Fishing Report

[jah]

I was able to take advantage of my first day of spring break by heading down to Baptist Camp today. The water was up about a foot or so and dingy....not muddy, just very off color. And it was MOVING! I was able to wade fish all of my normal spots, but I know that stretch pretty well, so be careful if you don't know it well.

I caught 2 fish in the 3 hours that I fished, both stocker rainbows. Both came on an egg pattern called a "hot egg" from Big Y Fly company. Man, it was tough. Here was my setup and the flies I used:

7 ft furled leader, 3 feet of 4x floro to my lead fly (stones, eggs, princes, Pat's, Circus Caddis,) 5x floro tied to the bend of my lead fly and I used san Juan worms, hot egg, soft hackle, psycho prince, caddis larva)

There were loads of caddis coming off at about 1 pm, but I didn't see a single mayfly.

I just couldn't get my rig down quickly enough because the water was moving so fast.

Is it dumb to use big stone fly patterns at this time of year? Would they even be interested? I ususally do great on them in spring and summer, but are they not winter flies? They were the only thing heavy enough to get my rig down, though.

[Ted Calcaterra]

If the water is like you described, I'd put all those flies away and get out the streamer flies. That river is awesome when its up and off color. I remember seeing fish come to the streamer in places I didn't think held fish. For more fish I'd cast slump busters, buggers, zonkers. For better fish, sex dungeons, circus peanuts, anything big and nasty.

Just my 2 cents anyway

[Nortrad]

Ted's right, dark streamers, sink tip, throw to shallows, they're resting out of the main current. Or, lotsa weight under an indicator, big split shot, weighted flies, I mean heavy, chuck 'n' duck. Use big rubber legs, buggers and something bright like SJW's/eggs/scuds trailing your main heavy fly, and, mend, mend, mend...

[jah]

I failed to mention that I did use an olive wooly as my point fly as well. I'm just not a good streamer fisherman. In all fairness, I've never really tried. Is it more effective to strip them or dead drift under an indicator? Thanks for the advice!

Jim

[eric1978]

I had similar results to yours on Thursday in the same spot, below Baptist. I caught 3 fish bright and early stripping a brown pine squirrel leech, one good rainbow, no browns. Then it seemed to shut down entirely and I was skunked at Tan Vat and forced to hit the park with my tail between my legs. The morons up there readily ate the fetal emerger, but that got old real quick.

Wading was tough, and so was drifting. I had to put on a split shot the size of a monkey fist to get a nymph down. The caddis and midges were hatching so thick they were caught in my teeth by the end of the day, but I didn't see many fish rising. Caught a few shiners on an 18 EHC, but nothing else on top...or bottom.

[Nortrad]

Sounds like high fast water. I've drifted streamers under and stripped/swam them. Tie a loop knot of your choice so the streamer jigs up and down, let it swing, strip it across, jerk strip it, you have to vary the retrieve a lot. Sometimes you can just dead drift and a couple of strips at the end of the drift. Again, fish the slack, sides, feeder creeks, water that seems unlikely in normal flow, they're there, resting out of the fast flow, waiting for a bait fish to come by. You'll catch a few fish, and, probably, one that's bigger than usual. This is good water for spin fishermen, they'll chase those lures for sure.