Small stream fishing

   Tom Rosenbauer has some great tips for fishing skinny water in an article on the Orvis page.  I fished a small creek this weekend and could have used that article a few days earlier.  My favorite tip and one I will follow next time is to use a larger tippet diameter than you would on a stream where the fish see more pressure.  My thinking was the opposite: since the fish are spookier on small streams, I thought I would have to use a lighter tippet.  Tom makes the point that the fish are not likely leader shy and the stouter line size can help rip flies from the brush easier. Boy, that would have been handy on Sunday.  I was casting to water that was about two feet wide and I missed more than I would have liked. 

    I decided to take two rods with me, which is something I really don't like to do but I wanted to fish my 6'6" fiberglass rod with dries, and I wanted to be able to fish nymphs in case nothing was happening on the surface.  I should have just stuck with my 8' 3 wt.  The 6'6" rod was too short to keep my fly out of the 5' tall brush around the stream.  I got a few good casts in with it and with the slow action of that rod they lay down so soft.  Nothing hit though.  It was a really strange day for this stream.  Typically, I don't even mess around with nymphs because the fish usually destroy dries, but I didn't get one hit on top in 4 pools.  I ended up hooking a decent size brown on a GB prince nymph.  I have only caught a few browns and nothing of that size out of this stream so it was a nice surprise.

I ended up with a few more on nymphs but overall a pretty poor day on this stream.  The sky was really photogenic though and I got to try out my new Nikon D90.   I played around with the video mode a bit and filmed a pool with about a hundred brook trout in it.  I love this new camera.  I can't wait to get some nice lenses for it.  The only thing I can think of is maybe the midday sun kept the fish from coming to the surface. That usually isn't a problem there though.  Oh well, maybe just an off day.  Hopper season is coming and I now they can't resist those.

Nets

I used to think I was a tough guy.  I didn't need a net.  I can handle a fish.  I was wrong.  I know there are net guys and no net guys.  I used to be the latter, but I have been converted.  Here's why...

I was fishing the lower Kinni when I hooked into a really nice sized brown with my 3wt (>18 inches).  After a pretty good fight, I got him close and tried to get a hand around him.  This beast was too big for me to get a grip on.  I'm 6' and have pretty big hands but, around this fish, my hand couldn't get a grip.  I ended up probably trying to squeeze too hard and eventually lost my grip anyway.  The fish broke off immediately after that and I never got a really good look at him, or a picture for that mater to remember that great fish.  Right then, I was a net man for life.    No more missed grips and a second or third run because I couldn't get a hold of them. 

The second reason I am a net man is the invention of the rubber net bag.  No more flies caught in the netting and the natural slime coat of the fish is more protected.  Also, If you plan to take pictures of your fish, you can rest a fish in a net while you get your camera situated and ready for a shot.  The fish can remain in the water and will be less stressed than if you try to take a picture while holding on to it the whole time. 

Ghosted!

If you are looking for a net, I would recommend a rubber bag and the smallest one you can get away with on your favorite stream.  Big nets are heavy and you won't take them with all the time because they are a pain to deal with.  My mother and father-in-law gave me a Brodin Ghost net for my birthday recently and wow, what an awesome net.  I really think fish are less stressed in the clear bag. They seem to not know it's there and try to swim though it repeatedly.  Plus, what a great looking net!  The teak handle is responsibly harvested from plantation teak in Costa Rica.  The craftsmanship is unmatched and will undoubtedly last a lifetime.  I have the Firehole model which is about right for a stream where the average fish is 10-12 inches.

Leaders

Nice.  Jacked right out of the package. Thanks Rio!

There is a good article at MidCurrent on leaders today.  The question addressed is how long a prepackaged leader should last.  The answer, not surprisingly, is it depends.  Mine have lasted as long as a few trips to about 1 minute after I get it out of the package.  Who goes around looping the butt end of the leader 40,000 times around the rest of the coiled leader?  Can we just stick with like 3-4 loops?  The first time I opened a prepackaged leader I tried to unravel it and about 45 seconds later I was cussing and cutting out knots.  I turned a 9' 5x $5 leader into a 4' butt section in a minute flat.  I can't be the only one who has had these problems.  In fact, the last one I opened I almost ruined for the same reason.  I thought I unraveled it right but I ended up with monster tangle instead. 

Here are my tips for buying leaders:
First, don't think tying your own will save money.  If you like to do it knock yourself out, but I have a hard enough time finding the time to tie flies let alone my own leaders.  If you want to get all crazy with leader science and adjust your butt section length then tying your own is the only option.  Otherwise stick with knotless prefabs.

Second, buy 3 packs. It's basically like buy 2 get one free. 

Third, always buy 9' leaders.  7.5'ers are better for nymphing and you usually use a bigger tippet size for that anyway so just cut off a few feet from you 9' 5x and you have a decent nymphing leader.  For dry flies I like at least a 9' leader in 5x for the clear and still spring creeks in WI and MN.    This way you always have the leader you want.  Like Demetri Martin says "when someone asks me if I have a poncho I don't say no.  I say not yet.  Because I have a blanket and scissors.  I'm only a minute from having a poncho, or 10 scarves."

Fourth, change your leader if it gets too short.  Don't spend hours fishing a leader you have tied 64 inches of 5x tippet on to so you don't have to change it.  It will turn over poorly and you will probably break off a fish if you do hook one due to the dissimilar size of the mono at the knot junction.  I have done this too many times, and I know how tempting it is to just keep fishing no mater how crappy your leader is.  Just change it. You will catch more fish and have a better day.  If you don't have another leader tie on two tippet sizes to step down the size gradually.  Congratulations, you just tied your own knotted leader. 

Maybe it is easier than unwinding one out of the package……

I read a quote from Sarah Palin today-

"A faceless government is taking away their lifeline, water, all because of a 3-inch fish," Palin said. "Where I come from, a 3-inch fish, we call that bait. There is no need to destroy people's lives over bait."

   Thoughts like this are what lead to species extinction.  Sarah Palin is talking about the delta smelt.  A diminutive fish that seems to have no value except that it exists and is about to be extinct.  The issue is: Where do we draw the line?  Save only game fish? Save all fish?  What about the frogs and birds and the insects?   There is a great article written by David Quammen called "Synecdoche and the Trout" which appeared in the book Wild Thoughts from Wild Places.  Essentially, Quammen argues that the trout represent the environment.  Trout are an indicator species, which we can look to in order to help us understand what state the environment is in.  The bull trout is a perfect example; they can only live in the purest and coldest waters.  We can look to their numbers to judge the success of a stream restoration project.  Similarly, the plight of the delta smelt is an indicator of our overuse of water.  The more we drain the delta, the more smelt will die.
   We care about the smelt not because we want a smelt dinner or have a new delta smelt pattern we are dying to try out.  The line has to be drawn somewhere.  The plight of the delta smelt represents our indifference to the destruction of nature.  How much damage do we need to do before people can see the connection between leaving their sprinklers on in a rain storm and the extinction of a species hundreds of miles away?  The fight for the delta smelt is about water, and LA uses a lot of it.  The agriculture industry in southern California uses a lot too.  Their is so much water pumped out of the Sacramento delta that it flows backward when the huge pumps are turned on.  The fact remains that no one will tell you what to plant in your yard or how often to water your grass. We can only hope the connection between the hose, the delta and the fact that southern California would be nearly a desert without imported water will eventually sink in.
   As for Sarah Palin, she gets paid too much to say the stupid, uninformed and ignorant stuff she says, so I doubt anything will change her mind.

Baghdad Fly Fishing Club

Check out this Slab of the month entry on Moldy Chum. Steve Peterson serving over in Iraq sent in picture of a pretty nice slab.  He is a member of the Baghdad Fly Fishing Club and they could use some gear to help outfit their club members.  You can send donations by mailing them to one of these two addresses:

BACSFF C/O
MAJ Dave Cloft
USF-I J5 Assessments
Unit 42001
APO AE 09342

If the above address fails, send to:
BAC&SFF C/O Joel Stewart
3461 Calavo Drive
Spring Valley, CA   91978 

 This is a great chance to find a home for your unused fishing gear.  You can see a list of gear they are in need of here.  I hope everyone can send out just a few things they have lying around.  It all adds up and will provide gear for our troops overs seas to try and find some relaxing time between what must be a stressful situation to say the least.  

Rush River BWO's and the crowd

The Rush is a classic driftless region lime stone bluff stream

To say the Rush river is a popular fly fishing spot is an understatement.  I have avoided it until now for two reasons.  One is Access.  This is a common problem for streams in Wisconsin.  Maybe I haven't come across the right info, but I can't find a map that has a clear indication of what land is private with an easement, private with no access or public.  Minnesota publishes an invaluable book that marks each trout stream, shows the regulations and where easements have been secured.  My approach in Wisconsin: find a river, drive to a spot, and check for no trespassing signs.  A driftless anglers best bet in this situation is to consult the driftless bible, Trout Streams of Minnesota and Wisconsin by Jim Humphrey and Bill Shogren.  This book has all you need to start exploring the streams of Wisconsin including maps and a little info about each river.  There is not so much detail that you will know a specific spot to fish, but the book will get you to a general spot that can be explored.   After all, exploring a new stream is half the fun.  I owe a lot of my fishing success to those two guys, and I am so thankful they produced such a great book. 
    The other reason I haven't fished the Rush until recently is it's so crowded.  Well, it is and it isn't.  It's a big river.  I drove up A from the Mississippi past about 4 spots detailed in the book and one other I had heard about.  2 spots had one car.  One had none and the other had at least 7.  Since I haven't fished that spot I have no idea why so many people were out there but geez.  If I see two cars I move on to somewhere else.  I look for no cars or one if it is a crowded weekend.  There are plenty of fish and spots on the river.  I wouldn't want to fish with 10 other people on a section of river anyway.  I moved on to another spot, saw one car parked and saw the guy walking down stream.  I parked and headed up.  I saw one guy coming back down and I worked past him up stream.  I didn't see another person until I got back to the 3 pools closest to the access point.  All three were occupied.  The funny thing is I only caught one fish out of those three pools on my way out.  Up stream a half mile or so I got 8, almost all on #20 or #18 (after I destroyed my #20s form catching so many fish I switched to 18s) BWOs.  The pressure is super high at the bridge crossings and the first few pools but if you get out to the 7th or 8th pool, chances are you will be the only one out there and the fishing will be better.  I do the same thing at the lower Kinny when there are lots of people.  I walk out until I pass two runs or pools with no one in them then I work my way back.  Usually, by the time I get back to the popular pools they are empty.  Moral of the story is get out and walk until it's not crowded anymore.  You will catch more fish, get better exercise and not waste your time on a bunch of spooked fish. 

Wide, and not shaded.  The Rush has some challenging runs

Only fish I got on a nymph.  #18 BH flashback pheasant tail.  Smaller than average fish for the Rush

Below is a video of the BWO hatch last Sunday.  Pretty consistent like that for hours.

    Another early season thing to consider is shade.  The Rush is wide in spots and the trees this time of year are not shading any part of the stream most of the day.  Generally, fish stay out of bright runs or feeding lanes when there is no shade.  If they are out there it won't take much to send them to the bank for safety.  The good thing is fish are hungry this time of year, so there may be feeding fish out in a sunny spot anyway.  Look for spots with a little shade though;  I think the fishing will be a bit better there.  Later in the day when the shadows get longer may be the best bet this time of year. 
    Cloudy days this time of year are a great thing.  This Saturday looks like it might be a great day for a BWO hatch.  I got a nice 14-15 incher on the Rush last Sunday on a #20 BWO.  Still working on my 20-20 club though.  (20 inch fish on a size 20 fly)

Nice 14 incher on a #20 BWO.  Glad I had my net.  This guy hit the fly and just sat there in the current for a few seconds with me pulling on him.  Then he decided he'd had enough and headed for the deep bank side. 

My last #20 BWO.  Mangle.  Got a few more on #18s

What can you do?

Sneaking up on trout during a hike.  Hope days like this are just around the corner. 

I'm ready for some bigger fish like this. 

I didn't go fishing this weekend.  Actually, I didn't even think about going.  I took one look at the Mississippi and thought  the trout streams would look about the same.  High, fast and chocolate brown.

Maybe I should have gone.  Catching trout under those conditions is tough but not impossible.  I walked the Kinnie a few years back around the same time of year.  I had never seen the river so high and off color.  I brought my rod down but I wasn't serious about fishing.  I stripped a wolly bugger across a few runs but got nothing.  I ran into a guy who said he got 4.  I couldn't believe it.  Then I saw him get one along the bank.  He was high sticking nymphs along the banks.  With the high water, the banks turned into the perfect spot for trout to get out of the current.  The banks were higher, since the water was up, and had more room for the fish to stack up.  I guess you learn something every time you go out.  It makes a lot of sense though but it's just hard to do the opposite of what you normally do on a stream.  Typically, I would be standing about a foot or two off the banks and cast to the deeper part of the pool or run and that would be where a majority of the fish are.  Now, I was standing where a majority of the fish were.  The center of the stream was a torrent of rushing water.  The fish were not out there, that would take way too much energy to maintain.  I'm going next weekend, high water or not.  Here is what I'm thinking for tactics, any of your ideas would be appreciated.  I haven't fished these conditions often so I could use some help.

I'm going to forget about dries until the water comes down. I am not, however, going to forget about emergers.  I think a lot of hatching insects just get tossed around in water like this.  I'm not going to go for the just below the surface film emerger type fishing.  I'm going to fish a two nymph rig with a small bead head (maybe with an extra split shot if the water is really moving) and a soft hackle emerger about 16 inches off the bend of my nymph.  If insects are hatching off the bottom I really don't think they could get up too high without getting swept down stream.  Plus, I doubt many fish will be darting out into that current very often.  We'll see how it goes.