Fall creek gravel bar

[WebFreeman]

Bill wrote last week about the gravel bar that makes for difficult navigation. Is that accessible by waders from the bank or is that area private property? Also, is it safe to wade there?

[wily]

i don't think i'd waste my time trying...you'd be dodging boats all day, and I'm sure there's better fishing upstream...the only draw of fall creek is: that it is the highest up river you can go and still use bait, so a lot of people will go up there and either anchor, or use it as the starting spot for their drift.

that said, i have seen a couple very large trout cruising the area around the dock.

[Danoinark]

I kinda have a similar question. I have one of Phil's maps on the Upper and Lower lake and just across from the Narrows and at the Flats, it shows a set of stairs. Are those private?

Dano

[Phil Lilley]

They are private but you can get to them thru Fall Creek Properties. There's a RV park there it appears. There's no gate to get in FC so I'm sure you can find the access and walk down. The bar is frequently waded and it's good fishing. Just have to put up with boats and guides who like to fish this narrow channel. The flats, though, have fish on them and aren't targeted by boaters usually.

[WebFreeman]

My thinking was if I wanted to keep fish and fly fish, that might be a good place to go. Thanks, Phil.

[Danoinark]

So the stairs I mentioned are private? Now I see an entrepreneurial

venture here. A service to shuttle folks up and down to wadable fishing....ok boys and girls there is your new business.!!!!!

[wily]

i'm sorry, i'm a bonehead...i didn't put two and two together. i'd try just down from FC boat dock, about 150 yards or so, there's a place you'll see that flattens out...looks almost like a place where there might have been rapids before...kind of a flat spot of grass. you can't miss it. it's always been a good spot for us. i'm sure you could wade and fish in that area, but it will be a tough 150 yard walk because it's on the bluff side.

[Bill Babler]

Gentlemen, as far as keeping fish. the area in question, that Phil has written about with the stairs, is well within the Restricted Zone, so the same rules apply here as the dam.

Just thought I'd point this out, seems to be some confusion.

The Restricted area starts at the mouth of Fall Creek, on the creeks upper boundary, and of course continues to TR Dam.

From time to time, lots of waders in the area in question.

I presume most to be guests at the FC Condo's.

The flat sometime can be a very good location of emergers. There are also holes and pockets in this flat that nympths can be drifted and it is a very excellent place to wade, even if you are not fishing the boat lane.

A very current report on the area from Point Royal down to the bait area is on zero or 1 generator.

Sculpin Micro Jigs in 1/2 to Full micro drifted 4 ft. under an indicator

Excellent to beyond belief. The guide boats are doing extremely well. Not much movement on the strike indicator, they seem to want a real dead drift.

Black size 16 midges with a silver beadhead are also catching lots of fish, quality is very good.

Again at this time of the year, large egg patterns seem to be very popular.

Phil has a peach egg mounted on a silver jig headed hook that is about a size 8 or 10. It looks like a beach ball, but for the life of me, they just love that big thing right now.

It comes in gold and silver on the head, and silver will outcatch the gold 4 to one. Some guys are using it for a attractor fly and swinging the midge or a size 16 tan scud under it, but the egg, will get 70 percent of the bites.

The micro, will bury any of them however.

Had a client last week that had been here on vacation for about a week, and had taken a drift boat trip, and a wade trip.

Said the wade trip was very good on scuds, extremely small, 18 to 22 in size, purple and pink, a burnt orange and olive. About 30 fish on the morning trip.

Drift boat was a midge trip and was ok, but completely burned to death sitting in the boat. Perhaps 15 fish on the 8 hr. day. Nothing like the wade trip.

Will not say the numbers we caught on the sculpin micro, but there were 3 boat guides in the lower restricted area, all fishing the micro's and the least number of fish, that any of us had, during the 4 hr. period, was between 50 and 60.

We were fishing it on flyrods, but the other two boats were on 7 ft. Rod Shop spinning rods. The fish ate everyone up reguardless of the fishing tool.

On heaver generation, that stinky big egg, with some shot seems to be the second best bet, behind again a full micro in Pink with a Chrome head.

Good Luck out there.

[troutchaser]

What, pray tell, is a sculpin micro jig?

[Phil Lilley]

Gezzz... where have you been?

I think there's a thread just on micro jigs someplace on the forum. Sculpin is the color (drab/olive), and one of the best colors one can use on the lake.