06-28-2011, 01:58 AM
Hit my favorite stream up high yesterday. Fishing was fairly fast but the average fish was only about a foot. Then as I continued to work my way up all of a sudden I couldn't keep the 6 inch rainbows off the hook. Thanks a lot DWR[
] for dumping the stockies in. Since the last time they did this on this stream 6 years ago the average size brown has gone down a half a pound. Just as all but the last sterile bow has died out they come to stunt the creek again. Decided it was time to hike down the canyon where hopefully all the big fish had retreated to. After an half hour drive and and hour and a half of hiking and bushwhacking I was squarely in the middle of nowhere. I looked at the water only to realize that this area with the fast descent on top of the high water had only 6-12 inches of visibility on the slower sections. I got a sinking feeling I had just wasted the rest of my day in regard to fishing. As I sat down put my 4 pc rod together, real on and tied on a fly I realized my dog was being annoyed by insects. About a dozen stoneflies had landed on her sitting next to the creek. A swarm of them where emerging and flying everywhere. After 5 minutes I had a strike and pulled out a 6 inch brown. Well at least I wouldn't hike out skunked. Then 2 quick strikes but no hook up followed by a 14 inch brown on the next strike. Then the fish gods dumped on me. Ever single bit of pocket water had a fish or 2. The smaller the pocket the quicker more reliable the strikes. Nothing huge but probable 80% of the fish were 15-16 inch browns. An occasional cutt 12-15 inches thrown in for good measure. I probable had 80- 100 strikes over the next hour. Now half the time or more they just bumped the fly as they chased it into faster water and I had no chance of a hookup. Quite a few hookups just weren't adequate and I lost the fish in the fast water. I'm not sure but probable landed 25-30 fish in that hour. Besides the first brown all but one was over a foot. The only other small one was one of those stocked rainbows had already made it's way down stream. Nothing over 18 inches but still the nonstop action was a blast. Then the next half hour things began to slow. Much fewer strikes and probable didn't land 5 or 6. The next half hour the water cleared a bit but the fishing really bottomed out. Probable just 2-3 landed. It was only then that I realize the thick hatch was totally gone. I had just fished up and out of the leading edge of a monstrous hatch. I was so focused on the water after the frenzy that I had failed to notice. Realizing it was over and that a bit cloudy stream giving up a half dozen fish an hour was going to be a continued let down. So I hiked the couple miles back to my car. I certainly didn't have the daylight or the strength to bushwhack further down than before and start fishing back up. Nothing big enough to bother with a pic. Maybe I should have taken one of those annoying little rainbows. Did take a picture of a pretty stretch of water that marked the beginning of stocked rainbow hell in the first section I fished that I will attach.
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] for dumping the stockies in. Since the last time they did this on this stream 6 years ago the average size brown has gone down a half a pound. Just as all but the last sterile bow has died out they come to stunt the creek again. Decided it was time to hike down the canyon where hopefully all the big fish had retreated to. After an half hour drive and and hour and a half of hiking and bushwhacking I was squarely in the middle of nowhere. I looked at the water only to realize that this area with the fast descent on top of the high water had only 6-12 inches of visibility on the slower sections. I got a sinking feeling I had just wasted the rest of my day in regard to fishing. As I sat down put my 4 pc rod together, real on and tied on a fly I realized my dog was being annoyed by insects. About a dozen stoneflies had landed on her sitting next to the creek. A swarm of them where emerging and flying everywhere. After 5 minutes I had a strike and pulled out a 6 inch brown. Well at least I wouldn't hike out skunked. Then 2 quick strikes but no hook up followed by a 14 inch brown on the next strike. Then the fish gods dumped on me. Ever single bit of pocket water had a fish or 2. The smaller the pocket the quicker more reliable the strikes. Nothing huge but probable 80% of the fish were 15-16 inch browns. An occasional cutt 12-15 inches thrown in for good measure. I probable had 80- 100 strikes over the next hour. Now half the time or more they just bumped the fly as they chased it into faster water and I had no chance of a hookup. Quite a few hookups just weren't adequate and I lost the fish in the fast water. I'm not sure but probable landed 25-30 fish in that hour. Besides the first brown all but one was over a foot. The only other small one was one of those stocked rainbows had already made it's way down stream. Nothing over 18 inches but still the nonstop action was a blast. Then the next half hour things began to slow. Much fewer strikes and probable didn't land 5 or 6. The next half hour the water cleared a bit but the fishing really bottomed out. Probable just 2-3 landed. It was only then that I realize the thick hatch was totally gone. I had just fished up and out of the leading edge of a monstrous hatch. I was so focused on the water after the frenzy that I had failed to notice. Realizing it was over and that a bit cloudy stream giving up a half dozen fish an hour was going to be a continued let down. So I hiked the couple miles back to my car. I certainly didn't have the daylight or the strength to bushwhack further down than before and start fishing back up. Nothing big enough to bother with a pic. Maybe I should have taken one of those annoying little rainbows. Did take a picture of a pretty stretch of water that marked the beginning of stocked rainbow hell in the first section I fished that I will attach.[signature]