white water report 7/7

hey all,

i fished 3 branches of white water today (monday). started at around 7:30am and ended about 3:00pm. i’d rate the fishing to be fair-good.

the key to cathing fish was to find some water that wasn’t crystal clear . the early morning rains seemed to help a bit. the north and middle branches were the best producers, with the south branch being too clear.

GOLD spinners and/or streamers worked best today with only a few fish coming off the nymphs and rapala’s i tried. the number of fish we saw compared the number of fish we caught was somewhat rediculous. on the spinners, only about 20% of the fish that would hit would get hooked . the streamers seemed to have a better hooking precentage, but still not great.

we found most of the fish to be holding in the faster water and ripples. the slow water produced NOTHING! we also found that we caught more fish when it was cloudy than when the sun was out.

at days end we probably caught and realsed around 30 fish. the size of the fish was running pretty good today with quite a few 11-12″ and 2 nice rainbows around 14″.

the weeds are high and the nettles sting, but the fish are biting, so get out and do some fishing .

Something to consider the next time you’re out, especially this time of year. If you run into clear water, shy away from streamers. They produce best when the water is a bit off color, early morning, late evening, or when water temperatures are conducive to trout actually pursuing and striking their prey. Take the dead of winter or the dog days of summer. They have one commonality and that is that if you fish trout with streamers either time, it can be a very hit or miss proposition due to water temperatures. You wouldn’t sprint 100 yards for a gum drop, especially if you’re life depended upon it. you wouldn’t live very long. Think of trout as the same way. They need to feed constantly, but they too have their limitations as to how far they will go for a meal.

Those fish move to the heads of the riffles for oxygen, cover, and food. It doesn’t surpsise me that you had little success in the slower water.

Think about using terrestrial patterns this time of year. Beetles and ants (hoppers shortly) have been taking fish for quite a few weeks with consistency. If you don’t believe me, read some of the testimonials at my home page’s message board (http://ontheflyguiding.com).

Regards,
D.A.

thanks for the advice D.A., i’ll keep that in mind

actually, i very rarely use streamers anytime. the reason i tried them today was because i wasn’t getting a whole lot of action on my pheasant tail nymph, but my friend was getting a lot of strikes and follows on his spinner. i thought a streamer might provide the fish a better opportunity to get the bait in their mouths .

The great thing about streamer action is that there is usually action associated with using them. The PT is a great staple to any fly box. I’d just make sure I was using something fairly small this time of year. #16 would be the largest I’d use – and I’d make sure the wing case was some shiny pearlescent krystal flash. Otherwise, I have great luck with a #16 beadhead PT, or smaller #18 PT’s this time of year, and of course, beetle paterns like the Black Wet Fly. http://ontheflyguiding.com/images/Fly_Pattern_Pages/black_wet_fly.htm

-D.A.