South Fork of the Snake

[littlebrook]

John,

Thanks very much for your wonderful reports and beautiful photos. Those of us in northern Michigan, whose trout season mostly closed a few weeks ago, appreciate the beauties you bring us.

We don't have whitefish here, and most of us aren't disappointed. We DO have lovely bluegills.

I've searched fairly extensively and haven't found a dressing for the Water Cricket fly you've used quite successfully in your water. Could you post the dressing? And are the comparable terrestrials (or not?) similar to a hatch on your water?

Thanks very much. (Any thread that goes this long is a REALLY GOOD narrative. More thanks!)

Bill

[JeffHamm]

You've got such a great variety of water to fish. Some great looking stretches and healthy looking fish. Great report!

- Jeff

[JohnScott]

John,

I've searched fairly extensively and haven't found a dressing for the Water Cricket fly you've used quite successfully in your water. Could you post the dressing?

Bill

Bill -

Jeff Hamm has submitted the Water Cricket as a Fly of the Week candidate. Hopefully, JC and the Ladyfisher will bring it to everyone the way Jeff ties it based on its history, which goes back almost TWO HUNDRED years !!

I've also suggested to Jeff that he post his presentation on the Fly Tying Forum as a preliminary look at a likely FOTW. I was thinking about doing that after you asked about the cricket - but I got it from Jeff and think it is more appropriate that he gets the credit for this very simple but effective little fly.

In the meantime, I will just say that it is a two material fly that takes minutes to tie. I have been fishing it as a midge or blue wing olive emerger, and who knows what the fish have been taking it for - but they have been taking it.

My guess is that there will something from Jeff on the Fly Tying Forum quite soon ?? ( No pressure, Jeff !! )

John

[littlebrook]

John,
Thanks for the response. Leading question - a while back you mentioned purchasing embroidery yarn and a starling skin. I don't think it'd give away the dressing for the cricket if you said they were related. Both very useful materials, by the way.
'Nother question - Jeff made a couple comments noting the effectiveness of soft hackles in many applications, it was also relative to the W.Cricket. These are wonderful clues! I usually don't like mysteries but this one's intriguing.


Jeff - PLEASE!!!!!!!! Folks on the Fly Tying Board (especially me) are filled with anticipation - it's becoming hard to breathe!

Many thanks in advance.

Bill

[JohnScott]

Bill -

One more clue - just to keep you breathing !!



John

[JeffHamm]

Hi Littlebrook,

The Water Cricket is the first fly listed by Pritt in his 1880s book "North Country Flies". Pritt describes the natural, but doesn't identify it any further than "water cricket". In Stewart's earlier book (The Practical Angler; from 1860s) he talks about "creeper fishing". A creeper being a common form of bait, which appears to have been a stone fly nymph, and he also refers to them as "water crickets", and describes them as black and yellow. Pritt lists orange as an alternative, and John dresses some in olive.

Hmmm, that should be enough teasers!

- Jeff

P.S. By the way, all of Pritt's dressings can be found on the web. Sylvester Nemes also reprints them in his book (The soft hackle fly addict).

[littlebrook]

AAaaaahhhhhhh! Wheeeeeeeeeeew!!! You've saved my life! When the photo of the flies slowly but finally "unrolled" on my slow phone line connectiion, I almost shouted "Eureka!" when the bottom row appeared. Left fly had to be it!

I'm breathing much better now, thank you.

I have the Stewart book and all of Nemes' books so it wasn't hard to verify what your photo and comments made evident. WONDERFUL!

I still anxiously await details in the Tying Forum and/or FOTW. Curiosity remains re the body - embroidery thread, Pearsalls, then starling, jackdaw -- lots of options. Also - size 14 as Pritt used> or smaller? I'll certainly use your dressing, but I'll probably also adjust itr for "local conditions".

Bless you 10,000 times!

Bill

[JohnScott]

Looks like our Indian Summer may be coming to an end.



The forecast is great for the next couple days, but after that it turns really outstanding. Cold, cloudy, windy - just what we need for some serious streamer fishing for the browns on the South Fork !!

In the meantime, took advantage of near shirt sleeve weather to do some nymphing, with small nymphs. Started with a soft hackle pheasant tail trailing a Griffith Gnat on the flat below Lower Trestle Run. Had a small brown on the first cast - which I actually aimed at his last rise and didn't get blown off course by the gusty breeze. A few minutes later, took a nice cuttbow on the p.t. First cuttbow that I've had in this section of the river for a while.



Had one more brown on the flat, but otherwise there really was nothing happening there, so I headed downstream to the next run. Last time on this run, I had quite a few trout. Today was more whitefish. After getting no action at all on my g.g. / s.h. set up, I went to a Prince Nymph and trailed the p.t. off it, fishing the tandem under an indicator. That set up took four trout, not including one that broke off, and about a dozen whitefish, including a couple larger than usual specimens. Good action on the prince, but more on the p.t.

Worked on down to the next little run. Had an observer.



Usually, the eagles perch over good water. I guess this guy was just out for a good laugh. I did get skunked on this little stretch. On the other hand, across the river there was evidence of another local critter with big aspirations.



I don't think it would be possible for beavers to actually dam the South Fork, but you got to admire the determination !! Just a few days ago, that tree was still standing, with only minimal evidence of a beaver at work. Today it's in the river. And another, bigger tree off to the right of the photo also came down in the past few days. Don't think the beaver had anything to do with that, unless the one they did fall hit it on the way down ??

Just downstream of this spot is water that is new from last spring, created by the big tree that came down with the flush and grounded in the middle of the river in the shallow part of a nice run. This new water was newer still today since last time I fished it due to the lower flows.

When there was a bit more water, there were quite a few browns hanging there. Today, I caught one medium size brown and eight or nine whitefish. Maybe the browns were still there, and just not interested in small morsels ?? Times like that you got to appreciate whitefish for what they are, and it more than just a good tug.

John

P.S. A couple days ago I checked for redds at the upper end of the Lower Trestle Run. Just a couple small redds formed, but counted twenty or so large browns holding in the area, most of them looking to be in the spawning mood. Tried to get some pics, but none of them really showed what was going on. Maybe next week ??

[JeffHamm]

Looks like another great day on, and under, the water! Sounds like those squirrel streamers of yours are going to be getting a good workout soon. That should put you into some pretty good tugs on the line!

- Jeff

[JohnScott]

Had a bunch of stuff to do earlier in the day, some of it involving my Elkhorn Bamboo Project. Looks like the Project may be a bigger challenge than the Challenge ?? But I really enjoyed learning a bunch of new stuff pertaining to rod building - specific to bamboo rod building. Can't hardly stand to get started on it !!

Anyway, mid afternoon it was still looking like good brown trout streamer weather. Got going about 2:30 and got to the river and ready to fish about 3:00. This pic is taken not far from home, on the way home, and shows the delightful conditions on the river. About ten miles to the water, just about due east of that utility pole in the center of the photo.



Started with the pine squirrel streamer. First fish on was about the middle of the range today. In about two hours, had eight browns, and it seems like they were in one inch increments from about 12" to 19".



They were typically holding in the slower water off the main current.



Lost the pine squirrel streamer to the largest fish, which broke if off as I was getting ready to release him. Fished an olive over white double bunny for three fish and lost it, and then a yellow over natural double bunny for the next three, and somehow lost it too ?? Got to remember to take the 2X tippet next time - 3X is marginal for these guys.

Didn't see any wildlife today, but the beavers are hard at work in this stretch. One down, one pretty well chewed up, and one they're just getting started on.



The forecast is for cloudy, rainy weather for days on end, until it gets cold enough to snow later next week. Couldn't ask for better weather for streamer fishing on the South Fork !!

Will likely get some bwo hatches, also. For a change of pace.

John