High elelvation streams

Hi Folks, Finally got out guiding again today after a couple of days off due to high water and big rain.  We still have a ton of water in our streams and river/brook fishing is limited at the moment.  I know of several small mountain brooks that clear quickly in big rain and can be fished within a short period after a heavy down pour.  These little brooks have a steep gradient with good stability and really good riparian buffer zones surrounding the edges.  It all means that they come up quickly and go down quickly in rain events.  Water temperature this morning was 59 degrees.  The level of the brook we fished was probably 5 times its average flow for this time of the year.  Water clarity was fine and you had to pay attention to wading.  We had 25 brook trout come to the fly between 4" and 7".  The two ladies I guided were new to fly fishing and they did an excellent job with casting to presentation to reading the water and catching fish.  We never changed flies and a #10 rubber legged royal stimulator and a #10 orange stimulator did really well. In high water, the trout you can catch are in the soft margins.  Stay away from the heavy stuff.  Trout are energy efficient machines and they do not want to work any harder than they have to.  In small mountain brooks, the water temperature is pretty consistent from bank to bank.  So, anything knee deep off the main current is fair game.  I love big eddies and bouncing flies off big boulders and letting them drop straight down into the water.  It works really well and the fish almost always their to eat.  Water levels will remain high and thunderstorms are likely in the afternoon for the next few days.  Chasing smallmouths tomorrow.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy