Fishing Report 8-7 And 8-8

[Guest]

My father finally made the trip over this past weekend to do a little trout fishing with me and my buddy on the LIR. We arrived at the Watt's area around 6:30 A.M. on Saturday to find a full parking lot!!! There were tons of people on the river. After assessing the situation, we decided to give it a shot. So, we headed out from the parking area and to our surprise found not a single person fishing the riffle area just to the North. You could see fish working just under the surface, and with no "big" bugs in the air or on the water it was apparent that the fish were taking emerging midges just under the surface, but we decided to throw some small comparaduns at them to see what happened. My dad hooked up early, and landed about an 18in rainbow on a size 18 comparadun (the biggest fish of the day). We fished this area for about an hour changing flies from dries,to foam, to nymphs in sizes ranging from 14 to 20 several times, but consistently going back to the comparaduns. Very small cream colored midges were on the water everywhere. We then moved further upstream to the slack water area just above the riffle we had been fishing where my dad and my buddy continued to catch fish on dries. I continued upstream to fish the riffles below the plunge pool near the "island". The area was much less crowded, and again I found fish sipping midges just under the surface. Without any midge patterns in the box, I continued to hammer them with the comparadun. My dad and friend joined me shortly thereafter and we finished out the morning plucking fish from the little riffle until the horn sounded.

Sunday morning found us in the parking lot at Watt's around 5:45 and not another car in sight as we parked. Again we hit the riffle just north of Watts and found the fish feeding on emerging midges. Luckily I had tied up a handful of midge emergers and a few dries in size 18 the night before and the fish decided that they liked them!! It was steady (as far as midge fishing goes) action for most of the morning. After fishing the riffle for a while, we decided to head downstream towards the USGS gage. We caught a few fish in the riffle just below the stocking chute and a few more in the pools near the USGS gage before we called it a day.

All fish were caught on either emergers or dry flies the entire weekend. I don't think a single member of our group caught a fish by nymphing, with a couple of fish falling to a wooly bugger and a soft hackle. In all, the fishing was definitely slower than normal but overall it was a great and memorable experience. My dad told me that he had a great time and can't wait to come back...so that in itself made the trip worthwhile!

On a side note, some of the fish we caught came out of water no more than 4 inches deep. The fish had all of their fins, deep rich colors, very pronounced spots, as well as vivid white tips on ALL of their fins (yes they had all of their fins unlike the majority of the fish in the river). The average size of these brightly colored (and healthy looking)fish was about 8in long. I know some of you may think I am crazy, but do you think these fish could be spawning, or are they simply "hold over" fish from previous stockings that have been in the river a while? I just cant see the ODWC stocking fish that small in the river. Also, one fish did eject a milky white substance (which I am assuming was milt) when I landed it.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Tight lines,

Cole

[DaddyO]

Cole, thanks for posting the report. It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun.

I always assumed that the trout don't spawn in the Lower Illinois. It might be worth a call to the OWDC to see what they say. If you call them, let us know the outcome.

[Guest]

DaddyO, did you fish the river this past weekend?

As far as contacting the Department, I shot an email to the ODWC this morning. After doing a little research on rainbow trout reproduction, it is looking feasible that the trout could possibly reproduce, but I am by no means saying that they are. I don't think anyone has done a study to determine if the fish are spawning or not.

I did make one other interesting note that I forgot to mention. There were areas on the bottom of the river where the gravel had been cleared away, making the areas appear much lighter than the rest of the bottom. Most, if not all, of these light spots were found in and around the riffle areas of the river.

I'll make sure to pass along any information I receive.

Cole

[DaddyO]

Cole, I'm anxious to hear what you find out. And, No, I didn't fish this past weekend. I haven't been out since my last post which was about a month ago. My oldest daughter just gave birth to my first Grandson this week and my Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary is this Weekend. So, I've been a little busy.

I am hoping to get back out fishing in about a week or so.

[Guest]

Okay, so here is the email I got back from the ODWC:

"These are almost certainly hold over fish from previous stockings. We have never been able to positively document any reproduction in the lower Illinois River. Three years ago high inflows into Tenkiller resulted in 24/7 releases for weeks and weeks. Anglers subsequently reported seeing small, perfectly colored trout in the trout stream. It is possible that a limited amount of reproduction took place during these sustained flows. This year is pretty much a typical year with hydropower releases occurring at various times and for various duration. The inconsistent flows coupled with water temperatures ranging from 58 to near 72 degrees daily makes the possibility of a successful spawn very unlikely. We have 2 stockings a year that consist of large trout (some over 14 inches) but normal stockings average 11 inches. That means there will be some 8 inch fish and some 13 inch fish. I would like to think we were having some reproduction but unfortunately the chances are very slim. I appreciate your interest and thank you for bringing it to our attention."

I guess I let my "wishful thinking" get the best of me, instead of considering all the different variables involved in fish spawning in the river.

Oh well, one can dream I guess.

Tight line,

Cole

[DaddyO]

That's still good information. Thanks for sharing the results.

[OKFlyFisher44]

We can get a fishing report out of you but no post to the blog....man, where has our dedication gone?

[Guest]

We can get a fishing report out of you but no post to the blog....man, where has our dedication gone?

Ask and you shall receive. I just updated the blog.

http://okietroutbum.blogspot.com/2010/08/midges-madness-meditation.html

[OKFlyFisher44]

Brilliant!