Reassessment

Ok... I went back to the same spot I fished most recently where I caught a lot of fish, all be it a lot of small fish. This time I arrived just before sundown and things were a lot different. As noted in my last entry, there were a ton of little bass and chubs. I expected much of the same, fast action and small fish. Today I only caught two fish, however they were very large fish for this river. The first was a small mouth, a very fat 14 incher. The second was a stocky rock bass that weighed more than the smallie despite being shorter in length. I caught the smallie on a cray fish pattern dead drifted through an eddy. I caught the rock bass on a bait fish pattern that I designed that has yet to be named. I didn't take the camera so I don't have pictures to share. These fish were caught in a stretch of stream less than 20 feet wide. It was a lot like trout fishing on a Colorado spring creek. These bass I caught in this small branch of the river were as big as any fish I have ever caught in the main channel of the river. Lesson of the day; smaller water does not always mean smaller fish! This is a great place to fish that does not get much angling pressure and it is less than a ten minute drive from my home. What more could a fly guy ask for?

New Water

I have been eyeballing a new fishing spot for some time that is at the headwaters of the stream I usually fish. I've seen the river from the road as drive, and I noticed a pull off where I could park. So after passing this place for years, I decided to fish it today. I went out more to scout the area than I did to fish. I left late, around 11:oo am. I got there and did not have much luck at first, but as I moved up and down river from where I accessed the river, the fishing got red hot! I caught 9 small mouth bass, 3 large creek chubs (13 inches), I caught a rock bass, a shiner, and I had a carp that broke off. This was all between 11:00 and 2:00. That is usually a horrible time to be on the river. This spot was awesome. The fish must get no angling pressure. They were eager to take all sorts of flies. I used several different bait fish patters swung and striped, and a Small cray fish dead drifted through a run were the ticket. I saw tone of cray fish everywhere. This was some of the best fishing on this river I have ever had. The only down side was all the bass were smaller, 12-14 inches (a skinny 14 inches); I guess that's how it is on smaller water. The where I was these were large fish. What the smallies lacked in size they made up for in attitude. One bass tried to attack another bass I had caught while I was bringing the fish in. The fish that tried to eat the other fish that I had on the line were the same size, aggressive little suckers!! There was lots of jumping, leaping, running into down trees and other tangles, it was an awesome afternoon on the river. I finished up and went into town to get a sandwich; all that fishing made me hungry. It was a very satisfying end to a fantastic day on the river.

Since I haven't posted a picture in a while, I took one of this small mouth. I thought to myself, the first two fish were too small too take pictures of. After the third fish was small too, I knew they were not going to get any bigger, so I took the picture. I caught a couple a little larger than the one pictured, but not much bigger.

Greenhorn

I saw a friend last weekend and took him fly fishing. He's fly fished once before so he was somewhat comfortable with a fly rod. We went to a local stream near his house, we accessed the river at a park that the guy at the local fly shop recommended. I set him up just above a riffle and had him strip the fly down and through the riffle. He had been at it for a while when he hooked a fish! he was pretty surprised when the fish leaped out of the water, the look on his face was priceless. He struggled with inexperience to bring that fish in. After a short fight the fish was gone. He caught that bass, that's all that matters. We both saw it jump out of the water. I was witness. My friend was thrilled with the experience. I'm glad he caught a fish, I think it helps encourage him to fly fish. I think he's caught the bug, in fact he just bought his first fly rod. I think I've created a monster...

Bewitching Hour

The last few times I've fished at sunset have been awesome! Being on the river at dusk has produced some of the best action I've seen all summer. Two days ago I was on the river all day. The day was slow, I caught a small shiner, and a rock bass. that was it for the whole day... Dusk settles in and I catch two bass and lose a third. I finally packed it in when it got too dark to see my line. I could have stayed, I was still getting strikes when I decided to leave. Tonight was just as hot. I hit the river at dusk and started fishing just as it started getting a little dark out. Things started slowly with a missed strike. Shortly after I missed that strike, I had a fish on. It was a respectable fish at about 13". I quickly release the first fish and make my next cast. Boom fish on! This fish jumped and fought hard. It was another nice fish about the same size as the first fish. I cast in the the same area I caught the first two fish and things get quiet for a moment. I decide to fish a spot where two currents come together and create a nice current break. On the third or forth cast I hook up, this is another good size fish I can tell as I bring it in. This was about a 14" fish. None of tonight's fish were as big as the fish I posted from Saturday- they were nice fish, but they weren't big enough to photograph. After I released the third fish, it was pretty dark and I had great catch so I decided to call it a night. I've fished at dawn, at dusk, and all through the day. I would say the morning is better than mid-day, and that dusk is the best time of day to catch bass. If you have to limit your time on the water, try to be there an hour before dark until an hour after dark. You will have the best fishing of the day at that time. Just remember your flash light for the walk out!

Slow day turned fast and furious at sunset

I was on the river yesterday for most of the day. I first went out in the morning and caught one rock bass (about 8"). Shortly after I caught the rock bass, I left the river; that was about 10:00 am. We got a pretty hard rain around 11:00. I expected that the rain to blow the river out. To my surprise, it did not. The flow was a up a little, but the water was still clear with about 36" of visibility. I was back on the water by 2:00. The water was so low and clear that the fishing was very tough. I only had one strike all afternoon and was beginning to get discouraged. I don't usually catch many fish mid-afternoon, but I always manage to find a few. At about 8:00 the sun had gone behind the trees casting shadows all over the water. The water came alive with fish begining to feed in the comfort of the shadows. When I noticed this, I knew the fishing was going to be good in the last hour or so before it got too dark to walk out (another story all together). I found a nice spot where a feeder creek comes into the main channel of the river, the bottom of the river was strewn with rocks. I began to see baitfish jumping out of the water, I knew there would be an aggressive, hungry bass just below where I saw the bait jump. I made sure to keep my distance as I didn't want to spook these actively feeding fish. I cast about ten feet upstream from the action let my fly sink and started striping it in with a quick motion. On the second or third cast, there was a violent strike and a splash; fish on! When I brought the fish to hand I was a little dissapointed because it was smaller than I expected based on the jolting strike and all the splashing and jumping the fish had done when hooked. I quickly released the fish and got my fly back in the water looking to capitalize on the feeding frenzy going on in front of me. Next cast I missed a strike. Shortly after that I hooked up again, with a bigger fish (I got a good look at it when it jumped near me). After a breif fight, that fish spit the hook and was an "early release". At this point it was basically dark out, I was beginning to have a hard time seeing my line on the water. I knew I only had a couple of minutes left before I had to walk out. The fish were still on a feeding frenzy, so it was worth a few more casts. Just to the left of where I hooked the fish that spit the hook, I saw a fish breaching the water repeatedly ambushing baitfish just beneath the surface. I placed the perfect cast just upstream of the action, waited, waited, and started to strip the fly with a slower more erradic retreive. Just as I was stripping the fly through the targeted area it felt as if I had snagged bottom. I set the hook and saw a hog of a smallmouth bass breach the water in a high flying acrobatic display of resistance. This fish put up an exciting fight jumping several times, charging this way and that way. Finally I brought the fish to hand. This was one of the largest smallmouth bass I have ever caught in a river, possibly the largest. The fish was no longer than other large bass I have caught in the past, but it was thick! This fish ate really well, and was probably very old. I took a couple of picture of this fish which are below.

Why fish?

People always ask me; why fish? The answer is simple. To catch fish! I get a lot out of fishing, but ultimately I'm out there to catch fish. Someone once said: "fishing is fun, but catching fish is a lot more fun". Whoever made that statement was absolutely right. I enjoy the time outside, escaping from the stress of life, the fresh air, and the exercise. Those benefits are incidental to me. I truly enjoy the challenge of locating and catching fish. I think it's the cave man in me looking for an outlet, my natural hunter instinct. The thrill of hooking a fish and seeing it leap out of the water is addicting. The experience of catching fish has become more thrilling for me as I've learned new ways to fish for larger harder fighting fish. It is this thrill I seek, that is why I fish. Here are a few pictures of some steelhead trout and smallmouth bass I have caught this spring and summer. The picture is the trophy as I release all fish I catch back into the wild unharmed.