Japanese pond smelt (wakasagi, in their native Japan) were planted in several California lakes as far back as 1959. At the time, they were believed to be the same species as our now-endangered Delta smelt. The rationale behind the importation and planting was that pond smelt would provide valuable forage for planted rainbow trout. It turns out the biologists were wrong about the species, but right about their utility as a food source. Trout, bass, and salmon all love to eat pond smelt. Packed with protein and fat, pond smelt are a great way for fish to gain weight quickly. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lake Almanor, Butt Valley Reservoir, Lake Oroville, Spaulding Lake, Scotts Flat Reservoir, and Rollins Lake all have populations of pond smelt. Lake Almanor has a very robust population.
The Hexagenia mayfly hatch at Almanor gets a lot of attention, but to my mind, fishing for trout feeding on the lake’s smelt is often a lot more productive and entertaining. Over the past 16 years, I have seen the smelt populations at Lake Almanor cycle from almost nonexistent to schools so thick that a fish finder display goes completely solid. The action often starts in May, but the peak is typically in September or October, and smelt action can continue into November. If you want to land large trout, autumn is the time to fish smelt patterns at Almanor. While it is hard to predict what will happen each year, 2017 could be a very good year for smelt; 2016 certainly was.
Tackle and Techniques
Many fly fishers are used to throwing flies into waters where a 16-inch fish is a trophy. For these situations, a 4-weight or 5-weight rod is fine. Even a soft 4-weight has more than enough backbone to control a 16-inch trout. Take this setup to Almanor, and you are going to feel decidedly undergunned. Believe it or not, it can be hard to find a trout that measures under 16 inches. I typically use a 5-weight outfit, but have absolutely no qualms working a 6-weight. Even a 7-weight would not be out of place. You will want a reel with a smooth drag, too. Once you hook up with a fish that measures an honest 20-plus inches, you will understand why. Using anything less than a 6-pound test tippet is asking for trouble.
When it comes to lines, your fly is going to need to float, sink, and sometimes sink deep. Ideally, three lines — a fast sinker, an intermediate sinker, and a floater — will cover all the bases. If your budget won’t stretch to three lines, get a fast-sinking line and a sink-tip leader that you can loop onto the end of your floating line. This will give you the flexibility to say hello to trout that are slashing into smelt anywhere from the surface to as much as 30 feet down.
While it is possible to fish from shore, some sort of watercraft makes things much more practical. Anything from a float tube to a bass boat with a sparkly hull will put you in the action. Regardless of whether you use two legs or two hundred ponies to get around, the main thing is to keep your eyes peeled for birds. Terns, grebes, and gulls are just as interested in the smelt as trout and will quickly lead you to the right spot. Grebes are perhaps the best indicators of submerged schools of smelt. Find them, and you will often find trout.
If for some reason the birds aren’t cooperating, a fish finder can be a great help. While the fancy new color display/GPS models are really cool, even an inexpensive $100 unit will be more than capable of locating schools of smelt.
If you do find birds working the water, slow down to idling speed when you get within 50 yards of the action. You don’t want to spook the smelt and the fish below. This will also give you a few minutes to observe the scene and figure out what is going on. In all likelihood, the birds will be moving across the water as they follow the smelt. Take note of this direction. Most of the time, the larger trout are on the trailing edge of the bird action. This is where injured smelt are fluttering helplessly in the water column and provide an easy meal. Figure out where the last bird is — you’ll be casting right behind it.
The next step is to figure out how deep to sink your fly. If the grebes are diving, but the gulls and terns are still milling overhead, the smelt are more than a couple of feet deep. Trout may be at the same level as the smelt or, more likely, some depth below. This is when the countdown method using a fast-sinking line often pays off. Cast out and make a five-second count before retrieving your fly. Retrieves should be a mix of smooth, foot-long pulls and small, erratic tugs. The fish will let you know what retrieve they want. If the fly comes back without a trout attached, add another five seconds to the count. Repeat this process until you hit fish or the bottom. Takes can vary from gentle taps to tippet-snapping lunges. Be prepared for both.
Sometimes, however, the action is right at the surface. If you get on the water in the early morning or late afternoon, you will probably see smelt being forced to the top, where they will get assaulted by the birds. It’s hard to miss this action. The terns will be screeching and diving, while the gulls bicker at each other and pluck injured fish from just below the surface. The surface itself will often be marked by small swirls and the occasional silver flash of leaping fish. Get close enough, and the water looks and sounds like it’s being hit with a soft summer rain. This is when you will want to switch to an intermediate line. The trout will generally be working just a few feet below the surface, and a fast-sinking line will tend to run your fly a bit too deep.
Then, if you are lucky, dead and dying smelt will start to litter the surface. These fish represent an easy meal for trout and birds. Twitching on the surface, they are truly doomed. You’ll have little trouble knowing when the trout have started to key in on floating smelt. They don’t sip smelt off the surface like some delicate little mayfly. They hammer them. This is the time to switch to a floating line and a floating or diving fly. The takes will usually be hard as the fish turns on the fly and heads back down. Expect to miss a few fish, and don’t be surprised if your pulse starts racing. This is seriously addictive stuff.
Flies
Pretty much any white fly of the right length will do a fine job matching pond smelt. Even a white Woolly Bugger will get fish. Early in the year, a one-inch fly will match the hatch. After several months of chowing down on algae and small insects, the smelt will have grown, so a two-inch or three-inch pattern is more appropriate.
While simple flies work well, I have had a lot of success with patterns that, on first appearance, appear to be overdressed with flashy materials. In the hand, these flies don’t look quite like the real McCoy, and that can turn a lot of people off from using them. For a long time, I did not understand why these flies were so successful. My assumption was that they are simply more visible and thereby get the attention of fish that would not have seen a plainer fly.
Then I lowered a GoPro into the water and filmed some schools of smelt. While healthy smelt make the occasional flash, injured fish are like miniature strobe lights. As they wobble erratically through the water, light flickers off their silvery sides. This flickering light is a signal to any nearby trout that there’s an easy meal at hand. My new theory is that a fly that sparkles more accurately mimics injured bait and is thus more likely to get taken. Who knows, I might even be right this time.
Another thing worth considering is fly action. I am a big fan of patterns such as Tullis’s Wiggle Bug, Dahlberg’s Diver and Binkley’s Wobble Fly. These flies are especially effective when smelt are near the surface. They wobble and dive when retrieved, but float back to the top when you stop pulling on the line. This is an almost perfect match for the behavior of an injured smelt.
Working these flies is an absolute blast. The wobbling action, when combined with flash material, provides visual and sonic outputs to which trout really seem to respond. I have watched trout suddenly change direction and charge at these flies. The takes can be especially violent.
When to Go
If you want to connect with some seriously big trout, the best time for wakasagi action is usually in the fall months, but good fishing is not unusual in June, during the famous Hexagenia hatch. A quick check of the Lake Almanor Fly Fishing Company’s Web site or a call to Tom there at (530) 258-3944 will let you know if it’s time to make the trip.
I’ve said that smelt action can continue into November, but at this time of the year, the weather can significantly affect your ability to fish well. A few years back, a buddy and I decided to launch his boat one last time, despite a cold, blustery wind and the threat of rain. This would be our last opportunity to fish the lake until the following spring, so there was a certain amount of last-cast angst on board. We ran along the east side of the peninsula, looking for fish and for some respite from the wind. In one of the smaller coves, we spotted some odd-looking splashes. We went in to investigate and found trout and smallmouth bass engaged in a wide-open top-water bite. The wind made casting a real challenge, but thankfully, the fish seemed almost oblivious to the boat. Between the two of us, we netted almost a dozen trout and a similar number of smallies before the bite died. The fish of the trip was a large, kype-jawed brown that sucked a fly off the surface.
