Catch in a Pea Souper

On a visit to my local fishery I was all geared up for a day’s fishing, until I saw the colour of the water! It was like pea soup, pure green. Is it worth fishing in these conditions?
Gary Mitchell

Rob Edmunds replies: Pea soup...the dreaded algae bloom, makes fishing extremely difficult. Unless it’s a competition that I have to fish, I would always choose to fish elsewhere as it’ll be a struggle to catch.

The main problem with fishing in an algal bloom is that the fish will not be able to see your fly in the limited visibility; this effectively rules out nymphs (too small for the fish to easily see). If you have to fish then you should pick lures that stand out in the water. Black is my number one choice, with orange a close second. I prefer to fish a Booby as the eyes make a disturbance that the fish can feel down their lateral line so they are effectively pulled in to your cast. Finally, keep your retrieve slow; the fish will not respond to a rapidly-pulled lure that they can’t see.

Reprinted with permission of Trout Fisherman magazine.