Morning Critical?

[mdrstl]

I'm going to run down to Baptist/Tan Vat tomorrow (Wed) and need to decide if I should push a buddy for an early depature. How active is the fishing before 930am? I typically fish Bead Head Woolies, crackle backs, caddis or tricos if they're rising.

Thanks,

[fozzie.]

It's hard to say, really. You'll certainly catch fish if you head down early, it's usually not absolutely necessary. I suppose it depends on how much your friend values his sleep : )

[mdrstl]

It's hard to say, really. You'll certainly catch fish if you head down early, it's usually not absolutely necessary. I suppose it depends on how much your friend values his sleep : )

thanks. since it means asking a wife to take over child duties not sleep and the morning doesn't sound ferocious, i guess i'll cut him some slack.

[Gavin]

Depends on what you want to do. Catch a few fish and enjoy the day with a friend? Get there anytime. Want to chase big fish? Leave your buddy at home and get on the water before dawn. Cheers.

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm going to run down to Baptist/Tan Vat tomorrow (Wed) and need to decide if I should push a buddy for an early depature. How active is the fishing before 930am? I typically fish Bead Head Woolies, crackle backs, caddis or tricos if they're rising.

Thanks,

In my opinion, there's no need to get there early. I got down there on Saturday around noon, and did fine. The fishing was particularly good in the late afternoon because that's when the most bugs were on the water, but the fishing was just fine all through. That'll change when it starts getting hot, but I usually don't worry about get on the water early until sometime in May.

All those flies you mentioned (minus tricos until quite a bit later on) should be good.

[Randall]

Same thing in a different way, it seems like the hour or two after dawn is less productive for me than mid-morning unless there is a trico hatch. Add a san juan, prince, and stonefly pattern to your box too. If the river is a little higher and not crystal clear, I love to fish streamers.

[mdrstl]

Same thing in a different way, it seems like the hour or two after dawn is less productive for me than mid-morning unless there is a trico hatch. Add a san juan, prince, and stonefly pattern to your box too. If the river is a little higher and not crystal clear, I love to fish streamers.

Turned out I was the only one who could go and getting off a bit early was not a problem. That turned out to be a good thing as I caught 8 at Tan Vat between 7:15 – 9am. These were beautiful fish, mostly 14” plus and none less than 12”. All were caught on wooly buggers and leaches. Fishing shut down at least for me between 9 and 10 so I went over the Baptist. I caught 11 between 10am - 1, same good size, mostly on leaches and a few on bead head woolies. Not a fish between 1 -330. There were a number of bugs but nothing sustained and only occasional fish rising. I really wanted to hit 20 so I headed back to Tan Vat and fished for an hour. I managed to catch a handful in the 10” range on a copper john below a Caddis indicator. About 50/50 rainbows/browns and a number of jumpers. In addition to being a beautiful day and catching good fish, I only saw one person on the water, though Free Bird blaring on a local’s truck at Baptist did disrupt things for a while.

Thanks to all of you who post and replied to my inquiry. I might not have tried the copper john or leech as quickly and they were the hot flies. For that matter, I probably wouldn’t have taken the day off if I hadn’t read the recent reports on good fishing at the Current.

[jah]

Turned out I was the only one who could go and getting off a bit early was not a problem. That turned out to be a good thing as I caught 8 at Tan Vat between 7:15 – 9am. These were beautiful fish, mostly 14” plus and none less than 12”. All were caught on wooly buggers and leaches. Fishing shut down at least for me between 9 and 10 so I went over the Baptist. I caught 11 between 10am - 1, same good size, mostly on leaches and a few on bead head woolies. Not a fish between 1 -330. There were a number of bugs but nothing sustained and only occasional fish rising. I really wanted to hit 20 so I headed back to Tan Vat and fished for an hour. I managed to catch a handful in the 10” range on a copper john below a Caddis indicator. About 50/50 rainbows/browns and a number of jumpers. In addition to being a beautiful day and catching good fish, I only saw one person on the water, though Free Bird blaring on a local’s truck at Baptist did disrupt things for a while.

Thanks to all of you who post and replied to my inquiry. I might not have tried the copper john or leech as quickly and they were the hot flies. For that matter, I probably wouldn’t have taken the day off if I hadn’t read the recent reports on good fishing at the Current.

How did you fish the wooly buggers and leaches? Strip them? Under an indicator? How deep? How do the rest of you fish buggers and leeches on the Current?

[mdrstl]

How did you fish the wooly buggers and leaches? Strip them? Under an indicator? How deep? How do the rest of you fish buggers and leeches on the Current?

I was casting out and down stream, shaking out more line at times, trying to keep the BH woolies and leaches (cone head) down. A few hit on the drift, most on the swing and a few on the strip. Stripping didn't seem as effective as it has been for me in the past. As the day got brighter, my line was longer, hoping to keep the fish from seeing me.

I don't typically use an indicator, because I don't feel like I have much control on the retreave or the depth. It's also because I get more wind knots, lack confidence regarding picking the right depth and have problems keeping some indicators where I want them. I use BH and coneheads versus shot for the same reasons.

All the fish I caught under the Caddis, which was nothing but an indicator, causes me to wonder if I didn't miss quite a few strikes.

[fozzie.]

How did you fish the wooly buggers and leaches? Strip them? Under an indicator? How deep? How do the rest of you fish buggers and leeches on the Current?

I've tried a lot of different things, and they all seem to work, none to me seem any more productive than any other. I've caught fish dead-drifting buggers and streamers through rocky runs, I've caught fish high-sticking heavily weighted buggers and streamers through the deepest, fastest runs I can find, I've had them smoke heavily weighted streamers on the bottom, I've had them smoke streamers as soon as they hit the water. They all seem to work, and probably your best bet is not to stick with one standard technique or presentation. Watch how the fish are reacting to your pattern, and be willing to change presentations and retrieves until everything clicks.

The one technique I find myself using most often (not necessarily most effective), is dead drifting them through moderately deep runs, the more habitat the better- boulders, overhanging vegetation, logjams and deadfall. Towards the end of the drift I'll usually throw in a mend and swing the streamer stripping it fairly rapidly, usually 2-3 inches at a time. I won't pick up and begin my next cast until the leader is at my tip-top- more than once I've had trout come out of their lair across the stream, follow the fly through the current, through the swing, only to make a commitment within a few feet of where I stood.