Winter Stone ...

[JohnScott]

... aka FEB Salmonfly aka JC's Salmonfly aka FAOL FOTW for 6-7-2010.

Mid-November on a northern Idaho freestone river, temps in the low 40's with low cloud cover, with the river surging from recent rainstorms and blowing up by a factor of almost 7 in a couple days before dropping this morning about 1000 CFS at the nearest streamflow gauge. All kinds of crap washed down into the river causing the worst color and lowest visibility in ages.

Not to be outdone by the really nasty conditions, JC's namesake fly, pointless though it may be sometimes, managed to bring somewhere around 15 trouts up for a bite in the first place it played tag this morning, and another couple fishies in the next two places it did its thing.

Time flies when you're having fun, and this tie has been flying and having fun nine months a year for twelve years now.

The basic concept of the FEB pattern has emerged into a whole bunch of big flies that have worked really well across the seasons and across state lines, even across the Canadian border, come to think of it.

Might be worth some time to check it out, learn to tie it, and fish it. ( Most of the other FEB flies are also in the FAOL FOTW Archives. )

John

P.S. On three days earlier this month, this fly fished even better, but the conditions on those days bordered on perfect, if there is such a thing in fly angling.

[JohnScott]

Last time out, I was using an FEB Salmonfly dry to nymph with a small dropper. The dry was tied just over 3 inches of tippet from the tippet ring on a light colored thread furled leader.

So today, when I started fishing, I decided to do some experimenting, and fished the FEB Salmonfly as described above - 3" of tippet from the tippet ring.

Well, holy moly, first cast a small trout hit the fly. Several hits by small fishies on the pointless fly and then a solid tug by a larger fish. Over about an hour experimenting with this set up, had about eight small fish and half a dozen mature fish playing tag with the fly. Only a few held on much longer than a few seconds, but the largest one ( looked to be in the 16-17" range ) held on for 10-15 seconds before going bye-bye.

Like I said, holy moly - whatever that actually means.

John

[FishnDave]

Despite the poor river conditions, sounds like you are having a lot of fun, John!

[JohnScott]

Despite the poor river conditions, sounds like you are having a lot of fun, John!

... to yesterday's post about the experiment with the three inch tippet ( and to note Dave's observation ).

The temps were in the low 30's, no wind, the shelf ice from several days ago was gone, no slush ice where I fished although there was quite a bit just a few miles upstream, fishing in a shaded area, ice in the guides constantly for the first hour or so, and the water was really cold but much lower again and running very clear. Altogether not great conditions for fishing dry flies, which made the success of the experiment even more surprising.

One of the advantages to playing tag in these conditions is that you don't have to wet your hands and handle fish in and out of the water. My hands were cold enough even wearing gloves, which doesn't make for great casting. But you got to do what you got to do - have some fun.

John

[JohnScott]

... at least on 12-1-21.

The Lochsa was running a bit high yesterday, but clean and clear. The temps were in the upper 30's, skies partly cloudy, and very little wind. All of that is extraordinary for this river in early December, and would be even for mid-November in most years. There have been years when the river was almost completely frozen over, with only short stretches of ice free moving water, and covered with up to several feet of snow as early as mid-November.

At best, in those years when there has been open water in November and December, the snow severely limits access to it - first because there very few places where the snow plow guys bother to clear anything but the travel lanes of U. S. 12, and even where there are places to park there is a snow berm several feet high and if you get through that you are either walking through woods deep in snow or scrambling down steep, rocky, snow covered banks. Several times in past years I have walked some distance down the highway from a parking area and then snow shoed through deep snow in the woods to the river.

That being said, there have been a couple Decembers when an FEB dry caught a fish or two. So yesterday, with an FEB Salmonfly dry bringing up somewhere between 20 and 25 trouts in two different places to play tag, truly was extraordinary.

Perhaps even more extraordinary in one place that I accessed and had four or five fishies take a bite at the fly, even unique because over the years I have not even been able to access the river via the steep, jumbled rock scramble down to the water because of the usual snow cover in the upper stretches of the river this time of year. Not a problem yesterday.

One to remember, for sure.

John

[JohnScott]

... fishing a couple places I've never been able to fish in December before because of the usual deep snow on the rocky bank scrambles down to the water. Whatever snow was there even a few days ago is gone - and the snowmelt run-off brought the streamflows up and turned the water a really nasty brown, with low visibility.

But there were a few fishies that were willing to play, with the same ( FEB Salmon ) fly that I've fished the past few days. One of the good things about playing tag is how long a single fly can last - hours per day and day after day. Ready to go again, if it gets the opportunity.

The real treat today, however, was a fisher. In all the time I've spent on this river over the past twelve years, I've only seen one other fisher. It came out of the woods to right of the highway, scampered around for a few seconds while I hit the brakes, and then headed back into the woods as I processed the experience. Sheer delight at seeing another one of these beautiful critters.

John