Fishing Forum

[cool][cool][#0000ff]The weather forecast for the week does not look good for tubers. TubeBabe and I figured we would sneak in a quick trip at Deer Creek to get our fishing fix for the week. Good move.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We usually go to the Island. Today we decided to cart our tubes down to the water at Rainbow Bay. Good move. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We were fearful of the dreaded W after getting "breezed" all the way up Provo Canyon. There was a good ripple on the water when we launched just after 7:30 but it never became problematic. In fact it was like glass most of the morning. Good move.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Air temp was just over 40 at launch and water temps were still up about 62...warming a couple of degrees before we came in about noon. Still a bit warm for peak troutin' activity, but there were lots of trollers out to harvest what they could. The tle of pop gear across the water was blinding.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fall is fallin' all over the place. Lots of color on the hillsides. Timpanogos was wearing a purty fall dress with lots of reds, oranges and yellows among the summer green still left over. Brang a lump to yer throat just to look around at all the purtifuls.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Found only dinkster perchettes in shallow water. Bait stealin' little buggers. Couldn't even put a hook in any of them to teach them a lesson. They already knew plenty.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kicked out into deeper water and started seeing trouty looking fishy marks at about the 20 to 25 foot level in water over 30 feet deep. Out went the bubbles and flies. Down went the rod tips. Game on. TubeBabe and I both had fairly constant whacks on our "bubble bugs" (flies) tipped with a piece of crawler. We each brought in a few nice feisty 'bows in the 15 to 17 inch range. Bang, zing, jump, thrash, roll and net. Released some a little smaller. I kept a limit of 4 colorful cuties and TubeBabe kept 3. Oh yeah, I also caught one fatty 11 inch perch on a marmalady fly fished about 20 feet deep in 75 feet of water. I think he was .[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure which is worse...the power squadron or the floatilla of fudds out in their pontoon boats dragging pop gear on leadcore line. Those old $%[url "mailto:$%#@$"][#212126]#@$[/#212126][/url] would run right over us all morning long. Every time one of us would bring in a fish the pontoon patrol would drag their gear right through us, trying to pick up any fish we might have missed.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There were quite a few trout being netted among the boating contingent. Saw several taken close to us and overheard chatter both across the water and on the walkie talkies about successful trouters. But, we didn't see any of the bank tanglers bring in any fish and they left early.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The incoming weather front will probably take the water temps down below 60 degrees. That should bring the trout up even higher in the water column. Hopefully it puts the walleyes on the prowl too. I couldn't find anything on sonar or lures today that even sniffed of walleye.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The drive back down Provo Canyon brought tears to our eyes. Purty purty purty. We stopped near the entrance to Sundance and took a picture. Everywhere ya look is a prizewinner.[/#0000ff]
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Sounds and looks like a gorgeous trip and some fair fishing. That last mountain side pic is a real nice one.
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Nice looking water and fish pics, TD.

Some of that floatilla looked to be in pretty close to your position looking at the pics. Maybe time to get Halloween masks on to scare them away? OTOH, drawing a high $ boating crowd might be considered a testimony to your skill. Especially if you keep catching, and they can't match you despite their high dollar resources![]

Pon
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I love that Provo Canyon picture[]. Those guys in that pontoon boat look like a bunch of idiots anyways.

Thanx for sharing TD.

Peter
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[cool][#0000ff]Glad you like the pics. Great scenery is one of the perks of living and fishing in Utah.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually, we had it pretty tame...boatwise. We went on a Monday when only the retired and unemployed were out in force. Of course, with our current economy there are plenty of laid off workers with unemployment benefits to pay for their gas money. On a busy weekend...with nice weather and good fishing reports...you can walk across the boats on that little bay. Combat fishing at its finest. That is why we usually launch and fish at other spots around the lake. And, we usually do just as well or better without all of the HELP.[/#0000ff]
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[quote peter805]I love that Provo Canyon picture[]. Those guys in that pontoon boat look like a bunch of idiots anyways.

Thanx for sharing TD.

Peter[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks Peter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Too bad you can't get out here in a couple of weeks. Once the water cools down a bit more the trout move to the top. Some mornings at daybreak the whole lake is boiling with rising fish, and many of them are several pounds...both rainbows and browns. And...they eat flies...and they fight HARD.[/#0000ff]
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Thanx TD. I may not be able to go up there now but
Im going to Easter Sierra in couple of days. Which
is very nice this time of the year as well. Great
fishing on da fly too[]
I will take some pictures and share.

Peter
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Waydago TubeDude and TubeBabe![cool] Thanks for another great report and pics.

That's a beautiful place to be this time of year - glad you found the "business end of the rainbow." No pot o' gold but they taste a lot better.

I take it you were using a water bubble filled with water? Tossing it about a mile, then counting down?

And what's a Marmalady 'posta be? Just sumpin' ta eat? Piece of errant Powerbait? Marshmallow sucking perch fry?

Speaking of Perch fry, did you see any indications of a more successful perch spawn this year?

Thanks!
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Bro. Appreciate the kindly comments.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I can't recall the last time I tied a "standard" fly pattern...or tied a fly smaller than a size 6. My "bubble bugs" are all designed to appeal to big active trout...especially during the fall fling. At that time the color orange seems to be a great attractor color for all species...rainbows, browns, cutts and tigers. However, whites and blacks are still good choices too, and most of my "fall lineup" includes both.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am tieing up a new batch of monotone bubble bugs in hot colors...orange, pink, red, chartreuse and fluorescent whites. All have metallic ribbing...gold or silver...and all have Krystal Flash as the tails. Tried some last year with good results and got one of my larger rainbows from Deer Creek yesterday on the chartreuse with red head model.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We use a "refined" system that I have worked on for many years...freshwater and salt. It is kinda like a slow motion downrigger system for presenting flies deep. I mostly use a water filled bubble, but have also successfully used a short length of leadcore line, split shot and even a small heavy metal spoon to get the flies down and keep them at the desired depth. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The keys are to make the cast the right distance and then to allow the rig to settle into the right depth. Then you need to establish a kicking speed that moves the fly but keeps it deep enough. It takes some experimentation but if you have a good sonar that will tell you how deep the fish are suspending and keep changing up the variables, you will find the "pattern of the day". Then just keep doing what worked. It is almost always different.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As you might suspect, most of the "bubble bugs" are a part of my "BDS"...bait delivery system. Fish will hit the unsweetened flies, but hit them a lot better with a half inch piece of crawler on the hook. And, by using those ultra sharp Matzuo hooks on the flies I get a high percentage of solid hookups on the strike. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You know how we have the "baitrigger" rod holders set up to hold two rods out to the sides of the tube. We drag two flies at a time...usually different patterns and at slightly different cast lengths...to help find the pattern. When a fiesty bow hits it hauls the rod tip down and hooks itself. You need to be sure to have the drag set light on the reel. And, we have had doubles when we move through a group of active fish. You must be able to control a hooked fish to keep it from tangling the second rod. Much fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe has some family commitments that will have her in California a good part of October. I will be "flying solo" on many trips during this prime tubing and fishing month. Let me know when you can get away and if you wanna meet up on some of the local trout ponds...or Utah Lake for some wallie action.[/#0000ff]
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nice slimers. the first problem i see with the boats around is you were catching fish so they decided to poach. i went to bear lake last week and got skunked but deyoungfisher caught a 32" 12lb lake. i havent been in my tube for weeks i need to hit up pineview. keep up the fishn.
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Thanks for all the info. Pat - good stuff!

All of those patterns look like they would be very much at home in any Steelheader's fly box. I used to tie a lot of Steelhead flies, and I'm thinking maybe I should cook up a selection from your arsenal for myself. Thanks for sharing.

Simple "attraction" is such a powerful component that is all too often overlooked by puristic hatch matchers waving the long rods. I have always appreciated Gary Lafontiane's significant contributions in that area. He was an intelligent/creative guy like yourself that approached his fly fishing in much the same way you do your brand of fishing. No small wonder why you have both been so successful at it.

Yeah, I would like to meet up with you for some trout, wallie, barracuda, whatever. I've totally been shooting from the hip on my fishing outings lately. At work, we re-submit today with a modified bid for that Colorado project I had mentioned earlier. Award is supposed to happen next Monday and then I'll have a better idea of what I'll be doing for the rest of the year.

In the mean time, weather permitting I am hoping to get out Friday afternoon. I realize that it will be less than ideal condions, but it's the best I can do this week. And as they say, "A bad day fishing. . . ." Sometimes I learn more from a bad day than a good day, or at least that's what I tell myself on a bad day. [laugh]

I'll keep in touch.

Jesse
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[cool][#0000ff]A lot of the colors I favor, and the patterns I tie, are "borrowed" from the stuff I learned while living in Sacramento and fishing all over the northwest and up into BC. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Coincidentally, some of my best fishing for early run steelhead...in the tidewater lagoons of the lower rivers of the northwest...was had by using a bubble and fly rig. Fishing those stillwater situations for "halfpounder" steelhead and "chub" salmon with bubble and fly was both fun and effective. I got a lot of strange looks from the "locals" but they turned to looks of admiration (or hostility) when I released fish after fish while they caught nothing on many morning or evening excursions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have caught rainbows (and steelheads) all over the country and they seem to share a common trait everywhere. They love hot colors...and lures and flies that incorporate those hot colors. Sometimes all it takes is to finish off a drab colored fly with a hot red or chartreuse head wrapping. Sometimes a small section of body or tail in hot colors will dramatically increase the strikes. At still other times a fly of solid hot red, pink, chartreuse or orange will get violent strikes when nothing else seems to work.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Always fun to keep experimenting.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck with the Colorado contract. Let me know if you get a hole in your schedule.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks for sharing. I need to get back out in my tube soon.
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[quote Tube_Ike]Thanks for sharing. I need to get back out in my tube soon.[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]Get out your neoprenes and thermies. The water is coolin' off.[/#0000ff]
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[quote TubeDude][quote

[cool][#0000ff]Get out your neoprenes and thermies. The water is coolin' off.[/#0000ff][/quote]

Heck not only the water but the air as well.[]
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