Goodbye Cabin Fever

[PastorEd]

Sometimes this stuff is just too much fun.

I have recently moved to a new town, a couple of hundred miles south and west, and so I am beginning the process of learning a new home area. Inquiring of everyone I meet, ?Do you have any farm ponds that have fish? Know anybody who does?? ?How?s the fishing out at the reservoir? Know anybody who fishes their regularly?? I?ve scoured the internet, made impulse stops at every sporting goods, hardware store and bait shop I see. The warm-water fishing is just getting ready to get interesting, and of course with my profession (see my name) I will be kind of busy for the next couple of weeks. So that is all a long introduction for?

I went out yesterday to the seep-stream below the dam on our local reservoir yesterday. They stock this stream with trout all winter, and intend for the fish to be removed and consumed because the water will soon warm to unacceptable levels.

I got there just a bit before sunrise, and strung up. I had learned a couple of weeks before that it might be necessary to get their early and claim squatters rights on one of the better spots, and this being the last day of spring break, well, better safe than sorry.

Even in the twilight, I noticed that there were rise forms on the small pool at the end of the stream.

Too darn dark to see what they were eating but, it had to be midges right? After struggling with a size 22 midge for 5 minutes in the dark, I made an un-pastor like comment, put the dumb thing back in my box and pulled out an 18 PMD parachute. Got it tied on as I heard the first car drive up.

I staked out a spot on the concrete dam that lies at the tail of the last pool and looked.

The sun was coming up now, and it was a perfect overcast morning, with just enough light and just the faintest of breezes to create a riffle. There was pod of trout cruising in this pool, and a number of other groups of fish cruising around together. I knew this because even though the water was stained and a bit murky, they were right on top ? dorsal fins sometimes cutting wakes. They were eating something all right, and right on top.

As I made my first cast, a young man and his sleepy eyed girl friend crashed through the trees and joined me at the stream. He brought worms for himself and a jar of power bait for her.

I cast to the center of the large pod of fish. One by one, the fish came by and ?sniffed? my fly (gotta remember to wash my hands before tying), and then sip, and I had a fish on. Was clumsy trying to land it off of the dam and lost it.

The fishing went on like this for a couple of hours. The fish were feeding on top, to a small (few) and tiny hatch of some kind of midge (I finally caught one, it was about size 28 chubby and dark olive). But if I put my fly in their face often enough, and there was just the slightest of riffle to give it some life, I had a strike.

I caught 6 fish between 12 and 16 inches by 9:30, kept 2 nice ones for my self, and gave the kid?s girlfriend the other 4, since she (and her boyfriend) hadn?t caught anything all morning. And I went home with a smile on my face.

Ate fish for supper last night too.
Coated the fillets in a mixture of wheat flour and masa flour. Served them with hash browns and a corn and green chili relish that was darn tasty.


Sight fishing for cruising trout on a warm March morning. Yep, this is just too fun sometimes.

I hope you all can get out and have too much fun sometime soon.
Ed

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Thanks for takeing us with you and letting us watch you fish . It was such a nice tale to wake up to

Ps. Calling on my vast experience and from your description I think the things they were biting on that early in the morning were " Bugs"! lol

[Brad Williamson]

PastorEd:

It's good to hear your report. You made me just pretty hungry. Last year, I did catch fish into the last of April. If you get back out there, don't forget to try out the beaver dam pool half-way up the dam--it's even more fun than the concrete dam pool. I don't know what the water is like right now but if there is a good flow coming into the lake, we used to get some good white bass runs in the Smokey River feeding the lake--great fun. Also, this time of year we traditionally do fairly well off of the dam and Loder point. The outlet itself can be a good place to fish for a fly fisherman--I watched two flyfishermen from Galva score on small walleye there one night and you'll often find cruising carp and white bass.

Don't forget to investigate to the east. Milford Lake is actually better and more diverse fishing than Kanopolis with smallmouths off of rocky points, whites, wipers, big carp and stripers. It's not really that much further for you. There's a fly shop at Chapman that can fill you in on the details. Check it out. Finally, you might consider Geary County Lake--I think you'll do well there as well.

I'm up in New York, near Ithaca, so my fishing starts up in about a week (they have seasons up here). I just got to figure out how to get my fly tackle up here so I don't have to buy all new equipment....

BW

[PastorEd]

Brad was the one who turned me on to the seep stream. Unfortuantly the beaver pond in the middle of the stream washed out last month and has not yet been restored.

I have friends who go to Milford almost every weekend. I will certainly be giving that a shot this summer. Just as soon as I give the stripers, wipers, white bass, crappy and waleyes a shot in Kanopolis. My friends have ski boats, jet skies etc, but I do have a canoe that may be sufficiant for less windy days, and in some of the more protected areas.

Appearantly some of the trout had washed out of the "concrete" pool and into the Smokey River, cause I saw a gal who had caught about a 3 pounder while I was cleaning my fish.

Is there anyway that I can help you get your fishing equiptment up to New York? There are also a couple of folks (Diane ) from up that way who would surely help out a needy fisherman.


Ed