Park To Tan-Vat 9/21

[Idylwilde]

Started at the wire at 8:30 and the first bend held 25 or 30 rainbows 3 were about 18 to 19" tried a hopper with a #18 midge dropper with not any results. About 9:00 we got into a scenario that I have not seen all summer. The blue wing were hatching by the millions. We hooked up a size 18-20 cdc blue wing and cast it into the action. The fish were coming from everywhere and sipping the bugs off the surface. The fish were keyed into something our pattern didn't have and I saw fish sip bugs from just less than an inch from my fly. Our pattern was same size and color as the hatch. But the hatch was so thick there was just to much competition from the real bug against our fake. This went on for the next hour and past the cabin's. Then the river went dead, no rises and the fish became almost pined to the bottom. I drifted BWO's and Zebra Midges on 8X tippet on the heads of the fish and they would not move an inch.

We managed to pick up a couple of small rainbows on crackle backs. These trout were not even lying in the main food drift of the stream. They were in the shallow water at least 20" from the majority of the bigger fish. The first bend has always been a honey hole for at least 1 Brown of 20" or a couple 19 Rainbows, and they were there only they were stuck to the river bed like they were nailed to it. The only movement I saw was three small Rainbows doing the courting circles. A hopper pattern with a tan scud dropper took one fish and two rises on the hopper. We saw four nice brown trout in the whole section from the park to Tan Vat. All four were laying on the bottom right in the fast current of river in less than 24" of water. We drifted a Red San Juan worm over one and actually touched the fish with it and no movement at all, not even a dart out of the way.

I have fished this stretch of water for 25 years and never saw the fish act this way. My fingers are sore from tying on flies I have 5 fly boxes and not one fly drew any follow or attracted any fish. The only thing that I saw that was not in character for this trip was the size of the hatch that went on early and shut down the fish so quickly. I am not an expert by any means but I have never fished this section and caught the size and amount of fish as I did yesterday. I usually fish this section in 3 hours and catch at least 15 fish on 2 over 20". Yesterday we fished it for 7.5 hours and had less than 5 small fish apiece.

Now please tell me where I went wrong! What should I have tried? It was actually painful to sea my MATCH THE HATCH fly drift through a see of sippers and not be at least looked at. We saw only one other angler fishing a spinner on a spincast all day. I did not drift a egg pattern because I just don't do that LOL!

[ozark trout fisher]

1.Now please tell me where I went wrong! What should I have tried?

2.I did not drift a egg pattern because I just don't do that LOL!

Statement 2 probably answers question 1...

That's just fishing though. Can't expect to tear them up every time.

[Idylwilde]

Berkley Bait and Glo Balls is the same same to me That is just the way I fish in the blue ribbon area. Now the park is a different deal. And Gut flies are not something I use in the park or outside. Just seems to much like baiting even though I know it's not. I did see a fillet out 13" fish about 1/2 way down the streach.

[Idylwilde]

O! I did not mention that the MDC cut grass in the park spring branch yesterday morning and all the coon tale hit us about 1:30. Even tried a # 20 sow bug when the grass started drifting on us.

[ozark trout fisher]

Berkley Bait and Glo Balls is the same same to me That is just the way I fish in the blue ribbon area. Now the park is a different deal. And Gut flies are not something I use in the park or outside

Well, to each their own I guess.

[Justin Spencer]

I fished on NFoW for an hour or so the last two days and the fishing has been painfully slow (skunked without a bite yesterday, and only a few the day before). This unsettled weather may have them off feed, and when they do feed they may be extremely picky.

[Gavin]

Dont know, but sometimes they arent eating what you think they are. They might have been keyed on nymphs, emergers, cripples, or spinners instead of duns, or something else entirely....Better luck next time.

[3wt]

Berkley Bait and Glo Balls is the same same to me

Amen to that.

Incedently I once found that with BWO's the wings mad a big difference. Wouldn't have thought it, but the hackle wing was the trick. Normally I don't think the wings are that big of a deal.

Other than that I have found that sunk dries or soft hackles during BWO time can work suprisingly well. I think some of beatis are divers.

http://www.classicflytying.com/pattern3296.html

[Idylwilde]

This is a FEW of the patterns I tried.

[Nortrad]

I have had a similar occurrence on the Current, lotsa bugs, lotsa sippers, inability to hook up. Talked to a fellow who's fished it a lot and he gave me a #22 or #20 dark gray dry, still could not get a hook up. Sam Potter would know about this, his m.o. is small dries to the selective fish. Maybe a Griffith's on point as your 'sighter' and a small midge behind in the film? I will say it again, this river is not a guarantee for big or a lot of fish.