Question:

        With the 4 wt. line repaired, a new leader tied up, and an assortment of new flies to try, it was back to the pond this afternoon.  Had to leave work early to get some estimates on windshield repair after a gravel truck "rocked" me Monday evening, leaving a couple nasty chips in the windscreen. Bloody hell.  Got that taken care of (at least the estimating and insurance claim part), and had a few hours left to worry the panfish with my latest offerings.         At the tying bench, I rigged up some mosquito larvae, and three each of partridge and red, partridge and orange, and partridge and yellow soft hackles in #12.  It was supposed to be light wind today, and I suppose by ND standards it was (10-15 mph and a bit gusty).  Enough though to make casting the 4 wt. a bit interesting.         Taking a look at the water as I rigged up, I didn’t see any surface action, even in the sheltered areas.  Did note several "stalkers", hanging about a foot below the surface.  They would slowly rise at intervals, gently taking some tiny stuff on its way to the surface.  Hmmm, could be interesting…         Decided that since it’d been rather cool and cloudy for several days past, perhaps a brighter colour would be in order. Split the difference and tied on a partridge and orange.  A couple casts near a stalker had it charge the soft hackle and I brought the first fish to hand.  Promising start.         The fish were holding along a shade line about 25-30 ft. out. Delicate and accurate casting required, lest one put them down. The 4 wt. really shone here, even with having to deal with the wind.  Of course, I *did* manage to put them down on more than one occasion, but left to their own devices for 5 minutes or so, they’d take up station again.         This was quite a fascinating exercise — casting to these stalking fish.  If I dropped the fly within about 3-4" of their nose, they’d usually make a grab for it.  If it was closer than that, it’d spook the fish, and it’d go down.  Much further than 5" from their nose, and they’d be disinclined to chase it, often as not. Dragging the fly through the strike zone would induce some fish to strike and others to follow.  Some would follow for a considerable distance, say 10-15′+ before they either decided it looked good enough to eat (the less frequent case), or that it was something "fishy", and break off persuit.  Never could tell what would happen.         At least one fish came off his stalking station some three feet to whack the P&O with authority.  Others needed several casts more or less in front of their nose before they would either go down or give the fly a taste test.  Very visual fishing, and great fun!         Had one crappie take the P&O as well, and got him in close before he executed an LDR.  I worked the stalkers for quite a while before they finally went down to stay, and I moved to another part of the pond.         Here, I found cruisers working quite close to shore along with the suspending stalkers.  Flipped into a shade edge near where some of the stalkers were working, and got thumped, followed by a more vigorous than usual pull.  Most of the bluegill I’d been getting had been in the 7-8" range, with a few around 9", but this fish pulled like a freight train, relatively speaking.  Fought this fish for a couple minutes before bringing him up.  A real bull bluegill, measuring an honest 11", and biggest I’ve seen out of the pond!  Indeed, one of the larger ones I’ve *ever* taken on *any* tackle, let alone on a fly rod.         That was really neat, but what followed was even better. I noticed a rainbow cruising in the shade near the shoreline, and made a cast to it.  Haven’t had any great luck on the stocked rainbows, but this was about to change…  My cast went a bit beyond him, and off to one side.  Starting a slow retrieve, I could see him change direction and make a bee-line toward the fly. This is usually where they come up on it, and go "pbbbbtttt" at me.  Not this time!  He came right up to the fly, and in a whink the fly was gone.  Set the hook, and had the little beggar on the line!  He put on a good show with two nice jumps before I finally brought him to hand.  The tape said 11 3/4", and I was doing a happy dance for *finally* outwitting one of those finicky rainbows.  Deep intense green over the back, and nice colour on the sides to boot.  Very pretty fish.  On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly what one would call fat.  Looked more like an oversized, colourful smelt, save for the typical salmonid head. Suspect the forage base in the pond, which is near 100% insect life from what I’ve been able to observe, isn’t sufficient to fatten them up.         Had another rainbow follow the P&O and take a nip at it, but didn’t hook him up.  Went back to working bluegill, and wound up with a good number more brought to hand before I finally called it a day.  Quit counting bluegill after 50 fish caught and released, but would guess the total for the three hour session at 65-75 fish.  All on the same P&O soft hackle, which now is pretty well shredded, needless to say.         The trout was a nice bonus, after more than a few frustrating attempts and a couple near misses trying to bring one to hand. Been quite a while since I’ve caught trout while actually fishing for them.  The last  time I did was quite memorable.  One of my younger brothers and a friend of his wanted me to show them how to flyfish.  We went up to a trout lake, launched the boat, and messed around with spoons and such for some of the other species in the lake with no luck.  Brother starts to get on my case about fly fishing.  I rigged up the 7 wt., tied on a bead head GRHE, looked for a likely spot to make a cast, and launched my line.  Strip…  strip… strip.. *wham*, fish on!  After a brief fight, brought a nice, fat 15" rainbow to hand.  Unhooked the fish, put it in the livewell for a well-deserved trout dinner, unstrung and cased my rod, turned to brother and said "that, dear brother, is how you fly fish.".  I *did* work with him and his friend on casting, etc., but they didn’t catch cold, let alone any fish, and he lost interest in flyfishing shortly thereafter.  Indeed, he pretty well lost interest in fishing period, and took up golf instead.  Oh well, I tried! Todd

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assortment of new flies to try, it was back to the pond this afternoon.

Thanks for another great pond trip report. i sure am enjoying your shareing your series of adventures at the pond. Big Dale

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Question:

Don’t really have any trout waters near home Willi, so yours was a pleasant read. I was however, standing around and chatting with a few friends today and we are all of the same persuasion. With a much milder than normal winter – usually  a several day stretch of below zero weather and this time not one day of single digits! – we agree it is time to start checking the water temperature. Our general feeling is that when the thermometer reads anything above forty degrees, it’s time to start fishing as the smallmouth start moving to the spawning beds. Not actually on the beds but they begin to leave the winter holes and move in the rivers and begin feeding. It’s fun to have that ‘antsy’ ‘ants in your pants’ feeling ain’t it? john – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I mentioned in an early post that for the first time in about a month and half, I actually saw some trout during a walk. Today is very pleasant and on my way back from picking up some electrical supplies, I stopped at the river and checked it out from the bridge. Standing on the bridge and looking down, I saw a pod of about twenty trout feeding in the pool below. (See pics on ABPF) I decided to take an hour off and do some fishing. I walked downstream to an area that frequently has some free rising fish. As I approached the area, I saw several dimples from rising fish. Although some of the rises were from fish sipping pupa, many of them were fish taking midge adults which is uncommon. The midges were huge, well relatively anyway, about a size twenty. Water levels are still down and the fish were feeding in water that varied from one to three feet in depth. They spread out in a section of river about 150 feet in length and were feeding in several distinct pods. The current is very moderate in most of this area and in the clear water I could see the fish suspended above the bottom at their feeding stations and watch them as they chased a pupa or rose to an adult. Especially when they are feeding in such thin water, the fish here are very spooky. You generally have your best chance at any given fish on the first presentation. Once you get a refusal from a fish, your next drift over it may spook it and put down the whole pod. I tied on a Griffith’s Gnat and crept into position. I started working the first fish, got a refusal on the third cast and moved on to the next one. The next fish I worked took on about the fourth cast. I landed it, slid it onto a shelf of ice that remained in the shady area where I was standing and took a picture. See ABPF The commotion of the fish put down the rest of that pod of fish. I moved upstream to the next group. There appeared to be a better fish feeding along the opposite bank, just upstream from a large boulder. Since I usually can only get one fish from a pod, if that, I decided to target that fish. The cast was across several different current seams and getting a good drift was difficult. A dozen casts later, I got the fly where it needed to be and got the fish, another Rainbow a couple of inches bigger and much fatter. Again the rest of that pod of fish was put down. I had time to hit one more area. There was a single fish feeding in the head of this run. The fish feeding in this area are usually much easier. The faster current gives them less time to survey your fly and broken surface makes your errors less noticeable. Several casts later, I finally got a good drift and hooked the fish. It was another Rainbow about the size of the first, around 15/16 inches. Time to go home and do some electric repairs. I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start. Willi

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start. How is the snowpack in the upper watershed up there?  It is almost scary low down here.  I am certainly hoping that the mild winter that we have had does not translate into another low-water, high-temperature summer. BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there?

I should have been aware of this just from observation, but I haven’t heard anything about it on the news. I just looked it up and the different basins across Colorado range from 45 to 70 percent of normal. This isn’t good, but the next few of months are our wettest months and can make a big difference. Willi

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I tied on a Griffith’s Gnat and crept into position. I started working the first fish, got a refusal on the third cast and moved on to the next one. The next fish I worked took on about the fourth cast. I landed it, slid it onto a shelf of ice that remained in the shady area where I was standing and took a picture. See ABPF

That’s a great fish-on-the-ground photo, Willi. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rainbow in that condition. The ice makes a perfect background. You must have used a digital camera. — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/

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I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start.

How is the snowpack in the upper watershed up there?  It is almost scary low down here.  I am certainly hoping that the mild winter that we have had does not translate into another low-water, high-temperature summer. BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there?  

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BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there?

  It’s looking pretty bleak along the east face of the Bighorns.  Reservoirs are all very low.  I went up again and fished the tail water of the Tongue today. It’s as low as I’ve seen in the 3 years I’ve fished it.  The reservoir is very low.  Looks like it will be another tough year for our small streams. Snoop — —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–==  Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–

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Was it El Nino or El Nina that I saw a blurb of on the news the other day? I get them mixed up.  Anyhow, whatever areas whichever one effects are due for some rain this year……maybe a lot. john – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start. How is the snowpack in the upper watershed up there?  It is almost scary low down here.  I am certainly hoping that the mild winter that we have had does not translate into another low-water, high-temperature summer. BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there? I should have been aware of this just from observation, but I haven’t heard anything about it on the news. I just looked it up and the different basins across Colorado range from 45 to 70 percent of normal. This isn’t good, but the next few of months are our wettest months and can make a big difference. Willi

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BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there?

Unless March and April bring some pleasant surprises, it’s looking like a season that will begin early and end early. The snowpack is so low that there isn’t even enough to ski on (IMHO) at the local resort. Some of the ranges in Colorado seem to be doing better, so I expect I’ll be doing most of my fishing down there after mid-July or thereabouts. If I do a mini clave up here, it will almost definitely be held in early July. I’m hoping a heavy spring snowfall and subsequent runoff will force a several-week postponement, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I won’t be surprised at all to be fishing the high country on Memorial Day this year. — Rusty Hook Laramie, Wyoming

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 How is the snowpack in the upper watershed up there?  It is almost scary low down here.  I am certainly hoping that the mild winter that we have had does not translate into another low-water, high-temperature summer. BTW….to the folks that live in Wyoming….how is it looking up there?  

Hey Chip,  You might know about this site, but here is a link to the Snotel data. ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/snow/update Great place to find snowpack info.  The northern states are certainly doing better than the southern states…. — remove all x’s for reply email. To worry is folly so let us be jolly.

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I mentioned in an early post that for the first time in about a month and half, I actually saw some trout during a walk. Today is very pleasant and on my way back from picking up some electrical supplies, I stopped at the river and checked it out from the bridge. Standing on the bridge and looking down, I saw a pod of about twenty trout feeding in the pool below. (See pics on ABPF)

Glad to hear that you’re out on the home waters. Is this much earlier than usual? IOW, when you say "mild winter" do you mean length of winter or depth (cold temps), or both? Danl who doesn’t even have his ‘02 license yet…Oh the shame!….

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The guy I am after is in a meeting but I have a left a message for him to call me. It may take him a little time to get to me as I’ll be away from home and the lodge for the next week or so. But I will get the answer. I forgot to mention earlier, the reason I compared the fishing as similar to ours was the "one shot" scenario of get it right or spook em. Clark – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sounds like some nice fishing Willi, and the style is somewhat reminiscent of our North Island spring creek fishing by the sounds of things. The river is on the plains instead of in the mountains, so it does have SOME spring creek characteristics. The fish average considerably larger than in the upstream mountain areas but there are far fewer fish. From your descriptions, your rivers have lower populations of fish than our rivers in general but your fish are considerably larger. The only streams or rivers that I know of that have fish that average in size what yours seem to, are short sections of tailwaters that are below reservoirs that have miasis (sp)shrimp in them. I know I asked you this before but have you gotten any more information as to why this would be? It seems to me that you must either have very limitted spawning or the survival of the fry or young fish is low. Willi

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Sounds like some nice fishing Willi, and the style is somewhat reminiscent of our North Island spring creek fishing by the sounds of things.

The river is on the plains instead of in the mountains, so it does have SOME spring creek characteristics. The fish average considerably larger than in the upstream mountain areas but there are far fewer fish. From your descriptions, your rivers have lower populations of fish than our rivers in general but your fish are considerably larger. The only streams or rivers that I know of that have fish that average in size what yours seem to, are short sections of tailwaters that are below reservoirs that have miasis (sp)shrimp in them. I know I asked you this before but have you gotten any more information as to why this would be? It seems to me that you must either have very limitted spawning or the survival of the fry or young fish is low. Willi

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Well that’s the curious part. In short answer as to my research no, I simply haven’t had time. I am just finishing 2 days off and will make a call to a friend in a second and see what answer he gives, he heads up one of our major Fish and Game Councils. However, I will presume that neither your ideas are really accurate. there is abundant spawning habitat and our fish have less predation here that they would in the US. In fact once they reach about 16-18 inches there is little they could predate on them unless they sick or injured. Stay tuned I’ll get on the phone and hopefully return with something of use. Clark – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sounds like some nice fishing Willi, and the style is somewhat reminiscent of our North Island spring creek fishing by the sounds of things. The river is on the plains instead of in the mountains, so it does have SOME spring creek characteristics. The fish average considerably larger than in the upstream mountain areas but there are far fewer fish. From your descriptions, your rivers have lower populations of fish than our rivers in general but your fish are considerably larger. The only streams or rivers that I know of that have fish that average in size what yours seem to, are short sections of tailwaters that are below reservoirs that have miasis (sp)shrimp in them. I know I asked you this before but have you gotten any more information as to why this would be? It seems to me that you must either have very limitted spawning or the survival of the fry or young fish is low. Willi

Response:

Sounds like some nice fishing Willi, and the style is somewhat reminiscent of our North Island spring creek fishing by the sounds of things. Clark – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I mentioned in an early post that for the first time in about a month and half, I actually saw some trout during a walk. Today is very pleasant and on my way back from picking up some electrical supplies, I stopped at the river and checked it out from the bridge. Standing on the bridge and looking down, I saw a pod of about twenty trout feeding in the pool below. (See pics on ABPF) I decided to take an hour off and do some fishing. I walked downstream to an area that frequently has some free rising fish. As I approached the area, I saw several dimples from rising fish. Although some of the rises were from fish sipping pupa, many of them were fish taking midge adults which is uncommon. The midges were huge, well relatively anyway, about a size twenty. Water levels are still down and the fish were feeding in water that varied from one to three feet in depth. They spread out in a section of river about 150 feet in length and were feeding in several distinct pods. The current is very moderate in most of this area and in the clear water I could see the fish suspended above the bottom at their feeding stations and watch them as they chased a pupa or rose to an adult. Especially when they are feeding in such thin water, the fish here are very spooky. You generally have your best chance at any given fish on the first presentation. Once you get a refusal from a fish, your next drift over it may spook it and put down the whole pod. I tied on a Griffith’s Gnat and crept into position. I started working the first fish, got a refusal on the third cast and moved on to the next one. The next fish I worked took on about the fourth cast. I landed it, slid it onto a shelf of ice that remained in the shady area where I was standing and took a picture. See ABPF The commotion of the fish put down the rest of that pod of fish. I moved upstream to the next group. There appeared to be a better fish feeding along the opposite bank, just upstream from a large boulder. Since I usually can only get one fish from a pod, if that, I decided to target that fish. The cast was across several different current seams and getting a good drift was difficult. A dozen casts later, I got the fly where it needed to be and got the fish, another Rainbow a couple of inches bigger and much fatter. Again the rest of that pod of fish was put down. I had time to hit one more area. There was a single fish feeding in the head of this run. The fish feeding in this area are usually much easier. The faster current gives them less time to survey your fly and broken surface makes your errors less noticeable. Several casts later, I finally got a good drift and hooked the fish. It was another Rainbow about the size of the first, around 15/16 inches. Time to go home and do some electric repairs. I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start. Willi

Response:

I mentioned in an early post that for the first time in about a month and half, I actually saw some trout during a walk. Today is very pleasant and on my way back from picking up some electrical supplies, I stopped at the river and checked it out from the bridge. Standing on the bridge and looking down, I saw a pod of about twenty trout feeding in the pool below. (See pics on ABPF) I decided to take an hour off and do some fishing. I walked downstream to an area that frequently has some free rising fish. As I approached the area, I saw several dimples from rising fish. Although some of the rises were from fish sipping pupa, many of them were fish taking midge adults which is uncommon. The midges were huge, well relatively anyway, about a size twenty. Water levels are still down and the fish were feeding in water that varied from one to three feet in depth. They spread out in a section of river about 150 feet in length and were feeding in several distinct pods. The current is very moderate in most of this area and in the clear water I could see the fish suspended above the bottom at their feeding stations and watch them as they chased a pupa or rose to an adult. Especially when they are feeding in such thin water, the fish here are very spooky. You generally have your best chance at any given fish on the first presentation. Once you get a refusal from a fish, your next drift over it may spook it and put down the whole pod. I tied on a Griffith’s Gnat and crept into position. I started working the first fish, got a refusal on the third cast and moved on to the next one. The next fish I worked took on about the fourth cast. I landed it, slid it onto a shelf of ice that remained in the shady area where I was standing and took a picture. See ABPF The commotion of the fish put down the rest of that pod of fish. I moved upstream to the next group. There appeared to be a better fish feeding along the opposite bank, just upstream from a large boulder. Since I usually can only get one fish from a pod, if that, I decided to target that fish. The cast was across several different current seams and getting a good drift was difficult. A dozen casts later, I got the fly where it needed to be and got the fish, another Rainbow a couple of inches bigger and much fatter. Again the rest of that pod of fish was put down. I had time to hit one more area. There was a single fish feeding in the head of this run. The fish feeding in this area are usually much easier. The faster current gives them less time to survey your fly and broken surface makes your errors less noticeable. Several casts later, I finally got a good drift and hooked the fish. It was another Rainbow about the size of the first, around 15/16 inches. Time to go home and do some electric repairs. I was very glad to see the condition of the fish. All were in good shape. We had a mild Winter this year which helps the trout. Early fish after a hard Winter are often very skinny from Winter’s stress. For the next several weeks it will take several days in a row of warm temperatures, like we had recently, to get the fish moving. By mid March, the Olives will start. Willi

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Question:

Petah: and wait till you see my version of the GRW

Carrie Stevens beatcha to it.  She calls it the Green Ghost.  <g Dave

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Petah: and wait till you see my version of the GRW Carrie Stevens beatcha to it.  She calls it the Green Ghost.  <g Dave

ya, OK, no problem being one-upped by Carrie – but that pirate guy – sheesh. and this time, don’t buy out Lakewood’s entire supply of GGs.  Leave some for the guy who knows how to use it  <BSEG Peter Visit The Streamer Page at http://members.home.net/pcharles/streamers/index.html

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Petah: and wait till you see my version of the GRW Carrie Stevens beatcha to it.  She calls it the Green Ghost.  <g ya, OK, no problem being one-upped by Carrie – but that pirate guy – sheesh. and this time, don’t buy out Lakewood’s entire supply of GGs.  Leave some for the guy who knows how to use it  <BSEG

Thanks for thinking of me, Peter, but I tie my own. /daytripper (And leave HWMNBN out of this!

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That’s my home water you’re talking about, Dave. Great to hear you had some good fishing. The Middle Fork from Indian Creek was the pits three or four weeks ago (for the reasons you mentioned), but the tributary fishing was superb. We missed you at the Yellowstone Clave. Despite (or maybe because of) various intolerable provocations and slights, I can’t recall of week when I had more fun. (Or caught a bigger fish Next time. San Juan in January? Meet you at the Kiddie Hole? — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/

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[good time snipped] Dave LaCourse

Sounds like a great time – see you in a few weeks.  BTW, the granddaughter will out fish you too.  :) and wait till you see my version of the GRW. Peter Visit The Streamer Page at http://members.home.net/pcharles/streamers/index.html

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<snipped awesome TR Next year Joanne and I will do Montana, perhaps with our 12 year old grand-daughter.  If we arrive on your doorstep with our 32 foot land yacht, Warren, I expect a cold beer, a big smile, and directions to the nearest trout waters.

I’ll leave a light on a cold one in the fridge for you.  I’ll make sure to leave a trout or two for you too.  I took lessons from Troutmaster Willi during the Clave so don’t expect many fish. . . . — Warren Findley Remove (nospamZZ) to respond via email http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt/

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I’ll leave a light on a cold one in the fridge for you.

                /                and still need more sleep. . . . . . — Warren Findley Remove (nospamZZ) to respond via email http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt/

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I’ll leave a light on a cold one in the fridge for you.                 /                and still need more sleep. . . . . .

Now, Warren, the biggest mistake people make when drinking premium beers (not Bud) is to drink them when they’re too cold. A light on a cold one might be just the thing. — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/

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Now, Warren, the biggest mistake people make when drinking premium beers (not Bud) is to drink them when they’re too cold. A light on a cold one might be just the thing.

Damn mother freakin’ confuser!  It’s out to get me, I swear! — Warren Findley Remove (nospamZZ) to respond via email http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt/

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rw writes: Next time. San Juan in January? Meet you at the Kiddie Hole?

I’m planning on the SJ.  Haven’t told the Chief of Naval Ops yet, but I’m going.  And, you can believe I will not even wade through the Kiddie Hole.  Why anyone would want to catch those pathetic fish is beyond me.  I had planned on the Jellystone Clave, but made the Idaho reservations early.  I would have been out a lot of money if I didn’t follow through. Dave

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In the past I have taken a grandson to Labrador for big brookies and landlocked salmon.  This year we went to Idaho for cutthroats.  I made the reservations before the Western Clave’s dates were set, so I missed it – we were in Idaho the same week. We arrived late Sunday afternoon aboard the owner’s Cesna 206.  Six cylinders, turbo-charged, putting out 310 hp.  Quite the aircraft. Wapiti Meadows Ranch in on Johnson Creek, south of Yellow Pine.  I was surprised to see chinook salmon in the creek.  Lots of them, and  all had been tagged by biologists.  They traveled about 900 miles up-stream, a 3-4 month trip, from the ocean to spawn and then die.  I was told that their numbers have increased over the past few years, so there is hope for the Chinook (King) salmon in this watershed. We fished Johnson Creek (skinny water this time of the year), the East Fork of the South Fork above Johnson Creek, and the East of the South below the confluence of Johnson.  Even though the water was skinny compared to what we are accustomed to, we caught many cutts on dries and nymphs.  When we first fished the East of the South, Brian was into his fifth rainbow or cutt before I had the water figured out.  He was up-stream of me fishing with the guide.  I was amazed to see him using an enormous Royal Wulff – must have been at least a size 10.   Small nymphs worked, but it seemed that the bigger ones worked better.  I caught most of my fish on a large yellow stone fly, but the dreaded Green Rock Worm also took a few, including the biggest of the trip – a cutt about 17 inches.   We were scheduled to fly into the Middle Branch of the Salmon at Indian Creek on Wednesday.  However, a very bad storm hit the area Monday night, dumping several inches of rain on the area. Four miles above Indian Creek is Pistol Creek.  There has been a fire on Pistol Creek for several weeks, so when the rains came they washed the ash into the creek and it was then dumped into the Middle Fork.  The water on Tuesday and Wednesday was a dirty gray.  We flew into the Middle Fork on Thursday after hearing that it was fishable. We walked up-stream about 2 miles to a large pool only to find it un-fishable.  The water was so cloudy that visibility was about two feet.  Downstream of Indian Creek the water was much better and we immediately go into some nice cutts.  My first cutt on this water had such vivid red colors that I thought it was a Rainbow. It was about 14 inches and absolutely beautiful.  The cutts on the other waters we fished had a green back and not much red (except for the "cut throat"), but this fish was brilliant.   After many fish caught and released, we settled into camp and made a "whiteman’s" campfire.  Our guide Andy grilled some steaks and baked some potatoes while I got into the white wine.  I took several pictures of my 16 year old grandson holding a beer can.  His mother has yet to see the pictures! <g.    We stayed up until about 11 p.m. watching the fire and observing the stars.  Life is good

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Trip Reports Soon: It has taken a lot just to get back on the saddle again business wise. Our trip was amazing in so many ways and we have a few pictures to post on our web site soon.  Just digitizing them into the computer takes effort as most know.  It will be a few more days before we are able to post them.  I will keep everyone posted as this is fly fishing at its’ finest. — Mr.Gink "the saga continues"   http://www.gink.com/

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I will keep everyone posted as this is fly fishing at its’ finest.

Actually, that was over at the ROFF clave, sorry you missed it.  But a notch down from the ROFF clave could still have been pretty good. Regards, Jeff

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Trip Reports Soon: Our trip was amazing in so many ways and we have a few pictures to post on our web site soon.

Looking forward to it, I’ve always wanted to see a picture of someone casting a fly while their head was up their ass.

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Is the Gink Conclave anything like the Winston Cup or the Nokia Sugar Bowl? <snip "Goddamn, well I declare! Their walls are built from  cannonballs;  their motto is ‘don’t tread on me’" -Uncle Jerry

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Is the Gink Conclave anything like the Winston Cup or the Nokia Sugar Bowl?

I think it’s something that happens on occasion in public restrooms<g. — Charlie…

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I will be arriving Gatlinburg Aug. 4 in time for an all afternoon class and will be there for the rest of the week. Is anyone else going? Would like to meet to have a few beers etc. I am sure that Marc Pinsel as President and co-founder of The Classic Atlantic Brim Fly Society will call at least one meeting to do serious liver damage at one of the local bars. This is the biggest show of the year for the FFF and if you have never been to one it is something else! They seldom have the big show this far South, so it is a real opportunity for many of us. They are also having a two day long Bamboo Rod Symposium. The one I attended last year in Idaho Falls was very interesting. Big Dale

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Hi Dale, Gretchen and I are leaving today in the motor home. We plan on a slow trip and a little fishing in the process. See you there. Tight Lines – Al Beatty http://www.btsflyfishing.com

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I’ll make the CABFS meetings for sure.  I’ll be setting up the conservation booth on the 4th.  And I’m really looking forward to some of the casting clinics.  If anyone is going up into the park to fish, please post.  We had a great time at the SE conclave last year, some rain, but it was a great time. Dick Whiting – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I will be arriving Gatlinburg Aug. 4 in time for an all afternoon class and will be there for the rest of the week. Is anyone else going? Would like to meet to have a few beers etc. I am sure that Marc Pinsel as President and co-founder of The Classic Atlantic Brim Fly Society will call at least one meeting to do serious liver damage at one of the local bars. This is the biggest show of the year for the FFF and if you have never been to one it is something else! They seldom have the big show this far South, so it is a real opportunity for many of us. They are also having a two day long Bamboo Rod Symposium. The one I attended last year in Idaho Falls was very interesting. Big Dale

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WELL DONE I LAUGHED ALL WAY THROUGH IT

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Have I’ve got a good one for you! I traveled to British Columbia the last week of August to visit family up in Mackenzie. My new brother-in-law (affectionately known as Phlem) is a real die-hard fly fisherman. Me – a die hard bass fisherman (picture a bass boat, 150hp, 10 rods, 400 crankbaits, 500 jigs, 4000 pieces of rubber, and 5 more tackle boxes; all hurtling insanely down the lake at 60+ mph). Anyway, he convinced me that I should try my hand at fly fishing for the first time. So I borrowed my brother

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4K Download

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This page works great on my UNIX based ASCII news reader, it’s beautiful…

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I’ll be in Ashville, NC in mid-October and was looking for some info about fly fishing there.  I am an experienced saltwater angler but this would be my first attempt at fly fishing for trout.  Thanks, Mike Lang Sarasota, FL

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Hunter-Banks is the place in Ashville N.C. they can set you up with everything and give you all the info you will need. Have a good time. Presg

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F I’ll be in Ashville, NC in mid-October and was looking for some info about F fly fishing there.  I am an experienced saltwater angler but this would be Well, 2 of my favorite places to fish near Ashville are Wilson Creek near Elkmont N.C. and in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. In the park I fish all over but enjoy Abrahms Creek because of its beauty, fertility, and the rose stripe on those beautiful rainbows! I will be in the Smokies next weekend!      I am sure there are some great streams nearer to Ashville, but the Ocanaluftee in the park should be less than 3 hours, maybe much less away and Elkmont is about 1.5 hours away.      Trey

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A friend of mine (not online) just passed on to me the strangest dressing for a fly I’ve ever seen called the Regal Eagle. In my 50 years of fly fishing I’ve never seen anything like it: Regal Eagle dressing: Hook: Taokao 3902 (Korean made, apparently great strength in thinness) Size: 10 to 20 Thread: 6/0 black pre-waxed Tail: Pheasant Hackle fibers Body: Olive Chenille ultra thin wound together with peacock herl. Hackle: American Bald Eagle Hackle (taken from behind the neck). I was shocked at the Balk Eagle as I had thought this was a protected bird. Now I am told that some are raised in captivity for the express purpose of fly tying. I am also told that this simple fly REALLY catches fish. Has anyone else heard of it? I also have heard several fly tying catalogs out of Missouri are offering Bald Eagle feathers for sale. –Wal.

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writes: A friend of mine (not online) just passed on to me the strangest dressing for a fly I’ve ever seen called the Regal Eagle. In my 50 years of fly fishing I’ve never seen anything like it:

It sounds to me like this fly was developed to sell bald eagle feathers and catch suckers (and I don’t mean fish:) Ernie Harrison

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The American Bald Eagle is a C.I.T.E.S. class 1 protected species.  Anyone portending to sell or posess these feathers is either a) not selling the real thing or b) playing with fire. A class 1 listing simply means that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to posess/barter/sell any plumage from the bird nor the bird itself, be it alive or dead. There are other Eagle species, however that are Class 2 and Class 3, notably the Golden Eagle, which, by the way, makes the most incredible Spey hackles you’ll ever see! Let’s have a GREAT time, but let’s be careful out there!  :-) ~Spider  <<**

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| In some cases, rainbows have been stocked into rivers. One | example of this is the River Derwent which is a tributary of | the River Tyne here in the NE of England. The Tyne, I should | point out is now a rapidly improving salmon river now that | estuary pollution has been cleared up (!!almost!!). | I thought the Wye in Derbyshire was the only English river with a natural population of rainbows. If the Derwent has them reproducing, i would love to hear more. Of course, most of the chalk-streams have been ruined by overstocking of both rainbows and browns. | | There have, however, been some reports of rainbows being | caught at sea by commercial fishermen but these have been | ignored by the government agencies responsible for overseeing | fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries aka MAFF and | the National Rivers Authority aka NRA) who apparently just | didn’t believe it possible until one had been slapped across | the table. Give me a ring about this, at work — 071-956-1682 — and I willput you through to my frinsd the rural affairs correspondent. It would make a good story if we talked to kthe netsman. | | Yesterday evening I was talking with a local netsman who told | me he had been catching quite a number recently and had just | succeeded in convincing the NRA that they existed. These fish | are, according to this guy, akin to steelheads with a mouth | full of teeth, and are voracious feeders. Furthermore they are | not small, running to several pounds. Completely different | from the tame little fish reservoir anglers are used to!! | | What worries me about this is the possibility that these | things are going to start running up our salmon rivers. I | don’t know if they’re going to continue feeding in freshwater. | If so, on what? Not nymphs and flies I expect, unless they | lose those teeth. In Denmark and Southern Sweden, many of the rivers with trout farms on them have a run of steelhead, too. Certainly the Goeta Aelv (which runs through Gothenburg) did. We used to catch them occaionally in the stuary while trying for sea trout. They did not real harm: certainly a lot less than the greedy touristic masses of stocked, non-migratory fish. — Religious Affairs Correspondent | phone +44-71-253-1222 xt 1682 | London, England                 | I’m not paid to have opinions |

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Informed opinion has it that these fish will not breed naturally in our waters and the presence of overwintered, egg bound females in the early part of our season (March) would seem to confirm this.

Aren’t they spring spawners? If so then March would be pre spawn period. Anyways, it may be just possible that they are laying eggs but the habitat does not induce success. Would there be a clear creek for one of the lakes that they could run for spawning? What worries me about this is the possibility that these things are going to start running up our salmon rivers. I don’t know if they’re going to continue feeding in freshwater. If so, on what? Not nymphs and flies I expect, unless they lose those teeth.

Steelhead are spring spawners by nature and will eventually revert back to spring spawning after several generations. This means most will run the rivers in the spring. But some run the rivers in the fall holding overwinter. The fall runners would probably feed on loose salmon eggs, insects, minnows. But during winter their metabolism is slow and would suspect they don’t feed much. In the sea they feed to grow but in the river they would feed to sustain energy spent. So can I ask you all for some info about these things in the wild?? 1. If they do run our rivers and continue to feed avidly, will they threaten existing fish stocks of salmonids by feeding on eggs, fry or smolts.

I doubt this especially if you have a healthy run of salmons. 2. What breeding conditions do they need?

Same as a salmon but they probably would have a higher fry success rate than salmon. 3. Do they run a river, breed and die/return to the sea like atlantic salmon?

Run, spawn, return. or 4. Will they run up a river, graze until the larders empty and then return to the sea?

No! This could be a real problem for us, I’d appreciate some or any info you might have. Finally, In the event the River Tyne ends up with a steelhead run know any good fly patterns??  =8-(

Anything black works here, nymphs, wigglers. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Tight lines

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Hi! In the UK our experience with rainbows has, in the past, been largely limited to stillwaters (mostly reservoirs), which are stocked with hatchery reared fish at intervals. I understand, **though I may be completely wrong on this**, that two basic types (shasta and steelhead) were imported into this country a number of years ago but that insufficient care/understanding by breeders has lead to a thorough mixing of the two. What we have now, in nearly all stillwaters, are, as you can guess, pretty poor specimens which apparently bear absolutely NO RESEMBLANCE WHATSOEVER to the REAL thing. You can, however, still pick up obviously different fish which, presumeably, relate more closely to either of the wild types. Informed opinion has it that these fish will not breed naturally in our waters and the presence of overwintered, egg bound females in the early part of our season (March) would seem to confirm this. In some cases, rainbows have been stocked into rivers. One example of this is the River Derwent which is a tributary of the River Tyne here in the NE of England. The Tyne, I should point out is now a rapidly improving salmon river now that estuary pollution has been cleared up (!!almost!!). There have, however, been some reports of rainbows being caught at sea by commercial fishermen but these have been ignored by the government agencies responsible for overseeing fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries aka MAFF and the National Rivers Authority aka NRA) who apparently just didn’t believe it possible until one had been slapped across the table. Yesterday evening I was talking with a local netsman who told me he had been catching quite a number recently and had just succeeded in convincing the NRA that they existed. These fish are, according to this guy, akin to steelheads with a mouth full of teeth, and are voracious feeders. Furthermore they are not small, running to several pounds. Completely different from the tame little fish reservoir anglers are used to!! What worries me about this is the possibility that these things are going to start running up our salmon rivers. I don’t know if they’re going to continue feeding in freshwater. If so, on what? Not nymphs and flies I expect, unless they lose those teeth. So can I ask you all for some info about these things in the wild?? 1. If they do run our rivers and continue to feed avidly, will they threaten existing fish stocks of salmonids by feeding on eggs, fry or smolts. 2. What breeding conditions do they need? 3. Do they run a river, breed and die/return to the sea like atlantic salmon? or 4. Will they run up a river, graze until the larders empty and then return to the sea? This could be a real problem for us, I’d appreciate some or any info you might have. Finally, In the event the River Tyne ends up with a steelhead run know any good fly patterns??  =8-( Tight lines

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…two basic types (shasta and steelhead) were imported…

For *trout*, I believe most of Europe was stocked with "Eagle Lake" rainbow – a lake not far from Shasta in California, USA. For *steelhead*, I could only guess you have the Skamania steelhead from Washington State, USA.   It has been selected for transplant all over because of its suitability with hatchery operations (i.e. cheap and easy to raise). Trout and steelhead are different critters.   Trout are landlocked, and steelhead are typically sea-run, though if you landlock them, they’d probably do fine – the great lakes in the U.S. are an example where they do just fine, and make runs, the only difference is their ocean is freshwater. What we have now … apparently bear absolutely NO RESEMBLANCE …

The U.S. was stocked primarly with two strains of brown trout from Europe.   Old timers said it was once possible to tell them apart. Now they too have interbred and don’t look quite like the real thing.   Still fun to catch though Informed opinion has it that these fish will not breed naturally in our waters and the presence of overwintered, egg bound females in the early part of our season (March) would seem to confirm this.

Rainbows and cutthroat are spring spawners. Steelhead spawn from fall to spring, depending on latitude.   I suspect you’re close to Oregon and Washington – winter (December) through spring (late April) spawning. Only guessing – stocking stillwaters isn’t too successful (spawning wise) for trout.    Most lakes for example in Oregon, were stocked with trout in the 1920’s, or there abouts, and require repeat stockings every few years.   Only those lakes with small creeks incoming, or gravel banks with lots of hydrodynamics, seem to maintain populations without stocking. Rivers however, trout stock fairly easily.   Ditto steelhead if they have a large body of stillwater and running water to run between. There have, however, been some reports of rainbows being caught at sea by commercial fishermen …..

Wouldn’t surprise me. Some Atlantic Salmon were raised next to a coastal stream in Washington State – some accidently got into the river.   Recently, there have been reports of *large* Atlantic Salmon being caught.   I could imagine the Steelhead in Europe finally establishing themselves. What worries me about this is the possibility that these things are going to start running up our salmon rivers. I don’t know if they’re going to continue feeding in freshwater. If so, on what? Not nymphs and flies I expect, unless they lose those teeth.

I don’t know the spawning period for Atlantics.   Read the article enclosed below – there will certainly be competition at some points in the life cycle.   BTW – Young steelhead (egg – alvein – parr – smolt) are aggressive feeders of anything while in fresh water, which is usually from 6 to 24 months, some 36 months. 1. If they do run our rivers and continue to feed avidly, will they threaten existing fish stocks of salmonids by feeding on eggs, fry or smolts.

Adult Steelhead only come into fresh water to spawn, and don’t feed much.   Also, unlike Atlantics, they don’t do as much repeat spawning. In a given run, maybe 35% are one time repeaters, 10% two time. 2. What breeding conditions do they need?

For Steelhead, Very fast tailout water – 3 to 5 mph or up to 8 kph.  Small gravel in tributaries.   For early incoming steelhead, deep holding pools prior to the spawning season. 3. Do they run a river, breed and die/return to the sea like atlantic salmon?

Yep, except more Atlantic repeat the process. 4. Will they run up a river, graze until the larders empty and then return to the sea?

What’s a larder? know any good fly patterns??  =8-(

Many Atlantic Salmon patterns have been modified for Steelhead. Thomas Gilg FYI – From a back issue of our clubs newsletter:                 Mid-Willamette Fly Fishers Newsletter VOLUME X NO.5                                           May 1993 *** Introduction to Stream Habitat Improvement *** Summarized and adapted by Frank Cochrane from ODF&W publication "An Introduction to Stream Habitat Improvement" For a stream to produce large numbers of trout or salmon, the stream habitat must be in good condition.  This requires cold, clean water, food, and cover.  Most of Oregon’s streams have been degraded by man’s activities.  Therefore, the streams cannot support as many fish as they once could. Loss of spawning gravels, rearing areas, streamside vegetation, instream woody debris, and access to productive areas are some of the major results of man’s careless treatment of the aquatic environment. Many of those problems can be overcome in sections of some streams through habitat improvement projects.  The Conservation Committee is presently looking into possibilities for meaningful projects by the Mid Willamette Fly Fishers to improve the aquatic habitat in some of the nearby streams — and improve our fishing opportunities.  The material below gives an introduction to the basic principles of stream habitat improvement. The "Bottleneck Concept" If some limiting factor exists, a stream’s fish production is restricted or "bottlenecked".  Fish numbers are lower than optimum as a result.  Here are two examples:    o If spawning area is limited, spawning success is low.      Therefore, fish numbers are restricted by the small      number of eggs that hatch and develop into fry.    o If the rearing area is poor or the food supply is      inadequate, the fish become stunted or their numbers      are reduced.  Therefore, the mature fish are not      healthy, or there are not many mature fish. In either case, fish numbers cannot be increased until the stream habitat is improved and the bottleneck is reduced. It is important to understand what is limiting fish production in a particular situation so that efforts to increase the numbers of fish are not misdirected and wasted. What are common Habitat Problems?    o Water Quality.  Temperatures may be too high for trout      or salmon.  Various types of pollution may be having a      negative effect on fish and aquatic insect production.    o Barriers to Production Areas.  These may be either      natural, such as falls or log jams, or man- made, such      as dams and improperly installed culverts.    o Abused Riparian Zone.  Overgrazing, logging, road      building, and urban development often result in loss of      streamside vegetation.  Good plant growth along a      stream provides shade that helps keep water cool,      reduces erosion and silt loads, and contributes insects      to the fish food supply.    o Lack of Spawning Area.  Some streams lack suitable      spawning areas because of scouring by floods, channel      alterations from human activity, or the lack of proper      size gravels in the stream.    o Inadequate Juvenile Rearing Areas.  A mixture of      riffles and pools, undercut streambanks, side channels,      and instream boulders plus a certain amount of large      woody structures are necessary to provide juvenile fish      with an environment for survival and growth.    o Adult Holding Areas are Missing.  Adult fish need pools      for hiding and resting.  This is especially true for      some salmon and steelhead that return several months      before spawning.  Many streams lack sufficient holding      pools for adults. How to Conduct a Project to Improve Stream Habitat Each project to improve stream habitat requires individual consideration to tailor it to the need and the site.  The steps below are essential for a successful project.   1. Identify the Problem.  Before starting a project to      improve stream habitat, we need to find out where and      what is needed, with the help and guidance of ODF&W or      other fishery professionals.  Stream surveys must be      done to collect appropriate information, and the      results must be evaluated.  What are the bottlenecks?   2. Prescribe a Treatment.  We should determine what      actions can be taken to reduce the bottlenecks.   3. Treat the Bottlenecks.  The treatment prescribed above      is then carried out.   4. Evaluate the Results.  Is the treatment accomplishing      the desired result?  We should consider both short and      long term effects.  Are there more healthy fish in the      stream?  Are there lessor bottlenecks that need      treatment?   5. Maintain the Habitat Improvement.  Periodic inspection      and maintenance may be needed to ensure the retention      of any beneficial effect. It is sometimes tempting to get in too big of a hurry to do Steps 1, 4 and 5.  Let’s not fall into that trap! Look for more from the Conservation Committee in the near future concerning projects to improve stream habitat — and to improve fishing opportunities at the same time.

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