Well I made it to billings and have to park the RV in Harden so since having a WY fishing license from last spring on the north platt I thought the logical thing to do was run down and try my rusty arm on the Toung River....doing some internet searches revealed it to be kind of a hidden jem and got me pretty charged with them talking about trout not being to finicky and not overfished....and a pretty easy and fish able River...
WRONG.....
Spent most of the day trying to land a fly under the overhanging weeds and brush...actually spent most of my time tying on a new fly.
Water was so clear the fish could see you coming a mile away. After stalking up to a beaver pond and peering through the brush to see fish scatter at Mach 2 , I gave up and went back to the camper wondering how you all do it...and why an I wasting my time....
I need some dumb trout I guess....

Welcome to low summer water fishing......

When I see water than clear, I just sit beside it, have a beer and enjoy the scenery.

I recommend cold beer as an antidote. I've been known (in my younger days) to belly crawl through streamside bushes, casting from a kneeling position with zero false casting, and other stealthy tricks to fool eagle-eyed trout in gin-clear water. Now I prefer the gin.

It's like I'm watching in a mirror!

In all seriousness, wear camo or olive drab, approach the stream slowly and quietly, vibrations travel through water 4X as fast as they do air. Leave your cool yellow or fluorescent colored fly lines at home, put on a longer leader, minimize false casts.
Rule of thumb....if you can see them, they've already seen you.

Well said. I was wearing camouflage shirt and hat....not for the reason of sneakin up on trout but rather it's what I wear a lot.....guess I better stick to more favorable fishing conditions....really can't complain too much as the bighorns are a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon this time of year..

I you can work moving water and some of deeper stuff with undercut banks and exercise the stealth mentioned it will help. Thin clear water this time of year with lots of overhanging vegetation has indeed driven most of us to drink!

My casting ability reall pretty much sucks so I do admire those guys who were parked in the same spot all day fishing a small stretch of river...guess I did get in some practice but it's nice to snag a fish here and there..
I did learn the 9 ft rod was a bit too much...a good spot for a short lighter rod I'm thinking..

What Pugs said. Work the water you can work. Some places are beyond my abilities, period.
The good news is that there often some nice trout in such places. I got a nice fat, 14 inch brown once by working white water next to a well used and fished camp ground on the Pit River. The clear pools had no fish in them. Since I had the time, and needed to wait for my buddy to show up, I gave it a try. Darn fish was in water only a foot deep and required only a ten foot cast. E

If you can see (from a distance) fish feeding in this skinny clear water you can approach them from upstream (again at a distance) and by studying the water (current flow directions) a short cast with line then fed out (shaken) so the fly floats to the feeding fish from upstream.

The others have given good advice by finding faster water, undercut banks and deeper water, that is what I do. I just try to find water I can fish.

I have a son on the other hand that sees a fish in such difficult water as a challenge and he will always give it a try. You usually only get one chance at it and the day is done, or at least and hour or two wait, but when it works it will make your day.

Give it a try on your way to finding better water, you may be rewarded.

bingo

upstream and feed line

or tie on a large dry and put a dropper on it, like a sz 16 lightning bug, and stand upstream and feed into undercut banks.

i find that dry beetle and ant patterns work well in skinny clear water.

patience, low profile and spend a good deal of time observing area before first cast

have fun

bingo

upstream and feed line

or tie on a large dry and put a dropper on it, like a sz 16 lightning bug, and stand upstream and feed into undercut banks.

i find that dry beetle and ant patterns work well in skinny clear water.

patience, low profile and spend a good deal of time observing area before first cast

have fun

That up stream feeding line would have been the ticket....actually can believe I didn't think of it as have spent many hours back bouncing wiggle warts and quick fish for Salmon and steelhead.. Would work the same, kinda force feed them...
Going to shoot some prarie dogs this weekend but I'll try it next time on the river...

By no means an expert, but I can slay fish in stream and can not touch a fish in side channel beaver ponds. Hair like tippets with sniper approaches and the first cast sends the fish off like one dropped a skunk in the crowd. Actually, I've not seen anyone else take a fish from a dead water beaver pond either. Simply can't be done.

Well discribed ...but as a kid 40 years ago we fished beaver ponds in Colorado and caught fish about every cast....of coarse it was way more scientific...bobber and worm....