Fly Fishing Pressured Waters
Nick Conklin and Collins Illich
Fly Fisher, Guide, Author
Fishing pressure is at an all-time high—but smart anglers adapt. In this episode we're joined by Nick Conklin and Collins Illich to break down advanced tactics for fooling highly educated fish on crowded waters. From strategy shifts to subtle presentations, this conversation delivers practical insights you can apply to pressured rivers anywhere.
Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:
- How do you define “pressured water,” and what are the earliest signs anglers should recognize?
- How has fishing pressure changed over the last decade on popular Western rivers?
- Can you share with us some of the things that should concern anglers with time management?
- When and where should we fish to avoid highly pressured waters?
- What role does timing—time of day or season—play in beating pressure?
- On a river like the South Platte, below Cheeseman Dam, it looks like the coming months will be a combination of low water (>100 CFS), crowds, and low temps/snow pack (hopefully!). Any recommendations around that specific set of factors?
- If you come across a run where you saw another angler fishing, how long should you wait to fish that run?
- How important is stealth compared to presentation on crowded rivers?
- When fishing pressured water, how do you decide between changing flies versus changing tactics?
- Is it better to add more flies as droppers when fishing for smart trout?
- Do you find that you need to downsize your flies for pressured waters?
- Do you change leader/tippet for pressured waters, and if so, what do you recommend?
- What habits separate consistently successful anglers from frustrated ones?
- With the pressure continuing to get stronger what changes do you see coming in the next 20 years that will change the way we fish today or our access to fisheries?
