Posts
Uh, yeah... that's today. So you better get on that and gather up all your photos of the youngans kicking ass on the water and get them in before it's too late. (Tomorrow)
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Check it out.
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Stuff I am late posting from around the blog-o-sphere that you have probably seen elsewhere but I feel the need to post anyways with a stupidly super huge title
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"The Fishy Kid Three Months of Summer contest is ending on August 31st"
Uh, yeah... that's today. So you better get on that and gather up all your photos of the youngans kicking ass on the water and get them in before it's too late. (Tomorrow)
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Aaron Otto has put together another mag, and this one is for the kids.
Check it out.
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BloodKnot isssue #2. LMB, stripers, panfish, pike, sharks, carp, smallies... oh my.
Uh, yeah... that's today. So you better get on that and gather up all your photos of the youngans kicking ass on the water and get them in before it's too late. (Tomorrow)
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Check it out.
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August Report
Trout fishing in August was typically tough with very low water levels for most of the month and little fly on the water. On the few days that trout were seen rising, anglers did well with small stonefly imitations and the usual favourites, the Klinkhamer and Parachute Adams. Most fish however were taken on goldhead nymphs in sizes 14 to 16 or on wet flies fished in the streamy runs and riffles. The month total was 263 wild brown trout. Most of the trout landed were in the six to eight inch size, with a dozen or so fish of 10 to 12 inches. James Palmer had a great day on the Lyd, landing 22 small brownies at the start of the month and several other anglers had double-figure days.
64 sea trout were landed in August, nearly all at night. While reports of large numbers of peal entering the system provided optimism, there were no shoals of fish seen at Lifton. Instead, small pockets of fresh school peal were scattered on the Lyd and anglers worked hard to locate them. Unsettled conditions meant that night fishers tried varying tactics and several fish were caught on two-inch lures fished deep, as well as the usual size 8 to 10 wet flies commonly used in August. The best fish was one of 3lb caught and released by Peter Radford on beat 3 on a 2 1/2inch WMD Stinger. As we write, sea trout fishing has picked up despite the cold weather, with Alex Prentice catching his first two night sea trout within 10 minutes of starting. Well done Alex!
Only two salmon were caught at the Arundell Arms in August – a reflection of very low water levels and therefore low fishing pressure. Mr Impey landed a bright silver fish of 5lb 12oz on a Rapala at Lydfoot on the Tamar, and at the end of the month, Ben Garnett returned a grilse estimated at 3 1/2lb and lost a larger fish at the net, both on a size four Mepps. Ben’s fish came as the river fell and cleared after the first decent spate of the summer. As we write this, the river is once again low and little rain is on the cards. Sea trout fishermen will brave cooler nights and venture out throughout September, although the vast majority of fish will be returned.
64 sea trout were landed in August, nearly all at night. While reports of large numbers of peal entering the system provided optimism, there were no shoals of fish seen at Lifton. Instead, small pockets of fresh school peal were scattered on the Lyd and anglers worked hard to locate them. Unsettled conditions meant that night fishers tried varying tactics and several fish were caught on two-inch lures fished deep, as well as the usual size 8 to 10 wet flies commonly used in August. The best fish was one of 3lb caught and released by Peter Radford on beat 3 on a 2 1/2inch WMD Stinger. As we write, sea trout fishing has picked up despite the cold weather, with Alex Prentice catching his first two night sea trout within 10 minutes of starting. Well done Alex!
Only two salmon were caught at the Arundell Arms in August – a reflection of very low water levels and therefore low fishing pressure. Mr Impey landed a bright silver fish of 5lb 12oz on a Rapala at Lydfoot on the Tamar, and at the end of the month, Ben Garnett returned a grilse estimated at 3 1/2lb and lost a larger fish at the net, both on a size four Mepps. Ben’s fish came as the river fell and cleared after the first decent spate of the summer. As we write this, the river is once again low and little rain is on the cards. Sea trout fishermen will brave cooler nights and venture out throughout September, although the vast majority of fish will be returned.
light the fuse and toss that bitch in!
Like a Elk in rut, the bass fly fisherman eyes go bloodshot as he pisses all over himself at the thought of the LMB quarter-stick-of-dynamite-in-the-school-toilet explosion. It's enough to give even the part-time fisherman a semi, and it is all the more sweet victory when the water level is too low to launch your bass tracker, you suckers.
The last tie Mr. Leed and I were out, I ninja'd a big bastard dragon fly out of the air with my 10wt (actually it was Leeds rod, but you probably don't care) for a closer inspection. The bass seem to have a hard-on for these things on occasion, so I figured I should tie a couple. I have yet to find the perfect wing material, so I guess Swiss straw will have to do for now.
For the abdomen I took to thin strips of 2mm foam and glued them together with a piece of 40lb mono between them, leaving enough sticking out to tie on the hook. Then I made the segments by wrapping with white thread. I colored it with a sharpie, and then coated it in 5-min nail glue. It was a little work, but you can bet that bitch ain't coming off or breaking apart if Mr. Bass decides to partake.
-Alex covered in urine with bloodshot eyes who has a test-and-tune scheduled for Monday.
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| I like foam. |
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| This frog has a very dirty name. In Latin I believe it roughly translates to the 'puniceus sperma inflatio'. |
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| Gatta throw some deer hair bugs, too. |
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| Trimming the deer hair with a razor and not accidentally cutting the wings off is ideal. |
The last tie Mr. Leed and I were out, I ninja'd a big bastard dragon fly out of the air with my 10wt (actually it was Leeds rod, but you probably don't care) for a closer inspection. The bass seem to have a hard-on for these things on occasion, so I figured I should tie a couple. I have yet to find the perfect wing material, so I guess Swiss straw will have to do for now.
For the abdomen I took to thin strips of 2mm foam and glued them together with a piece of 40lb mono between them, leaving enough sticking out to tie on the hook. Then I made the segments by wrapping with white thread. I colored it with a sharpie, and then coated it in 5-min nail glue. It was a little work, but you can bet that bitch ain't coming off or breaking apart if Mr. Bass decides to partake.
-Alex covered in urine with bloodshot eyes who has a test-and-tune scheduled for Monday.
Glacier Creek, CO Trout Grand Slam
"Grand Slam" is four trout species in one day. Today I caught cutthrout, rainbows, browns and brook trout plus one cut-bow and all from one creek. A great day fishing.
Glacier creek is in Rocky Mountain National Park. My guide for the day was Frank Drummond, out of Estes Park Anglers. Frank also hand-crafts bamboo rods, local unique flies and can be reached by email at frank@brushcreekcane.com and phone at 303-810-4538. Also visit Frank at his web site www.brushcreekcane.com.
Method and flies: Several Dry flies including Royal Trude #14, Parachute Adams #16, PMD #16 worked well. A couple fish were taken on a dropper described as a "Frank's Special" #16.
Comments: We fished the creek about two miles up from Glacier Basin Campground. The creek is small and mostly pocket water fishing. I used a 3 wt 8.5' rod, but should have used a 7'. The creek required near surgical casting techniques to very difficult locations of very small holding areas. Without Frank pointing out these little holding areas I would have passed them by. I learned several new techniques that will aid this seasoned fisherman. Everyday fishing is a good day, but four species and one sub-species in one day from one creek is indeed special. Thank you Frank!
Fish Cake
If you live in Middle Tennessee and you want to fly fish for trout you have two choices. You can go to the Caney Fork River or you can mow the yard. If the Caney is screwed up you might as well troll an olive wooly bugger behind your riding lawnmower and for the last year the Caney has been screwed up. I have had the good fortune to fish with Miles Warfield who knows the river so well that he ties flies for the day. Miles knows the hatch concentrates on the drift and presents the fly in a way that no self respecting trout could resist. When no one else on the river is having any luck, Miles is catching fish. For the last year even Miles hasn’t caught fish.
First there is the dam. It’s failing or so the Corp of Engineers is warning. The contract has been let to fix it and they are making good progress and in just six years the repairs should be finished. Add a very wet fall and winter. Because of the repairs the water level for Center Hill Lake is kept artificially low and when it rains they let lots of water through the generators. The water is murky and as the recent run off is warmer, that raises the temperature of the tail waters coming through the generators. Then there was the flood in early May. Though the Caney Fork watershed did not get the 15 inches of rain that Nashville got in 36 hours, the rain that did fall pushed the Caney Fork to levels I’ve never seen. When the generation schedule finally settled down fishing that was poor just got worse. The old hands at the fly shop said it would be years before the river returned to its normal trout producing self. Miles got so disgusted he moved to Mississippi to be a research fisheries biologist. MISSISSIPI. They don’t even have trout in the meat section of the grocery store. Carp yes, trout no. Below is a picture of the only way I get to see trout. And Miles’ Aunt Betty made that possible. That is until last Friday evening.
They have been restocking the river and some of the trout that weren’t washed down to New Orleans have returned. I got in the river about 5 in the afternoon at the boat ramp just below the dam. The fog was already beginning to form on the surface, there was no wind and best yet almost no one there. Within two hours I had released over 15 rainbows, 1 brown, 1 brook and 2 shad. Shad count, don’t they? All were caught on black zebra midge. The fish were mostly recently stocked but a few were more mature and one topped 14 inches. So the Caney is back, but don’t tell anyone.
Great Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing Report **August 26, 2010**
Sean M McKay
River Report
Whitey and Dave with a Bow River Rainbow
Fishing has been good on all the rivers we operate on,and we are finally starting to get some decent hopper fishing, not for a lack of hoppers but due to warmer weather.
Depending on the river we are seeing hatches of Tricos , Caddis ,Flavs and PMD's .Terrestrial fishing on the Cutthroat streams of the East Kootenay's has also been decent .
As we head into September anglers can expect to see October Caddis ,B.W.O."S Red Quills and Slate Wing Drakes .The fishing is going be awesome !.
What the well dressed angler is wearing this year
Ditch your old school headgear in favor of a fishing hat equally suitable for either the 21st century or medieval fly angler. $7.20 from DealExtreme
Now I'm a stripper. And Mom, you should be proud.
One visit to the Smith River in White Sulphur Springs, MT, and now I'm a stripper. Sure, I've kind of been a stripper all of my fishing life, but I've always stripped slowly. You know, to bring in line before a re-cast, or drag a dropper or make a dry fly strategically become nymphy. My first experience as a fast stripper was in Patagonia last winter when huge black streamers brought big rainbows out from the banks of the Rivadavia. I got another chance recently with the fine folks at Bar Z Riverside Ranch in White Sulphur Springs, where we shot an episode of Trout TV.
Bar Z owns an amazing eight miles of brown trout and brookie water that winds through their cattle-and-hay fields. The ranch has been in the family since 1881, and has been a working cattle ranch for 100 years. Dave Hanson, the youngest generation, took over the fishing part of the business in 1997 and has grown the outfit to attract guests from around the globe.
On my first day at Bar Z, we hay-whacked to the narrow river's ox-bows and side-armed upstream out over the bank to plunk streamers an inch off the bank. Our amazing guides Dave and Jared had me stripping as fast as I could downstream. They also taught me how to properly splash the streamer instead of place it quietly. That jolted the fish into action, and they bolted from their shadowy banks to crush the steamers as they flew by.
I loved fishing with Dave and Jared because they truly love fishing. Jared kept jumping up and down every time I casted. He was just so excited for what might come out from the bank! At one point, I forced him to take the rod and get a couple whips in. Ummmm....yeah. He totally landed THE ONE on the first cast. Typical luck for me. So, check out the fish that I handed to Jared on a silver platter.
All-in-all, it was an excellent trip, and one I plan to do again, very soon. And I encourage everyone else to check out Bar Z's website and book a few days. Oh, be sure to bring bug spray. There are so many mosquitoes out there you might want to put on the Deet with a crop duster. But it's not a deal breaker. This place is awesome. I posted some cool underwater video on the facebook page here:
Skating Sedge
Here's a useful sedge imitation for late evenings. Fished dead drift, skated, dry or wet, it is useful pattern. I'll put a version on the River Fly Box Soon:
Hook: Partridge YK12ST #20
Thread: Sheer 14/0 grey
Abdomen: Hare's mask
Lower wing: CDC
Upper Wing: Raffine / Swiss straw
Thorax: Hare's mask
~Dave
Hook: Partridge YK12ST #20
Thread: Sheer 14/0 grey
Abdomen: Hare's mask
Lower wing: CDC
Upper Wing: Raffine / Swiss straw
Thorax: Hare's mask
~Dave
Found in the Urban Wild: S.Jersey's Best Dry Rub Ribs
Lumpy's BBQ and Pizza, 1892 Route 70 E Cherry Hill, NJ.
An unlikely find between the Cash for Gold store and the Mathnasium. Located about twelve miles from the Land of the Cheese Steaks, Lumpy's has some of the best hickory smoked, dry rub ribs we have feasted on in some time (read as since moving North of the Mason Dixon). The pulled pork was decent as well. I asked the chef why they bother with pizza and he said it was because the ovens came with the place.
We neglected the urge to sell our gold for cash or do any mental gymnastics...and opted instead for a to go order of ribs.
Rivers Update
The rivers are all currently unfishable due to a much welcome spate. Once they fine down over the next couple of days we will hopefully see our first serious chance of decent salmon fishing... watch this space!
Trout fishing has been patchy, with (up to now) low water conditions and dour fish making life tricky. With some extra water and cooler temperatures, things should improve. Sea trout fishing will be restricted to day time fishing until the water drops and clears, although the spate should bring with it large numbers of fish.
To keep an eye on river levels, don't forget the FishPal website:
Tamar River Levels
Trout fishing has been patchy, with (up to now) low water conditions and dour fish making life tricky. With some extra water and cooler temperatures, things should improve. Sea trout fishing will be restricted to day time fishing until the water drops and clears, although the spate should bring with it large numbers of fish.
To keep an eye on river levels, don't forget the FishPal website:
Tamar River Levels
Death by Gluttony
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| Lake Baccarac, Mexico |
2) Big bastard bass chokes on tilapia and floats to surface.
3) Tilapia splashes around alerting Mike and friends.
4) Mike and friends release tilapia and eat bass.
The end.
Big Thompson River, CO Fly Fishing Report
Fished the Big Thompson about a mile below Estes Lake. From the Lake down stream to Drake is catch and release only. As the morning wore on the river got crowded with weekend visitors, which made finding "fresh water" difficult and about noon the down canyon winds made casting difficult.
Method: dry-dropper with #14 yellow stimulator and #18 PMD and two fly nymph with #14 Pheasant Tail and #18 PMD emerger, using 6x tippet. The PMD worked in both methods.
Results: 4 browns up to 12" and one rainbow of 13" and of course the usual few hooked, played and lost fish.
Comments: We are staying in Spruce Lake RV and campground which is family friendly. There are many family activities in Estes Park. Within walking distance is Scot's Sporting Goods store. I found everyone at Scot's very friendly, especially Bob Traver who gave specific recommendations on fly selections that actually worked. The store web-site is www.scotssportinggoods.com and the phone number is 970-586-2877.
Dan Wallentine
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Ants!
It's that time of year again. The flying ants are showing and, when they blow onto the water, you can expect some exciting sport with some terrestrial imitations:
Hook: Varivas 2200BL-B #16
Thread: Sheer 14/0, grey
Butt: Pearl tinsel
Body: Spectrablend, black / peacock blend
Thorax: Squirrel
Wing: White CDC
If it sinks (or of you make it sink!) watch the leader for takes:
~Dave
Greedy
'Vaca Frogs with Mr. Leed.... It's almost on:
Yeah.
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| Leed's 10wt of Doom |
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| Greedy |
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| Sexy Bitch |
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| That's a fish |
Yeah.
Spring Creek near Rapid City, SD
Fished Spring Creek below Sheridan Lake in Pennington County near Hill City in the Black Hills from 7:30 AM to noon. Overcast all morning. There is easy access at several locations along the creek.
Flies: #16 green scud 18" below indicator produced four 12" rainbows and #14 Royal Stimulator hooked up and landed two at 10".
As a side note I must have caught 30 or more 2" to 6" small mouth bass, at least that's what they looked like. Obviously the National Forest service is not managing this nice creek for trout.
a little taste of home
"Structure" for the tank... These particular fish recognized it immediately.
-A
-A
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River Update
The rivers remain very low indeed, so salmon fishing is a bit of a non-starter at present. Heavy rain forecast for Thursday this week will hopefully change things so watch this space.
We landed 28 sea trout last week, all at night. The season total (on Arundell beats) stands at 198. Small pods of fresh school fish were encountered throughout the Lyd, with Peter Radford landing the best of the week - a three-pounder - on beat 3 using a slow sink line and a 2.5 inch Stinger fly. During recent cold nights, big flies fished very slowly seem to have done the trick.
Trout fishing is tough as per usual in August, but they are still there to be caught. Few fish are being seen rising, so wets and nymphs are taking most of them. The biggest brown last week was caught at night while sea trout fishing by Roger Selby, a beauty of 14 inches.
Newcomers to fly fishing, Fiona and Mark Napier experienced Tinhay Lake at its best on Saturday. With a strong breeze ruffling the water, the big rainbows came on the feed and they landed grown-on fish of 4lb, 3lb 10oz, 4lb, 6lb and two of 1 1/2lb! All fish were caught on dry Klinkhamers.
We landed 28 sea trout last week, all at night. The season total (on Arundell beats) stands at 198. Small pods of fresh school fish were encountered throughout the Lyd, with Peter Radford landing the best of the week - a three-pounder - on beat 3 using a slow sink line and a 2.5 inch Stinger fly. During recent cold nights, big flies fished very slowly seem to have done the trick.
Trout fishing is tough as per usual in August, but they are still there to be caught. Few fish are being seen rising, so wets and nymphs are taking most of them. The biggest brown last week was caught at night while sea trout fishing by Roger Selby, a beauty of 14 inches.
Newcomers to fly fishing, Fiona and Mark Napier experienced Tinhay Lake at its best on Saturday. With a strong breeze ruffling the water, the big rainbows came on the feed and they landed grown-on fish of 4lb, 3lb 10oz, 4lb, 6lb and two of 1 1/2lb! All fish were caught on dry Klinkhamers.
Found in the Urban Wild: Smithsonian Edition
Some say it was medical quackery but I prefer to think of it as an artifact of bait fishing history?
Found: A Passion for Tarpon: Andy Mill
The postman left something pretty nice on the doorstep of the FlyfishMagazine.com compound this past week, a review copy of Andy Mill's thirty year in the making book, "A Passion for Tarpon." published by Wild River Press, this book is an enormous compendium of man's hunt for big game in warm tropical water. I haven't read it yet (the sheer size will preclude it from going with me on my travels next week) but a thumb through reveals beautiful photography and the promise of some great stories. More later!