6.27.2010

Fishing Journal - Week 19

June 22
A good morning on the river.  I got up early and arrived at my favorite morning run at 6:30am.  Things were just getting started as I saw a couple subtle rises in the early morning light.  My first drift of the morning yielded a nice little brown and made me forget that on the drive over I had been wondering if getting up early this morning was going to be worth it.  It was.



It turns out things were just getting started.  After landing this little guy I noticed things had really picked up and there were quite a few fish rising through the run.  The midges were popping and the fish were right on them.  A few moments later I landed another fish a little lower down on the run that went a bit larger than the first one.

I moved up to the top of the lower run and again hooked up with a nice fish on my adult midge pattern.  Three fish on dry flies in the early morning and I was getting ready to pack it up and head into the office.  Well then I noticed that things were really boiling in the run above where I was fishing, so I decided I needed to give it a try.  Fish here were on emergers so all my fish came on the floating midge emerger pattern I used.  I tied into another nice fish in short order. 

 Soon after the biggest fish of the morning came to hand. 
When it was all said and done I had had one of my better outings of the year on a mid June midge hatch.

June 24
Another early Morning outing and it started out right as I waded into the water I immediatly spotted a nice fish sipping in ankle deep water right against a small island close to the near bank.  My first good drift was taken by the good fish and a great fight ensued.  

Good way to start the morning

I went on to land three more fish on the morning but this was my largest.  The mornings are still hopping around here.


6.20.2010

Fishing Journal - Week 18

June 13
A pretty good day.  I will let the pics speak for themselves.

All sipping dry flies (PMD's) right up until dark. 

June 14
Another lunch hour outing and it was a pretty good one.  No photos and the fish were not rising so I had to go with nymphs.  Had one fish take a couple times on a PMD dry right off the bat but after that saw very few fish up.  I switched over to a double nymph rig with a PT Tumbler and my Bionic Partridge and hooked up with two very nice fish that worked me over in the fast water I hooked them in.  I got them both within net range at least once and missed allowing them to eventually get free.  Just a better way to catch and release I guess.  Because I started with dry flies and was too lazy to go up and get my other rod I was nymphing with my three weight and it just wasn't up to the task of pulling those big fish out of the fast current as efficiently as the 5 weight. Next time I have to nymph I definitely need to put down the toothpick and pick up the broomstick. 

June 15
A morning outing again.  Fish were rising to midges like they have been the past few mornings but the midges were about three hook sizes smaller than they had been as well and thus my size 18 pattern was obsolete.  I did hook and land one fish and had two more take the fly but eventually lost them both.  Three fish hooked, one landed.  Still not a bad way to start the day.  

6.13.2010

Fishing Journal - Week 17

June 7

Fish were splashing on Caddis emergers.  I landed one fish and had another nice take but it was one of those slow risers I could see coming from a mile away and I just couldn't help myself and jerked the fly right out of it's grasp as it broke the surface.  


June 8

Another crazy day with fish up chasing caddis emergers.  I used a Harrop's CDC Caddis Emerger at first and had a nice little fish take right off the bat and another carbon copy a few minutes later.  Then my fly was getting a little water logged so it began to sink in the riffely water.  As it swung around a boulder submerged at the end of one drift I had a vicious hit that snapped the fly from my tippet.  Taking that as a sign that maybe I should give a soft hackle wet fly a try I switched over to a Brown Bailey's Spider.  I proceeded to hook up and land three more fish in a short order.  A very productive 5 fish lunch hour, but none of them were very large.  The next generation of hogs that currently are about a foot long, fat, and full of spunk.  A lot of fun on a three weight.  

June 9

Today I tried something new.  Mornings.  I had recently tied up a few PMD spinner patterns and was itching to give them a try.  Spinners are a phase I have not had opportunity to fish often since I do so much of my fishing in the middle of the day.  I decided to see if I could get up to the river at first light one morning to see what the chances were of finding a few fish up slurping spinners.  

I was late getting out the door this morning but when I arrived at the river there were a few fish rising.  I pulled into a good slow stretch of water where a fish was working up the bank and noticed immediatly a few Spinners bobbing about over the calm river.  I got into position and put the tiny fly in the area the fish had last fed.  It did not take long to loose the low riding fly in the low morning light but I had a pretty good idea of the area it was in.  Suddenly a subtle swirl broke the still water in the area my fly had last been seen and I brought the rod tip up.  Sure enough a nice pull surged against the rod tip.  

A few minutes later I landed a nice 19" Brown.  What a way to start your day.
  Fish to hand

Out of the net

Getting ready for the release

Getting Stronger

And he's off.

June 10

Ok, I had so much fun yesterday morning I thought I would try it again.  Right off the bat I found a few fish rising in a slow stretch of river one hole down from where I caught the nice fish yesterday.  I found a steadily feeding fish and made a cast to it with the same PMD Spinner pattern that worked the day before.  Sure enough the fish sucked it down.  I landed a nice 17 inch fish.  As I was pulling this fish in a slightly larger fish must have thought it was playing as it darted around with the hook lodged in it's lip as everywhere my fish went the other fish chased right behind.  It was kind of funny to watch.  

I then drove up river until I came to a flat stretch where I found many fish rising.  I waded in and cast my spinner to a few of them and got no response.  I then examined the water and found it was full of emerging midges.  These fish were on them big time.  As I broke out my midge patterns again, something I haven't had to do since early spring, I was reminded how depleted this section of my fly box was from the winter and spring fishing I had done with them.  I tried a couple patterns with no luck, and then decided to try a CDC wing adult midge pattern.  First cast it was fish on.  It was a nice little 15 inch brown.  Time was running short so I made a few more attempts at a couple fish but they were not interested.  Then as I was working back down the river back to my truck I found an actively feeding fish in perfect position to make a try at downstream from me.  I let the fly drift down and true to form the fly was taken.  But on my hookset I managed to pop the tippet off on what looked to be a very nice fish.  That's the breaks, but this midge hatch was incredible and is evidence that I need to focus on tying up a few more of the little black bugs that I have a tendancy to forget about once our weather warms up.  Obviously the fish haven't forgotten.

6.08.2010

Orvis GIANT fly sale

As if Orvis needed any help, but I couldn't resist posting this commercial for their GIANT fly sale this month.  It did make me chuckle.

6.06.2010

Fishing Report - Week 16

Here are a few pictures from a couple days on the river this week.  It was a good week weather wise with some warmer overcast and rainy days.  Made for some good dry fly action with PMD's and BWO's being the main attraction.