fly fishing little Dell

[happybob91]

Out of curiosity, what patterns work at Little Dell?
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[remo_5_0]

I have yet to fish it but plan in hitting it with my toon this year, I have some Damsel fly nymphs I have been tying that will hopefully produce, I am sure Emergers world work for deep nymphing. Hopefully the Little Dell experts will chime in.
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[Troll]

Streamers is what I have used with success. I don't fish it enough to know if there is any kind of insect hatch from the silt.

I like brook trout style streamers. Grey Ghost, Micky Finn, Rabbit Zonkers, Muddler Minnows, Decievers, cone head buggers in olive and purple, flash minnows...
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[Joe_Dizzy]

Here ya go: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ead#unread
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[happybob91]

Awesome! Thanks for the info everybody!
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[Envenomation09]

Silt is actually one of the better substrates for a lake. Midges/chronomids burrow into it as larvae and "swim" up (which is what stage we imitate with a chronomid fly) also mayflies of the family Ephemeridae (Burrowers) do this. Think Utah lake--very silty, and LOTS of midges.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

[quote Envenomation09]

Silt is actually one of the better substrates for a lake. Midges/chronomids burrow into it as larvae and "swim" up (which is what stage we imitate with a chronomid fly) also mayflies of the family Ephemeridae (Burrowers) do this. Think Utah lake--very silty, and LOTS of midges.

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Silt is OK, but a good marl (clay) bottom is better... holds up to tunneling midge larvae better than a loose, silty bottom.

A good trick for ice fishing is to drop a sounding weight down on a semi-tight line... if it lands with a click, the bottom is rock - no good. If it lands softly, but pulls right out - silt - not so good. If it lands softly, but requires a little pressure to free it from the bottom - marl/clay... perfect forage area.

Little Dell has good marl and weed beds... and holds all the classic lake forage; chironomids, mayflies (Callibaetis), leeches, damselflies, scuds, even a few caddisflies.
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[fiveweight]

I have fished it often in the fall. I have always done fair with buggers, the color has always been random, nothing I could pattern, and usually smallish cuts. I know there's gotta be some biggins in there. I think this year I will go deep, and small and see if I can get into the big one's.
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[remo_5_0]

DWR claims to have shocked 5 lb Brookies.
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[brookieguy1]

Several years ago a guy on Utah on the Fly caught and landed one on a broken fly rod that could have been around 8lbs. Probably the state record, but back then you couldn't keep them.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

The next Brook Trout that I catch in Little Dell will be my first. []

The big brookies caught in the haul nets were quite a few years ago and I believe all were killed/analyzed for signs of disease (Whirling Disease was detected).

Interesting area in that Little Dell and Mountain Dell are being used for brood stock hatcheries to maintain/reintroduce pure strain Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.

The study is available on line if interested: http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/awarchive?typ...item=17074
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[kandersonSLC]

Yeah, 20 or so years ago they thought there were no pure strains of BCT in existence, and then they found a group up one of the side canyons near Little Dell that was 99% pure. A real accomplishment to bring them back and now BCT are relatively common.

10,000 years ago these guys swam in Lake Bonneville and grew to the size of a large salmon. Ah, the good old days.

Little Dell is still the primary source of brood stock for planting BCTs in other areas, so don't mess with the fishing regs -- catch & release anything that resembles a cutt and artificial flys and lures only.

Saw some dufuses at Little Dell being handcuffed and put in a squad car for fishing with bait and keeping cutts -- and it didn't help that they didn't have a fishing license. Some people.
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[brookieguy1]

Whirling disease in brook trout? Not sure but I don't think they are prone to it.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

[quote brookieguy1]

Whirling disease in brook trout? Not sure but I don't think they are prone to it.

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Yeah, that was news to me as well. I thought it only affected west slope trout species (rainbow, cutthroat, golden). The report says that the brook trout tested positive for the presence of the bacteria... perhaps some species can carry it and pass it to on others without suffering from it themselves???

I read that whirling disease was imported from northern Europe (1956). Hatcheries in PA accidentally imported/cultivated/stocked rainbows with the disease and the rest is now history.

There is a strain of rainbows (also from Europe) that are thought to be immune to it. Wyoming and Colorado (maybe others) have experimented with stocking this strain.
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[ScottyP]

Chirono's under a bobber can work really well. I usually hang a tandem rig to go about 4' deep and fish it 10 to 15 ' off the bank. In another few weeks the calabaetis hatch should start up. I throw standard adams or hackle stackers for that. Don't be afraid to throw big attractor flies up there. Those fish will appear out of the deep and slurp down size 10 stimmies, chernobyls, and moth patterns for a good chunk of the spring, summer and fall. I never seem to get too much interest on leaches or buggers. They will turn, follow, maybe nip, but I seldom hook up.
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[fiveweight]

ScottyP,
Thanks for the suggestion. One after another all morning on Sunday. No biggens yet. I will keep trying.
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[Joe_Dizzy]

[quote fiveweight]

One after another all morning on Sunday.

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Were you in one of those tube/toons up by the inlet? I was the guy wading the far shoreline.

Real cool when the lake went to glass around 10:00a (kind of unusual for up there)... got quite a few casting dry flies to cruisers after the initial chironomid assault.
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[fiveweight]

Yes, I got there about 10 and the water as you can see in the picture was glass. I was kicking over towards the inlet when you left. A hellacious wind came up about noon, shut down the fishing, and blew me off the lake. Nice couple of hours though. It looked like you were having a good time.
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[remo_5_0]

You guys have me all juiced up to hit Little Dell, I have never fished it and can be there in about 20 minutes from my work, think I will be leaving my toon' in my ride and start heading up on the weekdays, is the gate open? How close can I get my toon? I have a lot of stuff on it!
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[Joe_Dizzy]

[quote remo_5_0]

...is the gate open? How close can I get my toon? I have a lot of stuff on it!

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Gate from the upper parking lot opens Memorial Day weekend (I think). So right now you've got a pretty good walk down to the lake ("down" being the key word).

Good news is you can fish it without a toon (if you don't have one small enough to carry). No way you're carrying a trolling motor, battery, etc. though.

It's a fun little "practice" lake IMO... I have not seen more than a small handful of big fish in my short time fishing it (~4 years).
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