Anglers have to be prepared to fish in any condition. I wanted to take the time to share with y’all some tips that will help you catch fish in high water conditions. Here in western North Carolina we get some good rain in the Spring and Early Summer, but that shouldn’t deter you away from getting out there and catching fish. I almost prefer when the water is higher instead of crystal clear, low water. Recently we received close to half and inch of rain the night before a guide trip. Normally a half of inch of rain in an isolated area is going to cause the creeks and rivers to present high water conditions. Below are some of the tips we used on the guide trip and had some really good success. Remember these things when you know the water is going to be up.

Throw bigger/heavier flies: One advantage to fishing high water is that anglers can throw larger than normal flies with great success.
Use heavier tippet: The potential to catch a big fish is always a possibility in high water so it’s a good idea to bump up in tippet size to give you that extra assurance to land the big one. Fish aren’t leader shy in high water.
Fish push out of the fast current towards the banks or the deep eddies: Trout and smallmouth do not like fighting the current in high water so focus your attention on the areas where they will be holding.
Use dark/flashy flies: A big black stonefly or a flashy beadhead egg is hard to beat when the water is up.
Sinkers: If you are fishing a deep run and aren’t catching fish it’s probably because your flies aren’t getting down fast enough. Add some weight because a sinker can save the day.
Streamers: What better time than to throw a big streamer than in high water. A weighted wooly bugger will catch fish.
Fish slowly and throughly: Slow down and fish the areas where you know the fish are at because they might not bite on the first cast but the twentieth cast.
Head to the high country: The higher elevation creeks are going to clear up first so start there.