Fishing Report Upper River

[Sam Potter]

Fishing Report June 22

I apologize for slacking off with my fishing report page. It has been non stop for the past two weeks and I am seeing myself coming and going. No excuses for not taking a little time to input a report or two along the way, but when I get home at night I just want to go to bed, to get ready for the next day. I have another trip for this afternoon, so I thought I better try to catch up.

One of the nice things about fishing, is that it provides an opportunity for good friends and family members to spend some quality time together. I have had close friends, husband and wives, fathers and daughters, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and brothers as clients. Fly fishing is the quiet sport, and it allows one to get closer to nature, to observe wildlife in their natural environment. We often see herons, eagles and osprey, muskrats, mink, squirrels, turkeys, deer, armadillos, groundhogs, and occasionally an otter. All kinds of songbirds and now that the touch-me-not are starting to bloom along the river, lots of humming birds.

The fishing on the upper Current River has been excellent over the past two weeks. Good numbers of fish in the river and some good size fish are being caught. A tribute to the new regulations a couple of years back and to the ever increasing amount of catch and release fishermen on the stream. There is still some poaching going on, but I have not observed as much this year as I have in the past. The Conservation agents and Park Rangers are doing a fine job and the new signs, in high use areas and the amount of signs, I believe, has helped a great deal.

We have been catching some nice fish, and good numbers each day on the water. The best times are early in the morning and late in the day. Don't get me wrong, we have caught fish all day, but the ratio of fish caught per cast, has been greater early and late. They are not feeding as aggressively during the middle of the day, especially on the Blue Bird days. On Cloudy days and rainy days, the fishing has been good, even in the middle of the day.

The Tricos are going strong and the caddis have been coming off in good numbers. We are getting some aggressive takes on emergers, during the caddis hatch, and we have even picked up some fish with streamer patterns. Sight fishing for fish that are high in the water column is a fun way to spend the afternoon. CDC caddis for the experienced fisherman work well, especially with the fish that have been in the river a long time. The larger fish can become pretty selective in slower, flat water, and the CDC, to me does a better job for those type of fish. We use long fine tippets in 6X if the water is flat. The Elk Hair would be a better choice for the novice, because of the high visibility. You will pick up more of the smaller fish, but occasionally will get one of the larger fish to take it, especailly in faster water. We have also been doing well with an indicator and a dropper or Elk Hair caddis and a dropper, to give them two choices. The Elk Hair and dropper can be difficult to cast for a novice, just because of the tangles between the two. A slower stroke with a bigger loop is required. We have had good luck with two stand by nymphs: a prince or hare's ear in size 16 has produced good numbers of fish, over the past two weeks.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

www.TightLine.Biz

[KCfisher]

Thanks for your great reports! I wonder if you (or anyone else) could help me with a few basic questions about access and planning a float on the upper current. I have a kick boat and would like to fish the upper Current on a float; from what I understand a few deeper spots make the the it a difficult wade from spot to spot. Is this correct? If so, could you suggest a put in and take out for a days float on a kick boat and where I might find a reliable shuttle for my truck. I really appreciate your time. Brian

[Gavin]

If your looking to float it, I'd rent a canoe. Baptist Camp to Parker is your shortest float (5.5 miles) but youll have to do your own shuttle. Jadwin Canoe will rent and shuttle you between Baptist and Cedargrove, or Akers Ferry Canoe rental can shuttle you for a float between Cedargrove and Akers. Both are nice 7 mile day floats (or overnight with lots of fishing) but the Baptist to Cedargrove area usually fishes better. If your in good shape you can always hike between Baptist and Parker at low water, bring a water purifier and some food cuz it will take awhile. Cheers.

[3wt]

KC:

If your staying in the Blue Ribbon area it is very wadeable the whole length, at least from my experience. Floating it may be more of a hassle than it's worth. You'll be dragging the boat most of the time, or you'll be floating by good holding spots.

Sam:

Good try, but no sympathy from me...your "office" is a much cooler than mine...

Thanks for the report. I'll be down there next weekend, and your reports are always helpful in my emergency tying binge the week of a trip. Any action on hoppers yet?

[Sam Potter]

KCfisher

The upper river is very wadable from Montauk park to Welch Spring. 3wt is correct, A kickboat will be more of a hassle.. yes there are some nice deep holes down the stream, but they are all fishable by wading. The river is not that wide in the upper section. I would use a canoe for transportation from Baptist to Parker. If I am by myself, I leave my canoe at Baptist, chained up. Drive down to Parker, where I leave my truck. Ride my Bicycle back to Baptist, put it in the canoe and float down to the truck. It is pretty tough getting up the hill from Parker, but the rest of the 2 miles is gravy. If you don't have a canoe, you can walk/jog it back (if you are in good CV condition)you may be able to get a ride from someone fishing or camping at Parker. If you are walking back up to Baptist, I don't recommend walking back up along the river...the road will be faster and easier, and you may get a lift.

No I have not seen hoppers of any numbers yet....but they are just around the corner. Start with 14/12s in July and increase the size to 6s by September.

[3wt]

I didn't end up seeing any hoppers when I was down there on Saturday.

If you were out there last weekend, did you see all the crud floating down the river? What's up with all the weeds? Also in the park I noticed BIG chunks of water cress breaking off and floating down stream. Any idea what causes this? Sure was a pain ot fish around.

[Gavin]

The weed is probably from the park..they cut it back from time to time to make for easier fishing in the park. Human and float traffic contributes to it too. Cheers.

[brownieman]

Just my opinion,

You can partially thank the MDC and the DNR for the weeds, slick rocks, etc.

There is more than would naturally occur due to the waste generated from the campground septic pools just below the park that pipe it straight in the river and the waste from the raceways that is flushed in the river day in and day out.

I have been told by others it wasn't always done like that concerning the raceways...they used to pump the waste out but that method was abandoned in years past.

The cabins right below the park boundary in the water there is a cement structure that sticks out in the water...contains a pipe that comes directly from the septic pools that hold the waste from the campground restrooms.

Due to both these things the water is far more fertile than it would be otherwise...more fertile the water is the better algae and any type of water plants grow. JMO...but I think this attributes to the problem.

Gavin is right also...the parks do cut back the junk from time to time...parts would get unfishable if they didn't. IMO the junk should be pulled out on the banks and composted or something but you see where allot of it ends up.

[3wt]

This was the really fine stringy stuff and it was constantly flowing down. It wasn't like that in the park, and I've never seen it like this any other time on the river. I did notice ALOT of folks parked at Tan Vat (I was at Baptist), probably swimming.

The water cress thing was in the park fly only area, and I was watching it release and float down stream. Is this natural from time to time? It was pretty wierd.

[hfdhoosier]

yeah, the fly area is really grown up. Alot of my favorite holes were unfishable and others were hard to get a good drift because of the weeds. I fished Tan Vat and had to clean off my fly every other cast. Frustating but still a good time fishing.

HFDHOOSIER