Sunday, April 29, 2012

Trout Chasing The River Damsel? ~ Sunday Tippets, Damsel Style

It is true.  No lie.  Trout were chasing the River Damsel yesterday.  Every pool, every run, every riffle...there they were!  Lying in wait until they met eye to eye with the River Damsel's brown stonefly.  Then, chasing that fly and grabbing it like there was no tomorrow! It was definitely a "Troutrageous" kind of day.  The trout were after it...or after me, it seemed!   Last week, I wrote about setting your hook like you mean it.  Well, I set it that hook and meant it.  Only a few were lost, with most netted.  In fact...over 40 fish between two anglers doesn't sound too bad, does it?  = )

Yes...A pretty epic day, alright.  And what was funny was that I have wanted to fish this part of the river for awhile now.  But, last year, it was always high and murky every time I stopped by last summer.  But, last year we had an incredible run off.  And yesterday, it was a bit high and fast, but, I felt that some big trout were in there waiting for me.  Call it ESP, Inspiration, A Hunch.  My friend that came along, looked at it and said, "I don't know, it is pretty murky!"  But, I wasn't ready to turn around so fast this time...I just had that feeling.


An hour later, we were catching trout after trout.  We decided that the stonefly would be the fly of the day and it was!  Big time.  In fact, my buddy caught so many trout on his brown stone that it looked pretty weathered.  Then, at the end of the day...he finally had to give it up to the river gods...Bummer.  He was going to mount it on his hat at the end of the day.  Oh well.  Yes, the sun was shining upon us all day long.  And the trout were chasing us...instead of the other way around!  A nice change...

Everywhere I went, there was a trout around the corner.  I can truly say that I know the feeling of viewing firsthand, "Fish In A Barrel"!  Yes, Quill Gordon, I let my hair down and didn't have a care in the world.  I don't know if it can be repeated, or when it will be repeated...wait a minute!  Of course it is going to be repeated!!!  Where is my positive mental attitude???  = ) 

Some fish were of the smaller variety...

Some fish were "teenagers"...

A few "young adults" in the group...

 Even a "Whitefish" was thrown in the mix...

All in all, it was a very good day...two anglers netting over 40 trout...

Because we had the magic...two fly patterns that could do no wrong.
The trusted brown stone fly and the sow bug with flashabou.

Love my Mr. Brown Spots


Ok...So here is my "Tippet" for the day... One "Tippet" from me and hopefully some "Tippets" from my readers.  First...my productive day was because I finally fixed the problem of my fish breaking off.  I have gone to heavier leader and tippet when nymphing.  But, still they would come within a few feet and run.  Looks like RD learned a valuable lesson from my friend who came with.  Something that I learned a long time ago and forgot, I guess.  But, you have to keep that arm up the whole time that you are reeling in that trout!  Rod handle above the armpit!!   It seems that I have a bad habit of lowering my arm towards the end...thus, giving it a little bit of slack.  Problem Fixed.  Yay!
Now...for you out there that know your bugs a lot more than I do.  Here is the scenerio...
  I would say that 3/4 of our catches were on the stone fly.  The other 1/4 were on the sow with flashabou.  The fish were pounding the brown stone flies when they were trailed with the sow.  It was murky water, so we figured that the bright flash helped the trout see their dinner.  But, when we took the sow off...the stone fly was not touched.  Question:  If they liked the stone fly so much...why couldn't you mix it with anything else that had a bright color and still work?  Nope, only when it was paired up with the sow.
Any thoughts on this?



14 comments:

  1. Days like that only lead to more questions in the end - after the dust settles. There are so many more variables that are added into the equation when fishing two flies. It's a good idea to take notes at the end of the day, or write about them in your blog so you can go back and compare notes! At least that's what I try and do.

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  2. Wowsa. Truly one of those epic days. Most certainly there will be more 2 fly many fish excursions. Thanks for the post and great photos.

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  3. Okay, I will keep my arm up high while I am reeling the fish in (IF I get to reel a fish in!) The two of you caught 40 in one day?! That's insane! Loved reading your post, by the way. Great pictures!

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  4. Brian ~ It's amazing that such an epic day on the river can only bring more questions! And I thought you were going to help me out with an answer!! = ) The journey continues...

    RR ~ I rarely use one fly at the end of my tippet. I have always felt that two flies...double the chances! Thanks for dropping by...


    Kim ~ Yep, don't let that elbow dip...otherwise, there will be enough slack in the line for the fish to wiggle off. And there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a beautiful trout three feet away break off.

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  5. RD
    Fantastic outing--only some of us can even dream of a trip like that-was you using an indicator or tight lining? Was there a hatch like the two patterns you were using, I am thinking the trout were keying in on whatever the hatch was at that particular time of day---just a guess. There were some really nice browns in the mix. Thanks for sharing a great trip!

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  6. Bill ~ This was all nymphing with an indicator...although, it was perfect water for Czech nymphing. But, I thought that I would give my indicator a little practice and well..it was on the money! Thanks, my friend.

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  7. My guess would be what Bill said, The fish seemed to be keying on whatever the dropper was. Nice post and glad you had a successful trip.

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  8. Thanks, Howard. Yes, for now we will have to go with the sow being the key player, I guess. I better go pick up a few more of them!

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  9. Attaway! Let me know when you quit your job and start guiding! :)

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  10. "Call it ESP, Inspiration, A Hunch"

    This is the key element!

    Congrats on a stellar day!

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  11. Owl...You make me laugh! Yeah, that is exactly what this is all leading up to!!! Lol.

    Nick ~ We keyed in on those magic words and came up with an incredible day...can't wait to see what the storm blows in tomorrow. Can I get the "20" that I missed by a margin Sat??? = )

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  12. Just wanted to pass along a big THANK YOU for your patience while your friend helped me set up my rig. Your kindness and patience are extraordinary. I am elated to hear you two had a great day...I can't say the same but just beginning and loving every minute of it!!!

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  13. Here's to letting your hair down! Ain't it funny how you can get them dialed in like that and have a banner day, only to come back to the same stretch of water later and get zilch? Keeps us modest, I guess.

    Thanks for sharing a great day.

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  14. Anonymous ~ You, my friend...gave us the "karma" for the day. It's always a good thing to help out another angler. We would love to fish sometime with you...just throw me an email up above. Thanks for stopping by!

    Quill ~ I did catch a few browns the next day, but nothing like Saturday's lineup. Fly fishing is a funny thing...

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