Typically, a run follows a section of faster moving water which has dumped into a hole. As the river moves on to the next shoal, it traditionally flows through a run. The flow of the run is usually narrower than most other sections of the river. As the current increases in speed it tends to cut more sediment or wash more gravel from the bottom.
Tailwater
runs are usually wider than those in freestone and mountain streams. While tailwater runs may be bigger, they fish much the same as their freestone and mountain cousins. The faster water flow and increased depth offers protection for fish while decreasing water temperature. Also, it can increase dissolved oxygen levels while moving food into the water column. Therefore, a run is a very good place to locate fish, and in particular … healthy, feeding fish.
Positioning yourself to fish the run is critical to your fishing success. It is usually best to place yourself on one side or the other, but try to stay far enough back from the run, so you will not be noticed by the fish. As elementary as this sounds look at the places people position themselves, especially when the feeding picks up.
When working a run with a nymph, start at the bottom end of the run. It is usually
best to cast slightly above the location in which you are standing and let the fly drift downstream. Proper mending is critical as the fly works downstream. Let the fly dead drift until your line begins to straighten, but don’t pick the fly up until you get that last bit of swing as the fly moves toward the slower water below where you are standing. Only after you have let the fly swing out of the run, or at least to the side below where you are standing, should you pick the fly up and cast
again.
Work your way upstream as you cast, dead drift, mend, swing and then cast again. Also, you can work several locations of the run from side to side. You can usually find several different flows of water within a run. Finding the different flows requires observation and understanding how you are going to work the fly through the different flows takes patience. I look for objects floating on the water for a hint of how fast the
current is moving and if fishing an indicator it should be floating the same speed as the other objects.
A run is also a great place to use a soft hackle fly or streamer. When using either of these offerings, I like to stand back from the run and to work it downstream. Locating the fish may not be easy, but usually they will follow a fly that is cast very close to the far bank then moved back toward the angler. This gives you the best
opportunity to present your offering to all of the fish within the run. Don’t rely on just one retrieve; try a lazy swing and then use short wrist strips. A long arm strip will work sometimes, but a jerk strip with the rod tip can get those larger fish more excited.
Also, try stripping different retrieves from the opposite bank toward your position. Start by letting the fly swing downstream like it is fleeing. A straight-across,
powerful retrieve will also get the attention of the fish.
I was taking a “guide’s day off” with a friend. We had anchored the boat up on the edge of a wide run and were having some success fishing large streamers on falling water. We were working those streamers through the run and picking up a few fish, generating several flashes and getting excited about the number of trout we were seeing. Somewhere in the process, we began casting to the
far bank, and while the line was still above the fly, we would pull a few short strips. Then, as the line passed below the fly, we would begin the jerk strips. The flashes, hits and catching immediately began to pick up. In my opinion, our tactics gave the impression that a baitfish was coming from the safety of the bank out into the current, but didn’t have the power to continue upstream. As it moved downstream, it gave the appearance of an injured baitfish. The opportunistic trout immediately
keyed into this approach.
A couple of things to remember here are, to never let the fly stop moving and never let the fly fall in the water column. It is OK to halt your retrieve as long as there is movement on the swing or if the fly has enough buoyancy to move up in the water column when the retrieve is stopped. If given a choice, fish seem to like things that are alive and dying over something completely
dead.
