aweber1455

Hey guys, relax and go fishing. Enjoy Bennett for what it is.

It seems there's been some frustrations lately about the way Bennett is fishing and being managed. It's a good example of how useful this forum can be for anglers talking and sharing their opinions with each other. Here's what I think about Bennett. It is what it is. You have to keep realilstic expectations about your experience beforehand. It's all about managing the crowds and keeping a positive attitude. Hundreds of thousands of people come to this mile and a half stretch of water every year. That is a hell of a lot of angling pressure per square foot. The middle of July is simply not the best time to be there if fish catching is your top priority. The 100 degree heat and massive crowds make the trout wary and finicky during the day. It's certainly possible to catch them now, but in a couple months once schools start back up and the weather cools, fish catching really improves during the day. Fall, Spring and Winter are the times to be at Bennett in my opinion. Fall is my favorite. Last September I had a couple days where I'd catch 40 trout in a couple hours. Not a ton of places in the world where that's possible. I can still picture one beautiful rainbow that had to be 8 lbs smash my scud as I sat there shocked and then immediately breaking my tippett knot when I set the hook way too hard. After my line broke the giant fish shook his head a couple times and bolted downstream. I'll never forget it. I stood there for a full 60 seconds looking around hoping somebody else had also witnessed this with me but there wasn't a soul around. There are always giant fish somewhere in Bennett, but it takes some luck and a whole lot of perserverance to run into them. I think that the majority of trout are caught and killed within a couple days of being planted in the stream. But a Bennett trout that has been hooked 2 or 3 times and still survived is a changed creature. They are smart. They have beaten the odds and survived the gauntlet somehow. They know what hooks look like. They know how they're food really looks, tastes, and moves. I can't tell you how many times a trout has hauled butt across the current to investigate my gut imitation fly, only to briefly sniff it with its nares and turn away disguisted. A trout that has been swimming around in Bennett for a couple weeks and not ended up in a frying pan is a worthy adversary. Fishing has been harder the last couple of years, no doubt. I think there was a massive hatchery die off related to low DO levels that's resulted in much smaller fish. That is the reality of aquaculturing, My response has been to use a 6'10" 1 weight finesse rod when possible. A 10 inch trout fighting in the current on this set up is really fun. A 15 inch trout fighting in the current with this rod is a challenge. My favorite flies are midges, scuds, sowbugs, san juan worms and gut imitations. Fast water is the most critical aspect for me. The odds of catching a fish in swift current are much higher than in slack water. They are forced to make a quicker decision and have less time to scrutinize your presentation. If you can find a shoal of 5 or 6 active trout it's even better. Their competitiveness kicks in and their inhibititions fade if they're in an actively feeding group. I know the average size of fish will eventually improve over the years. The new hatchery is very impressive, but it takes time to grow these fish. People maybe take for the granted the amount of time and energy it takes a trout to reach a good size. And once the new hatchery has a few years under its belt, my belief is that Bennett will have days that fish like the good ole days. Fisheries can often be cyclical in nature. I know one thing though. I'll always love rainbow trout and I'll always love Bennett Spring. Just not quite as much during the dog days of summertime.

If your spot is the docks of Alhonna Resort I was there last weekend and caught and released quite a few crappies and a couple bass on minnows suspended 3 feet under a bobber. The water level was around 657 (three feet low) and pretty dingy. The fish I caught were shallow under the dock cables and sometimes the bobber had to sit 15 seconds with little twitches of the rod before they'd hit it. In my experience if the temperatures are stable and warm jigs are more efficient. Some of the males were very darkly colored and they looked awesome but I didn't keep any

hahah strippers... in my experience it's hard to tell where schools of white bass and/or hybrids will be because they're usually nomadic and go wherever the shad are. I've found 'em this time of year before grouped up in areas with a tributary-like feeder stream and also caught some accidentally in places you wouldn't think they'd be. White bass at Lake of the O is a crapshoot - it can be really good or really hard.

Any kind of soft plastic bait fished around boat docks will catch some this time of year. The areas where the walkways connect to the dock are usually better than the boat slips (but they're harder to reach), especially if they have some overhanging cables. You gotta try to cast way up underneath if possible and approach slowly and stealthily too. It takes patience, you might fish 10 docks without a bite and then connect with a 4 pounder all of a sudden. This is the time of year for the biggest bass at lake of the O, last year I caught a 7 pounder on a crappie minnow pitched under a cable junction on a secondary point.

I'm getting excited for a trip to RR in a couple weeks. Sight fishing nymphs in fast water with a little brown indicator is one of my favorite ways to catch the good ones! My go to fly at Bennett is just a #18 scud hook with gray dubbing and black wire wrapped around for segmentation. I always seem to have more luck in swift water - my theory is that the trout have to make a quicker decision whether to eat or not. Anyways haven't been to Roaring in many years but I've heard there's more diverse insect life at RR than at Bennett due to lack of wading and scuffling around the bottom content (which happens on a massive scale in the shallows at BSSP). Was wondering what size and color people like to throw at Roaring River this time of year? Or do you prefer drys instead? It never fails how excited I get to go fish this time of year, I love it!

That's pretty impressive response time from Phil. Thank you man!

I remember looking at the RR maps that Tim made a while ago and being really impressed. For some reason, they don't open when I click on them anymore. Does this happen to anybody else?