The rich salmon runs of last summer and fall have long since passed into
memory. Warm April days bring flashbacks of wet-wading for sockeye and casting for
springs. The salmon did their job with legendary proficiency that defies logic–many beat
incredible odds to allude man and resist the harsher forces of nature. They made it to
their spawning grounds, leaving thousands of eggs to hatch into the next generation of
battlers.

It is a fact of life that a large percentage of those young salmon known
as fry will never make it to the ocean. Hours, perhaps minutes, after they leave their
protective gravel redd, they will flee from the jaws of hungry cutthroat trout. The
cutthroat have just finished spawning in the same river systems from which the fry are now
emerging. The sea-run trout have expended a great deal of energy and now they must
replenish their batteries by gorging on the most available food source–an unfortunate
cycle for many of the infant salmon.

It is nature’s way that one creature’s misfortune is often another’s
opportunity. And while the cutthroat are taking advantage of the bounty before them,
fly-fishermen can in turn capitalize on the trout’s hungry state. Cutthroat will come
easily to the fly in many different situations. Yet, due to its legendary nomadic
behavior, there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to locating feeding cutthroat.
Despite the randomness of the trout’s meanderings, there are several predominant feeding
situations fishermen can use to their advantage.

The Emergence: Bouncing the bottom

In the spring, the first feeding frenzy often occurs shortly after the fry
have left the gravel. In their alevin stage, while their yolk sacks are still attached,
the young salmon make easy targets. The egg’n I pattern, which combines the elements of
mallard flank, tinsel, and fluorescent wool to imitate the barred flanks and bright
‘beard’ of the alevin is the most popular pattern to use during this brief stage. At this
point, the fry are still staying very close to their gravel beds, so it can be challenging
to effectively imitate them with a sparsely garnished fly (like the egg’n I) without using
a heavy sinking tip. For anglers preferring to use floating lines or lighter sink tips, a
heavy-bodied fly is the answer.

If you were able to watch newly-emerged fry fight against the current, two
distinguishing behaviors would become readily apparent. The first is that the fry hug the
river bottom as they struggle against the current. As the rushing water threatens to spin
the young fish into an endless free-fall, they resist the river’s flow. This little dance
involves the fry dipping and bowing into the gravel and swaying side to side in a
concentrated effort to maintain equilibrium. The second behavior is the fry’s rigid body
movement. Newly emergent fry do not have scales yet and their skin is covered in mucus.
They maintain a stiff body and propel themselves using only their tails.

One of the most effective and versatile flies for this situation is the
epoxy minnow. In relative terms, the epoxy minnow is heavy. Thus, it can get to the bottom
fast and stay there longer. One of the best advantages to this fly is that, although it
always maintains the same general shape, there is no limit to the garnishings that can be
used under the hard coating. I have seen this pattern tied simply– with a tinsel body,
peacock herl back, and marabou tail. And I have witnessed more elaborate mixtures of polar
bear hair, flashabou, and crystal flash. This offering should include a stick-on or
painted eye that is out of proportion to the rest of the body, imitating the
"wide-eyed stare" characteristic of young salmon.

The epoxy minnow should also include a dominant tail, made of marabou or
polar bear hair, that will move with the current in contrast to the pattern’s rigid body.

Swept Away

Right from the beginning, many species of salmon have differing travel
plans. Two species, coho and chinook, usually spend a year in the stream of their birth
before they head for the salt. Upon hatching, sockeye head for their nursery lake, while
pinks and chums are driven immediately to the ocean. The quick movement of large masses of
fry provides another opportunity for the ravenous cutthroat. Commonly called
"fry-balls," the dense migration of young salmon can provide a circus-like
atmosphere as creatures of the air and the sea attack them with gusto. In this situation,
the trout will allow the food to come to them. With such large numbers of fry moving past,
cutthroat have an easy time ambushing their prey as they dart out from under cut-banks and
timber jams resting on the edge of the river’s flow.

With so many meals for the cutties to choose from, it is important for the
fly fisherman to use a pattern that will catch their attention. The Mylar Minnow is a
pattern that has earned its place in many a veteran’s fly box. One of the most attractive
features of this fly is the fluttering action that is created as the current pushes
against the mylar. When tying the Mylar Minnow to imitate a swimming fry, use a piece of
Mylar that will still be long enough to cover the hook shank when it has been pinched into
a flat body. For example, when you measure the Mylar against the hook shank, leave enough

room at the back for the small loss in length that will occur when the tubing is pushed
together to make the body flat. Different colors of dyed mallard flank are tied over the
mylar to represent the yellow tinge of pink fry or the dark bars of chum.

While the epoxy minnow moves erratically near the bottom of the river, the
Mylar Minnow does its wild dance closer to the top of the current. An effective way to
present this fly is to cast it slightly downstream near the opposite bank and let it swing
through the current until it comes to a seam at the edge of some sluggish water. A couple
of well timed strips will often change the fly’s motion from a spastic fluttering action
to a slower spin that will cause it to drop closer to the bottom. If you are in the right
territory, this move should prove irresistible to the ambushing predator.

Sloughs and Backwaters: Looking For Rings

If sight casting appeals to you, slow backwaters are the place to be. Some
of the most exciting fishing of the year can come during a warm spring day when cutthroat
are cruising the shallows. Swirling rings accompanied by frantic fry leaping from the
surface is a spectacle that quickens the heart of any angler. Much like fishing from the
shore of a lake or pond, casting across backwaters and sloughs requires a different
approach from targeting fish in moving water.

As the cutthroat pursue the fry they will often move back and forth across
the shallows, pushing the young salmon toward the edges of sandy beaches, trapping them in
"corners" where they will run out of space to flee. Depending on the size of the
area, you may have to follow close behind the fish, casting between the cutthroat and the
shore. If the area is confined, it may be more effective to stay in one place and aim your
casts from one position. One mistake that I have made is wading when it is not necessary.
Although each situation is unique, many feeding situations occur in shallow water on the
edge of a sloping beach. It is a wrong to assume that you need to cast forty feet into
deeper water, when it is often more productive to cast directly from the beach on an angle
that allows you to retrieve your fly almost parallel to the drop-off.

Most anglers prefer to use a full floating line in this situation, but on
days when the fish are a little more shy, a clear still-water (slime-line) is recommended.
Be forewarned that most of these areas are made up of a gritty combination of sand and
gravel that can make a mess of your fly line, so be sure to clean your equipment after you
have fished in the slow pockets of places like the Harrison and Fraser. Paying over
fifty-dollars for a line that becomes ridden with nicks can hurt even the most healthy
pocketbook.

Traditional minnow imitations and streamers will usually be all that is
needed in this environment. Murray’s Rolled Muddler, Tinsel, and even Mickey Finns (in
sizes 10 to 12) will all take fish when the cutthroat are eating with reckless abandon.
Other flies you may want to consider adding to your box for variety or the simple joy of
tying something different: Roderick Haig-Brown’s Humpback Fry , tied with a silver body,
yellow hackle and peacock herl overwing; and the Chum Fry, which consists of a slender
tinsel body overlaid by peacock herl that has been couterwound with wire, a mallard flank
tail, and a red flashabou beard.

Catching cutthroat in the spring is not rocket-science. Yet, there are
certain tactics that can broaden your chances of success and increase your enjoyment of
the sport. With the sun on your back and beautiful, aggressive trout prowling the waters
in front of you, it becomes easy to remember how you first became hooked on the simple
pleasures of fly fishing.