Trout Tips: Fishing crowded tailwaters

Tailwaters — stretches of rivers directly below bottom-release dams — can be excellent places to find winter trout. Water temperatures are steady (and often warmer than the air outside), flows in the winter are generally stable and the food base of aquatic insect larvae, mysis shrimp and other protein sources that wash through the dams is usually pretty dependable. A lot of the biggest fish of the year are caught within sight of a bottom-release dam during the coldest winter months.

But, as Russ Miller of Umpqua point out, the dependable nature of tailwaters also means you're likely to see more anglers, and finding unoccupied water to fish can be a challenge. So, he notes, sometimes your best bet at catching trout is in water that you might otherwise pass on by — marginal trout water where there might be a few fish, but not the high-quality stuff, like deep pools, soft runs and trout-jammed tailouts. 

It's not impossible to catch fish in water like this. It just becomes a matter of breaking a large river down into smaller sections, where you might get four or five casts at each location before moving on to the next spot. It requires patience and determination, but you'll likely have this water to yourself, which is sometimes just as important as having quality water in front of you. 

— Chris Hunt