No they don't, and yes they do.Originally Posted by herefishy
No they don't, and yes they do.
The fish are always right.
Now THAT is really something, John... seeing a wild Wolverine! Its tough to think of an animal in the U.S. that is seen by fewer people! That is really cool, congratulations! I hope you see more of them. I've never seen one.
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
Indeed
Dave -
I had hoped for years to see a wolverine in the wild with no expectation of it ever happening. Perhaps I will be so fortunate again sometime, but the odds of that happening are virtually nil.
There was an article recently in the local paper about a coalition of wild life agencies in WA, ID, MT and WY undertaking a study of wolverines. They estimate that there are about 300 of them in that four state region.
One of the really neat things was where I saw this critter. To start with, it was shortly after leaving the access to a highly productive stretch of my home water through a densely wooded area. This is a place where I've seen quite a few river otters over the years, a momma bear with her cub a few years back, and close by to where I saw mountain lion tracks in fresh snow late one winter - and just a few miles down the road from where I watched a wolf chasing a deer last fall.
John
The fish are always right.
Started today ...
... with an FEB Hopper / Golden Stone rather than the JC's Salmonfly that I have been regularly fishing of late.
About half an hour into my day, a big fish hit the fly, turned downstream, and ripped 40-50' of backing off my reel before I could get some semblence of control ( fishing an Abel TR1 with a click and pawl "drag" ).
As I gained control and turned the fish, it spit the fly, then swam off somewhere to celebrate its victory.
No, steelhead don't shut down, yes, they keep feeding, and sometimes they take a golden stone dry.
Now if I can just catch a chinook salmon on an FEB dry, I will have caught my home water's grand slam ** on an FEB platform fly. Fat chance of that happening.
John
** West Slope cutthroat; bull trout; mountain whitefish; Clearwater B-run steelhead; steelhead cutthroat hybrid; and chinook salmon.
Last edited by JohnScott; 06-07-2016 at 11:21 PM.
The fish are always right.
Do you ever have to resort to nymphs, John, or do those dumb fish eat dries all year long?
I have had fish eat FEB platform dries every month of the year, winter weather conditions in northern Idaho permitting.
Fishing dry flies and streamers ( as in my Pine Squirrel Cheater ), respectively, are my preferences. But for serious winter conditions in western Montana and northern Idaho, and some run off conditions, nymphs are the only game in town. So yeah, I do resort to nymphs, and around here, for the rivers and streams I fish, the only nymph I need is a JARS.
John
The fish are always right.
🍒🍒🍒😎😎😎📌📌📌🔔🔔🔔 JACKPOT!!! On the trout and the Wolverine!
Oh, yeah, I remember just another rubberleg stonefly. Getting to be that time of year here in Colorado. Water's high, lots of snow still to come down.
Never say never ...
... or fat chances come and go.( from 6-7-16 )
Now if I can just catch a chinook salmon on an FEB dry, I will have caught my home water's grand slam ** on an FEB platform fly. Fat chance of that happening.
John
** West Slope cutthroat; bull trout; mountain whitefish; Clearwater B-run steelhead; steelhead cutthroat hybrid; and chinook salmon.
A couple days ago, I was fishing an FEB salmonfly on a stretch just below an IDF&G salmon hatchery facility. The chinooks have been showing up at Walton Creek for the past couple weeks in increasingly large numbers, up to about 25 to 30 per day most recently.
The fly drifted down into an area mostly shaded but with large patches of sunlight. A very large, very dark form rose to the fly and hit it, but let go immediately. Nanosecond contact with a chinook before it sank into the depths and the shadows.
Oh well, fishing for the local cutthroat trout with a 4 wt rod with 4X tippet left me undergunned for a session with one of those guys* anyway. Something was going to give at some point, and I'd just as soon it be contact as some part of my outfit.
John
* The "jacks" are under 24" and the real deal salmon typically run from the low 30 inches to over 40 inches. The one that hit the fly was the real deal.
The fish are always right.
That time of year again ....
.... but still a bit early for salmonflies for most of the streams and rivers in this neck of the woods.
We had a really cold winter, starting in early December, with a bunch of snow. Didn't fish at all from late November until getting in just a few days, mostly getting skunked, last month.
A week ago I had to snowshoe into one of my favorite places on my home water. Yesterday I could walk in on mostly bare ground everywhere I fished.
Fished the FEB Salmonfly and got lots of action in several different places. But I guess the fish were out of practice - they hit the fly aggressively but didn't hook up. A low hook up rate kind of goes with this pattern, and other FEB patterns, which is generally fine with me, but going 0 for 12 was a bit surprising.
The salmonfly hatch, where there is one, is usually short lived. Fortunately, the near sighted, color blind, dumb and starving trouts I chase will go for the FEB Salmonfly pattern almost year round. Change it up sometimes over the course of the season with different sizes and colors for skwalas, golden stones, hoppers, and October caddis.
John
The fish are always right.
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