tuff fishing and was humbled by a big bow to boot!!!

[adkmountainken]

spent the morning on one of my favorite creeks that holds some eal nice trout. boy was it tuff today!! hot weather is really sending them into hiding allready. bout 72 degrees at 7 am! wasn't much in the way of a good hatch either. did manage to catch a nice 7-8 inch brookie on a #14 royal wulff. beautifull little guy. also notiiced a real nice fish ( rainbow i believe ) raising eargerly underneath a lover hanging limb. he was really sipping something down ofetn. i didn't see a hatch nor could i see anything in the water. i tried everything i could think of and nothing! now i love a big, smart fish and i just love to play the game but this guy was killing me! well after about 40 minutes i had enough and i just had to see what he was feeding on. i walked out to the limb and took a close look. there was a bunch of really tiny white worms all over the branch! i think they were a catapiler puppas as they were tiny. this explains why i couldn't see them from where i was and they didn't even make a ripple when they fell. i can honestly say that i loved having my a$$ handed to me by that big ole smart trout, now i have something foward to look to next time. i had been doing great the last few weeks and was getting rather cocky untill this gut put me in my place! boy, they sure can humble ya!

[serotonin]

Great Story mountainken! I once had a similar fish, feeding consistently and refusing everything i threw at him. I tossed three types of ants, a few different beetles, bees, caterpillars, and some wormy looking things. He never spooked, but the best response i could get was some good rises with a last-second refusal. I was feelin' like a fool... until i threw a lady-bug; Wham! No hesitation whatsover. First cast.

I also got out this morning; fished from around 6:45- 8:30. There were small amounts of dancing caddis on the water when i got there, but no risers. Nice mist coming off the water, and nobody around except Daisy. I shoulda tied on two nymphs, but i wanted to experiment; tied on a caddis dry w/a bead head hare's ear dropper. If i just missed an early morning hatch, they might still be looking up.

I thought i might have seen some risers in some riffled water, so i waded up to investigate. My dry indicator fly would often sink, but i could sometimes see it five inches under. About twenty minutes into the session i saw the underwater 'dry' move in a funny way; Good funny... i was fast to a 16 incher. She fought hard and was released.

A few minutes later, similar thing. A 14 incher took the nymph.

Then there was a little dry spell, as i tried to cover the slower water. At least the dry was floating. After a while i saw one definite rise. Made a few nice drifts over the ring. Nothing. These fish will often cruise in the slower water. If you don't get it to them quickly, they will be five feet from the previous rise. That's where i cast. Can't say with full certainty that it was the same fish, but something big took the nymph. It immediately cleared the water, and then came in rather easily. Yeah right... i got him within a rod's length when he peeled out 60 feet in a single downstream burst. I got him in again, and he repeated his performance; 40 feet, then 30. I had him at the net for the third time; easy 18 inches... probably 19. Fat, healthy and colorful. I was standing in some decent current, using a leader/tippet that totaled 12 feet on a 9 foot rod; i was having trouble landing him. I didn't want to reel the leader/line knot thru the guides, in case he ran again. Which he did. I got him to within 10 feet again and the hook popped. See ya!

[adkmountainken]

great story there as well! i know the feeling as i use a 6" bamboo 2 piece and a 9 " tippet, hate to reel the tippit through the eyes for the same reason as you. lost fish when they decieded to run with the loop catching on the eye, pop goes the hook every time! funny how 2 people think alike. first thing i tried on the fish was a small floating ant as i figured that what it was if i couldn't see it. tried a olive wooly worm next as there is a ton of catapilers right now. then switched to a black beatle. i didn't try the bee though. another funny thing i noticed through experimets was the refusel of live catapilers. a tree i was standing by was loaded with them and there was a nice pool jabout 15 feet in front of me. i wanted to see how big a splash a big trout would make for a meal like this! i threw one and got ready to watch the show. would you believe nothing took that catapiler??? thought maybe it was a fluke and threw another one. ploped it right in the middle of the run and nothing! i threw 4 all together. is there something i don't know about the ediabilty of catapilers for trout? i know the fish were there, they didn't see me and absolutly left the catapilers alone. i was dumbfounded!
Ken

[serotonin]

...i use a 6" bamboo 2 piece and a 9 " tippet

Wow! ...6 inch bamboo... that must be difficult. ...frustrating.

Light as a feather though, i bet.

[adkmountainken]

yikes, ment 6 foot!!! LOL!!!

[serotonin]

I was picturing a big guy w/a beard standing in a stream, wearing a huge vest, holding a 6-inch bamboo rod, w/a reel the size of a nickel.

Have you seen those micro-outfits...? Pretty whacky.

[wildbrookies]

AAAHHHH!!!!The ways of the trout....

Are`nt they something...No wonder they`re able to survive some of the harshest environments and people waving sticks at them..I was the same way Ken...the year I took up flytying about 8 yrs ago..I was hitting hatch after hatch and having an incredible year.I was even getting some bruisers ,not as big as Sero`s or Ken999 ,but in the 15 -19" range.I started to feel alittle cocky.Then...reality set in the following year.Hatches were less and less and not many trout were that big.I did well enough ,but it was a much tougher season.The hatches were probably more complicated for especially a green-horn flyman like me. So, I went back to the drawing board and went down after them w/nymphs and wets/buggers.Started to do better and better and thats where I am today.Still waiting to hit a decent hatch w/fish rising.
And...to make matters worse ...I can only get out tomorrow very early (on river by 6am)til noon.And....you guys said the hatches were`nt really there today..so...I may have to dredge them up in my brothers secret spot...

Sero, sounds like you had a tough go at them this morning also.I`d probably do alot better if I can get an afternoon trip planned...eHHH?

Hows the water temp. and levels out there?

WB

[adkmountainken]

i wore old shoes and shorts today, water was not the least bit cold. very low toady compared to last week in the same place, need rain terriably!!!

[wildbrookies]

Thanks AdkmtnKen,
I think I`ll try the wet wading tomorrow also. Hope the trout are`nt sucking air tomorrow.I`m bringing the thermometer to check it.I`ll have a report later in the day.

WB

[serotonin]

Still waiting to hit a decent hatch w/fish rising.
And...to make matters worse ...I can only get out tomorrow very early (on river by 6am)til noon.And....you guys said the hatches were`nt really there today..so...I may have to dredge them up in my brothers secret spot...

Sero, sounds like you had a tough go at them this morning also.I`d probably do alot better if I can get an afternoon trip planned...eHHH?

WB

WB, if i had a choice (and i usually do...), i wouldn't bother w/the afternoon at all. Not sure what your water is like, but either way, it sounds like you're the soft-hackle man, and that oughta treat you good. Add a bugger... whatever, i'm sure you can dredge some up. Don't worry about the afternoon.

BTW, ...did I have a tough time this morning...? Are you kidding...?
It was great!
OK, they weren't rising, but did you read my post...?
Nineteen incher peeling 60 ft in one run...
C'mon; not a bad way to start the day!

Anyhow, if you want risers, and if your stream is like mine, the only Real hatch is after sunset. I decided to check it out tonight. See if the thunderstorms affected it in any way.

No risers as usual before dark. Not a single fisherman/woman for a mile in either direction. Not even a Daisy. Only a tongue of mist beginning to roll in over the water; like a plague from the Ten Commandments.

Here's the short version:
Hour 1; Two 17 inchers on a hare's ear. A female and a male.
Tangle up the two-nymph rig on a poor reach-cast. See a decent rise. More bugs now. Cut the nymphs off to save the leader and switch to glow-in-the-dark dry. Nobody interested in that fly.
Hour 2; Blizzard of caddis. A few small sulphurs and some Large ones. Tie on the evil CDC emerger. 15 inch male. Healthy and happy. BLIZZARD of caddis now. Trout start rising like crazy. It's 9:15. Pretty dark, w/a sliver of a moon. The mist is so thick, i can't see the rises. I can hear them all around me, 5-15 feet away. Forget about seein' the fly. The only rise i can see is 50 feet away. Somehow, my first cast is perfect, but i miss the take. Second cast and i miss again. Cast #5 into the abyss... Jackpot!



Good Luck WB...
and everyone else fishing tomorrow!!!

[wildbrookies]

First of all ,I gotta apologize to Sero for making it sound like you had a slow day.It actually was far from it,upon reading the story over.That freight train you had on lastly ,must`ve raised the ol`heart rate.I have`nt had a trout take that much line in quite sometime.Good for ya.!!!!! the descriptions of last nights episode streamside were really awesome.I could actually put myself in the scene as you were describing it.With the mist and the sliver of moon.Real eery!!But thats the way the trout like it.Now, your hooking trout on the dryfly blind.!!!Whats next,telepathic flyfishing?? ....ummm...maybe the flyrod became part of your arm now and you can detect every slight hit.

Well, I took the lack of sleep and was on my brothers hotspot at 6am like I said.Its a one hour drive so,after getting home from work and to bed by 1pm and up at 4:30am ,I must`ve been on a mission.Totally driven to get there.

The water sounded louder than usual from the bridge.And after further review it had a discolored look to it.Uh Ohh,it figures,I hurry all the way here and the river is up too much.They must`ve got alot of rain here.Woods were still soaked and the hike all the way up to my brothers cascading hole was sweaty and buggy.I stopped and scanned the surface.Nothing ,which I was`nt surprised.I said,oh well,start dredging.After about 30 minutes,I just could`nt get a hit on buggers and soft-hackled droppers.I started to feel alittle dumbfounded.Last time I was here,they were slamming my every cast.Looks like my work out this time.I switched differant flies trying to find the correct combo.Nothing.Added some small splitshot.Nothing...
Maybe they can`t see it in all this murkiness..I could barely see the rocks at my feet ,but this deep run is about 8-10 ft deep.Visibility is maybe 2 feet.O.k.,I`ll make a thousand casts and they should see the fly at least once.Nothing.I then thought,there is one more big cascading run just upstream,its worth a try.So, I climbed the rocky cliffy sides of the gorge up to the next hole.I got in position to cast.And after a few drifts ,I knew they might see my offering better here.Like a third sense I started feeling positive and sure enough a drift alongside the wall got tugged down hard,I lifted carefully and was into a heavy fish.It took me up and down the cascade with that really pissed off fight they have.I finally slid my net under the 17" brownie!!!! Harray!!!.My day was perfect now....
The time was still alittle early at 7:15am...
I made a dozen more casts and hooked a 14" rainbow that went airborne!.Wow, Ithought what a day!Wish my brother could be here.
I took 3 more trout.Two browns,one inwhich was pushing the 18-19" range.And another rainbow that was the smallest at 12".I left the hole to see if the earlier hole woke up.Bad mistake.Should`ve stayed put.Anyway,it was getting late ,the time was flying when the action started.It was almost 9am and the heat and humidity was cooking me inside out.I fished all the likely holding spots all the way back to the bridge.Finished at 10:45am.I felt like I hiked through the rainforests of Africa.I was drenched from head to toe just from sweat.Kinda like a par-boiled polish sausage!!!!!. But, it was well worth it.Thank the trout Gods for tipping their scales on my behalf today.My brother wished me luck before he left yesterday,I was hoping for just some water to be in the river and I think I got too much now.

Sero, after reading your post today,I must`ve been reading your thoughts for me today.I took 4 out the 5 trout on the soft-hackled dropper.It actually was a pheasant tail soft hackle wet size#10.The biggest brown slammed the peacock bodied bugger.

Its funny,the water was 69 F ,and those trout fought harder than trout in colder water.Maybe all the aeration from the tumbling falls is adding alot of useful D.O(dissolved oxygen ).Incidentally, as I was untangling a tandem fly mess,I glanced over at the bottom of the smaller falls and a huge brown leaped up towards the top of the falls. It had to be in the 20" range!!!!!
That was so awesome....It almost made it but fell short by about a foot.

Saw one caddis fly by and one small trout rise for something I could`nt see.No surface activity as usual.Thanks for the dredging tip today,Sero.Its actually our bread `n butter technique anyway.

Hope all you guys/gals did well today also. Try to keep cool.

WB

WB

[serotonin]

Wow! WB. Sounds Amazing! I'm glad it all worked out for you. :headbang:
The beginning of your story had me worried. Sounds like you toughed it out and made your own luck! :headbang: Gotta love those leaping trout!


BTW, no need for the apology.

Now, your hooking trout on the dryfly blind.!!!Whats next,telepathic flyfishing?? ....ummm...maybe the flyrod became part of your arm now and you can detect every slight hit.

Not exactly. I was actually able to see the subtle splashes from that riser. The background reflection was just right, and i simply set the hook when i saw a little white. What amazed me was that i was able to get the distance right, and drift it thru his lane drag-free. That trout did wonders for my confidence, although it was mostly luck.
Maybe that JP Ross rod is a dowser's wand for trout.

I'm gonna need all the luck and confidence i can get tonight. I'm goin' to hit the evening hatch w/two of the local legends. This may turn into a serious night-fishing session, w/only a sliver of moon. We are all armed w/huge mouse patterns, just in case. Zero X leaders!
No... we're not going for taimen.
I wonder if that mist will show up again... We'll see what happens... Don't wanna jinx it. Thunderstorms might make it nasty...

*

Hey WB,
Did you take any photos...?

[adkmountainken]

man, i love to hear great fly fishing adventures!! drys at night, god bless ya!!!! use the force Luuuke!!! glad i found this site with so many at share the same passion as i do for trout on the fly. you guys HAVE TO TAKE SOME PIC'S!!!!!! i want to see the ares you fish and the beautifull trout they hold. good luck and tight lines all.
Ken

[wildbrookies]

Sero,
Yes, I took alot of pics today,but they are on my regular 35.My daughter took my digital to N.Y.C. today.I`ll have to use up the roll ASAP ansd scan them on.

Ya know whats really weird?I brought my net.Whenever ,I bring my net.I don`t even see a trout that day.... .....Marzrw usually provides the honors.

Its funny how while on the stream or woods ,things are not happening ,then.....out of some strange part of the brain ,a thought comes to mind,.. then... it is pondered and played w/then weighed and then ,you just do it!!...This happens alot while I`m out and about.I really can`t explain it .Its just kind of going w/the flow.Alot of trial error somedays,but,its all part of the puzzle of being the pursuer.

I hope the players perform tonite for you gents!....And....the stage is set as close to last nites as possible.Maybe ,mother nature will throw in the "mist" for you.I wish you a great time tonite.Have fun!!!And be sure to report to us!!! :headbang:

WB

[serotonin]

Thanks WB.

I know what you mean about that 'flow'.
Sometimes we don't know what to do...
and sometimes we do 'exactly' what needs to be done.

...being a part of new Situations as they are Created...

:headbang:

*

BTW, don't bother scanning those photos yourself.
Get a disc made (direct scan from negs) at the time of developing.
Usually about $2.50.