night fishing

[albright3]

leonard,

sometimes size doesnt matter(i just like getting some bent rod time in)

15 in 1and a half hours at night. that sounds awesome. what kinds of flies should i get besides sculpin and wooleys? thanks

[Leonard]

Albright...

Ive been doing good on woollies... white olive and black (size 8 or 10.. just a bead head.. no wieght)

sculpins do ok...if your in the big hole.. fishing the bottom...

Ive yet to try muddles.. if you want to bring a few of those..

Oh... btw... dont forget the rain gear... just in case!!

[Leonard]

Albright...

Send me e-mail... lkeeney@earthlink.net.. first letter is a L...

I give you a few place to try... and what flies to use/try

About this weekend.. Looks like I may have to cancel... my boy is getting sick

[Aeronikl]

Albright...

Send me e-mail... lkeeney@earthlink.net.. first letter is a L...

I give you a few place to try... and what flies to use/try

About this weekend.. Looks like I may have to cancel... my boy is getting sick

I love fishing at night, actually prefer it to avoid the crowds. Never thought about it until I read an article that Phil's old site refered me to. The article talked about waiting for 5 hours after sundown to start, new (no) moon is best time, unless the browns are running, then full moon is best. The feeding times in the solunar tables can be very useful, but the water not running is more important, and I've never been without a bite for very long, even during the times they are not suppossed to be active.

The information I read was right-on for fly selection. I've always done well with olive, olive/black, black, white and purple woolys - always bead head and always with some flash tied in. Short, quick strips most of the time. When things are perfect, they will even hit it when it hits the water, but normally as it drops or as it is stripped back, and many times when the rod is picked up to cast again. Be careful when you let the fly sit in the water for any reason, there can be a fish on!

I've always caught more and bigger fish at night, mostly rainbows, usually over 12 or 13 in. The biggest I've ever caught was 22". They are definately more agressive feeders at night and not line-shy. I use 8 or 10' of 6 - 10 lb. fluorocarbon fishing line for a leader - cheap and works great. It takes a while to get the hang of casting in the dark, but you can see better than you'd think, and you can turn your headlight on when landing the fish. Be careful, be familiar with the area you're wading in, and look out for boats. I've seen several at night, and have had to turn my light on to avoid being hit by a boat running without lights.

I came down several weeks ago, after the brown run was pretty much over, and caught my 2 biggest browns ever at Taney - casting from the middle of the river towards the boat ramp. One was 20" and 6 lbs and the other 18" and 5 lbs - fantastic condition and beautiful. I probably won't be back until spring, when the KOA opens up the lower section for camping.

As much as I like having the river to myself, most people still won't be there at night, so I don't mind passing the information on to those who will appreciate it and not abuse it. After all, if Phil hadn't made the information available, I never would have known about it and tried it. I can't thank him enough, but will try if I ever get the chance to meet him.

[Phil Lilley]

Aeronikl- reading your post really blesses me. It's worth all the frustrations - server crashes, lost data, writing a long article and losing it only to find out I didn't save it... remember- some of those articles were written 5-6-7 years ago. I try to go back and update them, especially the ones that talk about fishing with worms and minnows below the dam

I love to put information out there for people to read, learn and use. If it helps anyone enjoy fishing more, then it's all worth it.

Thanks- would like to meet you next time you're down.

[Aeronikl]

Aeronikl- reading your post really blesses me. It's worth all the frustrations - server crashes, lost data, writing a long article and losing it only to find out I didn't save it... remember- some of those articles were written 5-6-7 years ago. I try to go back and update them, especially the ones that talk about fishing with worms and minnows below the dam

I love to put information out there for people to read, learn and use. If it helps anyone enjoy fishing more, then it's all worth it.

Thanks- would like to meet you next time you're down.

Next time I come down, I'll warn you first, and stop by if I can. If you are free, you are welcome to fish with me some night. We can play "who can catch a fish on the weirdest fly", if they are biting good! My current record is a #2 egg sucking leech, pink egg, purple leech.

Almost forgot, on the last trip I caugt a strange fish one night just up from the KOA, on the next cast after catching a 15" rainbow, and didn't know what it was, until I found pictures of a rock bass on the web. It was rainbow "stocker" size, about 9-10" long, looked like a smallie, but with vertical bars on the side. My first non-trout at Taney.

[5cuff]

For fly-fishing, I strip big bunny-leaches. Fast, with lots of weight works (I wrap lead around the hook when I tie them so I don't have to use a lot of split shot), but patience is key. In the daytime, I do a lot of sight fishing, so you have to trust that A LOT of trout are watching and you're just going to have to wait until you detect the strike. Try to create a picture of the lure as it hits the "swing", because many fish hit the stripped fly at that point. I get frustrated with dry fly fishing b/c one wind knot ends up costing too much time to re-string. That's why I almost always use spinning gear at night.

I use a decently stiff 7 foot Medium Action rod with 4 lb test fluorocaron line (sometimes heavier is fine, but you can land 10 pound trout on 4 lb test if you are fishing a lot...which it sounds like you do). I use Rapalas almost exclusively. Normally, just the floating F7s and F9s in gold and silver (though some guys go bigger and move up to 8-10lb test). During periods of little or no generation, I try to fish areas with some current, like the fast water by the island in the trophy area or the areas above and below rebar. The fast water gives the lure some action at lower retrieve speeds, which gives you more flexibility (I vary my retrieve speeds a lot until I find something that works). Although it is not always a fish a minute, I usually catch more solid 16-18 inch fish at night on the spinning rod, and a lot more browns. A good night is usually 4-6 good fish per hour (for me). Obviously, it is fishing, so it varies. I know there are a lot of guys who do well with jigs too, but I've never used them extensively.

Other tips...Spend a little on a good spinning reel...line twist is a bear in the dark (I always throw a spare spool and extra reel in my pack at night). Also, bring a real net, not a little trout park net...you will need it eventually if you fish at night and you want to release larger trout without playing them to exhaustion.

Good luck!