I played hookie yesterday and went fishing. It was 60 degrees, overcast and windy in southwest Missouri and a good day for flyfishing. I usually fish using water structure to determine where to place my cast but yesterday I to cast to particular fish as I could see the wakes of large trout as they moved along the edge of the shallows. I was rewarded with one of my best fishing days in some time. I caught a monster rainbow 12 lbs 14 oz. He was in his spawning colors - his entire sides were bright purpley red a beautiful fish. It took me some time to land him since I didn’t have my net with me and I was usuing 6x tippet. He was pretty exhausted when I got him in and it took a minute or so of moving him through the water to get him back in shape for release. I hooked two other large fish but did not land either. One managed to get under a log and subsequently loose. The other broke my line at the knot from leader to tippet. But I didn’t mind losing these other fish as i was so psyched from the fish I did manage to land, and there were plenty of smaller fish to fill out the day.
Sorry I suppose this should have been posted under “fishing reports”
jsmartt,
Color me green!! I wish I could get out of work and hit the water. Thanks for sharing.
Isn’t sight casting to fish a blast!?!?
Adam
I too played hookey yesterday. In fact I am going to again today. Yesterday temps were air 53, water 37. Ice covered the first choice location so we went to plan “B”.
24 bluegills between 8" and 9 1/2". They were super sneakey in their attack(ha ha)of the fly. Sometimes the strike was mostley out if just a feling of something just a bit different. To catch these guys took 18 feet of 2# Maxima for a leader and a very sloooooooooooooow retrieve.
Late fall bluegill fishing in northern Indiana can be brutal. The one great thing is most have not only put their boats away but their fishing gear as well. Had the lake completly to ourselfes.
Good luck all.
fishbum
12lbs on a 6X tippet!! :shock:
WOW :shock: would you happen to have any pics
I had a cheap camera in my car about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away but the section of the river where I was fishing is catch and release and I was fishing alone so no one to run to the car while I was reviving the fish. If I had gone to get the camera the fish probably would have died. I bought me a new Casio exslim camera for the next time. The camera fits nicely in a shirt pocket (its quite slim). Now I’ll probably never catch another fish that big.
I guess this not what is advocated these days.
He was pretty exhausted when I got him in and it took a minute or so of moving him through the water to get him back in shape for release.
From what I understand, that ‘back and forth’ thing we all have been doing for years, kills them. Just supposed to hold them into the flow. They are probably right. Above my pay grade. Your call.
I’ve wondered about that.
Seems to me that pumping motion flares the gills out and forces water in from behind which may not be a good thing :?:
I found this, but later in the post it also say’s that the studies are not complete:
"Based on fish biology, Cooke said, the best approach to successfully revive a fish is by using an S-shaped pattern in the water. He said most anglers have been taught to revive fish with the classic back-and-forth motion. ?That?s not the ideal way, because having the fish move backwards through the water does not optimize oxygen uptake,? he said. ?You could actually be hurting the fish.?
But, on another note, I have landed and photographed some nice fish, and felt pretty good about the catch, so shared it with others. The majority came back with appriciation for sharing. But, a couple came back with some downers like “you probably killed it with it being out of the water for those pictures”. On one large fish I shared, I even had one guy tell me he found a dead fish a week later and thought it was mine…on a large lake!
Anyway, I just want to say, I wish you had pictures to share and Good story and great job!
Tell me if i’m wrong in my thinking here.
If i’m using a light 6x tippet. Aren’t I going for smaller fish? If so, and I hook onto a large fish. Wouldn’t it be better to break off instead of taking the chance of killing the fish with a long fight?
Where where you at?
Drew
The fish appeared to be OK when he swam off but I suppose he could have died later. I doubt it though. I was fishing at Roaring river in SW Missouri. The river has a series of pools with small riffles and waterfalls between them. The fish made several runs around the hole but did not cross the fast water to get to a different pool. He bit a olive wolly bugger. I was using 6x tippet because most of the fish I catch there are 14 to 16 inches - with an occasional larger one. My adrenlin was running so high when I saw what was on my line that I didn’t think about anything other than playing him in. I caught him early in the morning and fished till late in the afternoon. He hadn’t shown up dead by then so I believe he was OK. As I mentioned eariler I had two other large fish break or throw my line so I was intent on landing this one.
I just read a book by AK Best. He says he never uses a Bugger with any tippet smaller than 4x. Maybe if you did the same you could land them quicker. Don’t you think when you use a Bugger you’re going for bigger fish?
Roaring river is heavily fished and the fish are pretty wary so I use a smaller tippet and consistantly catch fish when others are not.
For those of you outside of the midwest, Roaring River State park is a put and take trout park. The river itself is the outflow from a major spring. The stream is extremely modified inside the park with structures to create pools and small waterfalls. There is a hatchery at the park that provides the fish on a daily basis throughout the season.
The park is a very popular place, as are the other Missouri trout parks. During a summer weekend there can be several hundred fishermen along the 2 miles of stream. At Bennett Springs park the fishing is usually shoulder to shoulder.
The water at RR is crystal clear and I can guarantee that anyone using a 4x tippet is going to have difficulty catching fish, in fact most folks use 7x in the park. This is not pristine, wild trout fishing and in fact for a long time I chose to not fish the parks. I really do not like the crowds. When I decided to start fly fishing my skills were so rudimentary that I needed a place to learn and make mistakes with the probability of catching fish. (I’ve progressed to from bumbling to the point I can get my fly in the water.) I look at RR as my laboratory to work on various fly fishing skills. Now when I can get away to the Rockies or back east to New York, I have just enough skill that I’m not flailing and failing miserably but I actually can adapt to the new environments and catch fish. Also, I can justify the expense of a guide without wasting his time.
This time of the year is my favorite time because the season is closed but the park is open over a 4 days each week for catch and release–very few fishermen and often big fish since the hatchery releases some of the bigger brood stock for winter catch and release. During the season these larger fish don’t last long facing the daily onslaught of lures and bait.
Just some information so that you know this is not the same situation as catching a wild 25 inch brown out of a western stream.
jsmartt:
Nice fish no mater what size tippet you used. It was not taken illegally. Sounds like you done your best to revive the fish. No need to explain your actions as far as I am concerned. Eat the darned thing if it is not against the law. ENJOY.
Use your wooly bugger on any size tippet you desire. It is your choice
Had it been me I would have done the same thing.
Good luck fishbum
ps
We need to play hookey together someday!
Thanks for the info. I’m sure I wouldn’t enjoy the crowds there, but you have to fish what’s available to you. My reason to fish small streams is to get away from that very type of fishing.
No harm meant by my tippet questions. I’m just trying to learn. The last thing I want to do is hurt any trout I catch. Even if it means catching nothing. I will still have had a good day on the stream, and that beats anything else I can think of to do.
One other choice would be Flourocarbon and attach the flie with a loop instead of a knot right next to the eye. The loop allowes me to use heavier tippet on smaller flies but still keep free movement of the flies.
You started off posting about something you felt pretty good about, so hopefully these comments and suggestions don’t deflate that feeling.
Amen fshbum…
Great work jsmartt. If you’re into fish like that keep that camera with you.