The persistent North-westerlies and accompanying heavy rain in the Alps were severely limiting the variety of available fishing locations. Increased angler pressure on the more often clear lowland waters had deterred me from checking these out so although not my first choice of location for the day, the exploration of some smaller clear high country streams was on the cards. An early start had me on the water by 7:30am. Evidence of a recent severe flood showed a freshly turned over river bottom with little algae covered substrate visible in the stream. This doesn’t invoke confidence in finding lots of fish but you never know, and exploration is always required to determine present fish numbers and locations. My fears became reality as pool after pool lay devoid of fish but upon reaching the most likely expected location of some trout, the confluence with a large river, I was happy to see a feeding fish. A brief rig up of the gear had me casting my tungsten bead caddis pattern to the fish. Despite what appeared to be two good drifts past the fish, it wasn’t until the third drift that the indicator dipped and a firm strike had me into the first fish of the day. The fish proceeded bolt around the pool finally moving downstream to the next pool before coming to the net. Luckily this fish had not had the motivation to travel any further downstream as an uncrossable river and a steep cliff would have prevented me following him any further down. He was a lovely conditioned Brown in the 6.5-7lb size bracket. Nice! After a quick photo I moved back upstream and started once again scanning the water for signs of another fish. It wasn’t long until another good fish was located. This time while preparing to present a fly to the fish it suddenly turned and drifted downstream, finally taking up a resting position right opposite me. The decision as to whether or not to wait until he moved before I cast to him was made easier by the fact that he was now in a position where I could get a better drag free drift to him. Despite the risk of him seeing me move I chose to make a short cast across to him. The cast was good and as the indicator past him I anxiously waited to see his reaction. The indicator dipped, I struck and the fish bolted. Stuff it! Not meant to be I suppose. After gathering my thoughts I continued spotting upstream covering heaps of potentially good trout holding water but not finding any more fish. The recent big flood had obviously had a negative affect on the trout population of the stream but as with every big flood event, a reconnaissance is usually always necessary to determine its fishing potential. Despite little success it was still an enjoyable day on the water and a good conditioned fish a bonus.