsanitary. Maybe because it's green, or maybe because of so many uncleaned fish tanks in houses across the planet. Either way, algae blooms in our lakes don't put an end to things whatsoever, in fact, a lake that shows a bloom with any significant depth is that of a healthy, nutrient rich still-water.
Stoney and Minnie Lakes usually show the first signs during the peak heat of the summer. What looks like sprinklings of dill spice, hovers around the top four feet of the lake. It's at this time when spectacular Rainbow Trout can be caught adjusting to a few old proven methods. A few tips remain:
1) Checking your leader / fly and tippet knots for regular cleanliness.
2) Leaving larger "tags" on your nail knots and tippet knots. That of an 8th of an inch. This helps act as a trap when particles of algae may want to travel down your line. I used to use a sequence fastened at my nail knot to collect unwanted debris.
At this point in the summer, the stratified Algae actually helps the presentation of tippets and flies, as the sunlight becomes fractured or broken up as it travels through the top few feet of bloom. During this phase, extremely large Trout can be caught using extremely large flies. That just sounds too cool. Big Dragonflies / Leeches / Wooly Buggers and Attractors seem to put the fish on. Bright irregular 'buggy' patterns, and even Steelhead flies cause huge takes. The best way to put these flies in their face is to incorporate the help of a few sinking lines. Type 3 and Type 6 lines are all that's required. A Type 3 will just take a little longer to get in that zone, so a Type 6 is always my choice in the matter. Because of the big flies and heavier fly lines, make sure your tippet is sufficient to handle hard strikes and turning of big flies. Nothing less than 6 pound Flourocarbon is my choice, even 10 pound when things are heating up with big Darner Dragonflies.
Don't be discouraged about algae conditions and "summer doldrums". It's this time of the year that you can enjoy nice weather, bring significant others, bring along children and even work on your suntan if needed. I personally enjoy this fishery just as much as the Spring and Fall, generally all of the fish are well fed, super bright and ready for war.
BRENT GILL.
Stoney Lake Lodge.
