netboy

Did the catfish end up as lunch?

Not many bugs hatching early this morning. It was cloudy and cool and then about 10 am the sun broke thru and bugs were everywhere for about 30 minutes. I was getting hits on every other cast and caught a dozen and then a big brown took it and broke me off. I wasted too many minutes trying to re-rig and watching fish rising and then the hatch stopped. It is frustrating seeing fish come up while trying to re-build a tandem dry fly rig. Still a fun day. Here's a couple of the better ones.

Good stuff. I remember the old ABU 5000's that were made in Sweden. That was the go-to reel on the Texas coast for trout and reds. I saved up enough $$$ to buy one when I was 16 and had lots of fun with it.

The caddis are getting pretty scarce but the trout are still looking for them. I had a good morning with a couple dozen, all on caddis dry flies. Saw very few caddis on the water but lots of midges were coming up. I lost a really nice brown to a pulled hook after a fun fight. LOTS of guide boats out the last few days. Here's a few of the better ones from this morning...

As expected, I see no difference in the C&R areas. In the catch and keep areas there are probably fewer trout, but the average size is much better. I would say the average size is probably 2-3" bigger than before the new regs. I have been catching quite a few fat 17-18" rainbows in the catch and keep areas.

I have had a few swoop in and try to grab hooked trout I had on the line. One actually got a trout and tried to fly off but dropped it when the line tightened. I have seen them catch many trout and also sculpins. They are a nuisance along with the otters.

The caddis hatch appears to be winding down as I have seen fewer this week. Good news is the trout are still looking for them and with fewer live bugs on the water, your fly gets more attention. I fished the dam, Rim Shoals and Roundhouse Shoals this week and caught good numbers at each location. Best flies were a size 16 deer hair caddis dry and a size 16 caddis emerger. Here's a couple of the better ones from this morning...

That is disgusting. Hope they somehow catch the guy. There was a similar incident at Dry Run Creek a few years ago. Some jerk was notching the tails of fish his kid caught.

I have been seeing more caddis popping over the last few days. They have been starting around 9am and then slowing down around noon. I caught a dozen this morning on elk hair dries and lost a really nice rainbow to a pulled hook. Also missed quite a few by setting the hook too soon. It is hard for me to delay the hookset when I see them take the fly. Here are a couple of the better ones.

This last week I have seen only a few caddis coming up and no trout rising to them. This morning was a different story. They started popping around 9ish and the fish responded. Caught quite a few on deer hair dries. Here is the best one....

Caught this guy on a yellow slush egg. It took me about 15 minutes to get him in. He was too big for the net, so I worked him to the bank and was able to beach him. Caught a couple other browns and 10 rainbows. Surprised that I was the only one there.

The river was brown in Cotter this morning after about an inch and a half of rain last night. I decided to try the dam as I knew there would be clear water up there. Fishing started out good with a nice brown on the first cast of the morning. Ended the morning with 3 browns, 1 cuttie, 1 tiger and 8 rainbows. Lost a really nice rainbow to a pulled hook after a good fight. Best flies were eggs and a San Juan worm. Apparently, many of the guides up there are using Alaska style bead rigs as you can see from the picture I took earlier this week of a limb on the river bank. Here's a few pics...

Yes, when a big north wind hits the bluff it can be like a hurricane by the time it makes it to the top. It actually flipped my heavy steel BBQ pit over and pinned it against the railing a few weeks ago.

Yes, from the deck.