Fishing Report

[Phil Lilley]

November 4th Fishing Report

Generation has been anyone’s guess. They’ve ran it most mornings but not every one… ran it most evenings but not every evening… even running it at night but not every night. No pattern to hang your hat on. Their online schedule is pretty right on but you can only get that a day ahead.

It was a windy, cool one today. I got out a little in the afternoon and boated up to the trophy area with a couple of gals who are staying here. I wanted to try to get them into some fish on a fly rod. The wind was tough! Anchored on the flats at the narrows and tied on a soft hackle for Pat and had her cast with the wind (upstream) and strip away. She caught 2 small rainbows. On the spinning rod, I tied on a micro jig, a zebra midge, a scud—even a jig and couldn’t get anything going for Megan. The wind was really whipping up around.

I usually do pretty well in a hard wind and I did see them feeding on the bottom but we just could get anything hooked. I threw an olive pine squirrel I had on my rod from the other night and they’d only chase it.

Bait fishing has been very good lately. Fishing off our dock has picked up the last week. The size of rainbows stocked has gotten bigger—couldn’t have gotten any smaller!! Night crawlers have done fair but it seems Gulp is doing better in orange and yellow. But night crawlers up closer to Fall Creek have been the best, shooting them with some air and floating them on off the bottom.

Those micro jigs in tan or olive have been super above Fall Creek but the scuds fished on the bottom have been king. If they’re running some water, you need to get your scud to the bottom. To get your fly(s) to the bottom and keep them there, use about one-and-a-half times the depth of water you’re fishing under your indicator. I generally use about 9-feet of tippet under the float when they’re running one unit. When I use scuds, I use weighted scuds. A #12 scud will have 7 wraps of .020 lead wire. But if that doesn’t get the scud down to the fish’s liking, I’ll pinch on a small split shot about 18 inches above the scud. I want that scud to drag the bottom. I’ll also use a San Juan worm as a dropper under the scud 18 inches or a Zebra Midge over the scud 18 inches. If I use a Zebra, I won’t need a split shot because the Zebra has a tungsten head, plenty of weight to get it down. Scud colors: gray, brown, tan, olive, orange. When it’s bright out, I generally use scuds tied with UV material. San Juan worm colors: red, pink, brown, tan and white. Zebra Midge colors: black, red, olive, green with gold or nickel heads.

Below the dam there’s lots of activity- under the water and around it. Lots and lots of big trout- both browns and rainbows are up there vying for quiet spaces, which are in short supply. There are hoards of anglers looking for “the big one”, “Walter” as my friend, Megan, today said. Leonard showed me an articulated fly he caught 20 or so rainbows on yesterday with the water down. It was basically 2- #4 brown woolies wired together with a few rubber legs sticking out. Some of the big ugly streamers we’ve been trying at night are getting some attention too, according to some of the guys I’ve talked to. These supposedly “night time” streamers are catching trout during the day. I guess the trout are getting bored of the #20 scuds they’re seeing. But in reality, most anglers are going to throw these monsters, they’re going to throw the scuds, midges, soft hackles, cracklebacks and San Juans and do very well I’m sure.

Night fishing has been hit and miss. Monday night would have been the night to go—rainy and nasty—but Sunday night wasn’t. I went Sunday night and almost got skunked. It was nice, warm and very calm and the trout just weren’t in the mood to tangle. That’s how night fishing is. You pick your night and hope for the best. It’s usually feast or famine.

Mona Cheri, who was fishing with her husband Duane, caught the most fish stripping a cone headed olive pine squirrel really slow, crawling it across the gravel. I guess they were picking it up and she was nailing them. You really must try all the retrieves you can think of when night fishing—that’s the key. The right strip will win over the right fly every time.

[Leonard]

Leonard showed me an articulated fly he caught 20 or so rainbows on yesterday with the water down. It was basically 2- #4 brown woolies wired together with a few rubber legs sticking out.

No way!

[Phil Lilley]

Opps- was that a secret fly???

[Leonard]

secret fly...

I guess not this time...LOL

I posted a picture this summer of a 22/23 in bow I caught with this fly...

with 4 units running just below the log up by outlet 1 (I think)