Fishing Report: 02/02

[JobyKSU]

I fished Saturday 02/02 below Parker. I was early enough to be the first one on the water (no tracks in the snow). The fishing was amazingly fast and furious. I probably had 20 fish to hand in the first 3 hours, and 5 or 6 for the next few after. Most fish fell in one of two groups: 14" and over, or 8" and under. I had easily the largest 'bow I've ever pulled (or personally seen) out of Beaver, but in the excitement and reviving effort, I did not get a photo of it, nor accurate measurement, so I'll just say he was 13" to avoid the nay-sayers

Successful flies included fuzzy nymph (zebra tied with dubbing - I'm sure there is another name for them, but the fish absolutely loved them! ), a couple of bright purple zebras, soft hackles, and during the hatch small soft hackles (size 18 or 20) were very productive.

Story time:

I started off fishing the usual nymphs - zebra, ruby, cadion, and no luck. I could see one nice fish (see photo) right up next to the bank, and every so often he would dart out, grab a morsel, then run back to the bank. I cast over to try and get a drift past him, and found my indicator sitting on a crystal-clear shelf of ice which extended about 3 1/2 feet over the water. After a number of unsuccessful attempts at drifting to him, I switched to a soft hackle. After a few excruciatingly long swings, I finally got it to slide just under the shelf and twitch right in front of his nose. With a little patience, I finally saw him dart forward and I felt the take. Unhappy with the new-found hook in the corner of his mouth, he quickly left his icy safe-haven and put up a very spirited fight. To commemorate the victory, I snapped a picture of him and my rod laying on the protective ice shelf. You've got to love cold-weather fishing (although it did end up getting into the 50's).

[Danoinark]

Very nice report with pictures. Doesn't it feel great when all you have learned and practiced makes it come together for a nice fish like that. I would say if that had been the only fish you had caught you would have felt it a banner day.

Dano

[jjtroutbum]

Great report and Summery of one that got caught .

THANKS

[flyfshn]

Nice fish.....and report!

[JobyKSU]

That fish was definitely a high-point in my day. I've never actually cast anything and then have it sit on the top of the water in a pile. Silly ice. It was awesome that he put up a nice fight. One thing I've learned at Beaver - you can't judge the size of a fish based on the fight.

The ice-dweller put a nice bend in the rod, made a couple runs, and did a couple cartwheels. The big fish of the day, on the other hand, was like hooking into a clump of weeds. Not much fight, but it did take a while to drag the sucker in.

Anyway, if you can handle the cold - it's worth it to get out there a little bit earlier. Not necessarily day-break early, but just in time for breakfast