JohnScott - all kidding aside, that’s a great fly… it has all. I really like it and fish it both here in the east and of course out west… It is fast and easy to tie, the materials are cheap and as you demonstrate it works… keep the reports coming…
… of warm weather will do to a creek. A couple days ago, this spot was full up with anchor ice.
Today, the slot just inside the hard water gave up a really nice cutt, which I lost when it got under the ice in the foreground, just down from the rock sticking out of the shelf.
Still a bit of anchor ice here and there, and the shelf ice was pretty much rearranged, with occasional gushes of dislodged ice floating downstream as the shelves and instream formations gave way to the warm temps. The structural ice from a couple days ago was also pretty much gone, and the fishies moved to different holding water.
Of the six fishies that did chomp down on a fly today, only one would come in for the photo op. Size wise, he was pretty typical of the fishies hooked. From what I could tell, the mix was half bows and half cutts.
It was one of those days when just about everything that could go wrong with nymph rigs did go wrong. Seems like I spent more time untangling things and tying on new flies than I did fishing.
When all was said and done, the creek got five of my flies and I got one of its fishies. But the creek didn’t give my flies back.
Out again on a nice little stream… wonderful … even though you had; “one of those days”. Funny how that happens, some days are just like that, you just have to go-with-the-flow…
The fish scored an upset and won that day. That’s the way I keep score, if I catch more fish than I lose flies; I win. And vice versa. The fish won. In your defense, the moon has been full, I hate it when the moon is full, fish feed at noon and midnight, give or take an hour. According to the nurse I was talking with Wednesday night, people also fall down more.
… the flow, along with and directly related to the changing icing conditions, is a big part of how inconsistent the fishing has been. The flows are measured at Darby, below the confluence of the East and West Forks. The West Fork is a tailwater that had been flowing at a constant 74CFS up until 2-9-12. The huge fluctuations …
… for five days plus before that day are a result of the peak flows on the East Fork ( 200 CFS ) being almost double the low flows ( 100 CFS ). The runoff pattern is not based on runoff as such, but on the melting and then refreezing of instream ice over the course of the day.
So the fish are having to adjust to significantly different amounts of water in the creek over the course of the day and to where the flows are day to day. The fish will “go-with-the-flow” as they figure out where it is, but while they are settling in, they typically aren’t feeding normally.
… the flows had been fluctuating from about 100CFS to 200CFS for five days in the stretch I was fishing. The fishies were adjusting not only to the radical changes in flows but also the changes in the structure due to melting and refreezing of instream ice. Not all of the runoff pattern was due to the melting / refreezing, but a good part of it was.
When I saw the graph this morning, almost steady flows for four days, it was pretty clear that this should be a decent day, all other things being equal.
First time I’ve been able to fish this spot from this side of the river.
First cast.
A while later.
By the time I left that run, I had hooked ten and landed nine.
Over the next several hours, I fished five or six distinctly different spots. This one gave up a gorgeous 17-18" cutthroat, along with a smaller fish that took a long distance release.
This was the last spot fished, and third stretch of new water for the day.
Lost a big trout here, but landed a nice rainbow.
The river got a good number of my stonefly nymphs again today. But when all was said and done, I had hooked close to thirty trouts and landed about twenty. Guess all other things were being equal. :shock:
With below freezing temps, lots of instream ice formation and slush, and dropping water levels, the fishing was tough. There were several trouts in the soft water between the shelf ice and the iceland, but it’s impossible to pick them out in the pic.
Did manage about a dozen on and eight or nine in hand over the course of three plus hours, to include a handsome triple.
By late afternoon the ice was starting to dissipate. Went back to the hole in the first pic and it was ice free. Managed to hook a nice trout there, but he took his leave after a short tussle.
… referring to the temps and the water, and just plain slow referring to the fishing.
When I finally landed a whitefish, I thanked him for saving my day. But after a while, it did pick up a bit. The water here was noticeably lower than on recent outings.
It did ultimately give up five fishies - a couple whitefish and several trouts.
Headed on up to the hole I fished the other day - the one with the iceland - and found it ice-free. Good looking deeper water.
Another half dozen fishies on, and most in hand. Mostly trouts, but also a larger whitefish that pulled really hard.
On downstream a way, some more slower and deeper water.
Only got one in this stretch last time on it, but today it was good for half a dozen hooked and four in hand.
Had another couple browns and a whitefish in hand, and lost two pretty good size cutts after decent tussles.
Fished hard for over four hours. Most of the action took place in bursts in the three spots shown. Did have a little brown trout in a fourth place.
What started out as a very cold and slow day turned into a pretty respectable day of catching. Regardless of the ice in the guides the entire time.
