Minersville before the storm hits

[gofish435]

A couple of us went to Minersville this morning to try and get in some fishing before the Thursday storm rolls in. We launched near the boat ramp around 10:00 and fished mostly the southeast portion of the reservoir until 2:00 when the wind got too bad. The wind was blowing from the southeast when we started so we stayed over where the waves were not too bad.

There were a few other shore anglers when we got there, some fly fishing and some throwing hardware and everyone seemed to be catching some fish. Most of the shore fly fishermen were using indicators and they were doing pretty well. There was one other floater and he was fly fishing with an indicator too.

We used medium sinking line (#3) and crystal buggers in black/orange/pearl and green/pearl on a size 6 hook with a bead head. We picked up twelve fish, all rainbows from 13" to 20" long. We missed another seven fish so it wasn't real fast fishing but after my skunk at Otter Creek on Saturday it felt good to get a few tugs.

The water temperature was 43-44 degrees and the visibility in the water of about 5'. The reservoir level is fairly low but we still fished in water over 25' deep.

I'm sure hoping that lakes and reservoirs closer to home start to thaw out. I hate spending more time driving than I do fishing.[:/]
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[fast_randy]

Thanks so much for those pictures. I lived in Beaver for two years and played and fished it a lot. The wind almost always come up. The spillway and river below the dam are good when the wind comes up. And the Beaver River gets tiny before it gets to the reservoir but there are big fish there.
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[T-DOG91]

I was planning on going this weekend. Thanks for the report! I have never been before, I do have a float tube and fly fish. Have indicator and sink tip lines but not full sink. Any pointers for a first timer? Will I be able to sleep in my suv at the lake? Thanks
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[Sharknado]

I’m moving soon to Utah and making future plans to break out the float tube this year and have some questions for you. What weight rod are you using? How do you like the force fins? Are you using tapered leaders with your sinking lines?
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[wormandbobber]

That's funny....all the retired guys on the lake at the same time--my father was out there yesterday too. He fished up lake though towards the old beer and bait shop. His success seemed to mirror what you guys did. But, he also said that an old guy on shore was catching 2 or 3 fish for every one he caught off a point with a fly rod and indicator.
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[gofish435]

Your welcome and thanks for the tips.

The DWR has done some restoration work on the stream below Minersville so it should be even better now.
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[gofish435]

[quote T-DOG91]I was planning on going this weekend. Thanks for the report! I have never been before, I do have a float tube and fly fish. Have indicator and sink tip lines but not full sink. Any pointers for a first timer? Will I be able to sleep in my suv at the lake? Thanks[/quote]

The weather does not look good for this weekend but heck, that never stops me either.[]

There is several places around the reservoir that you could park and sleep in your vehicle.

As far as pointers here are some things that you can try. If your out in the tube you can use your sink-tip and leech and bugger patterns. I was using a #3 sink line with 55' of line out so my fly was in the 10' - 12' deep range. A sink-tip should get you into that depth range. A sink-tip will also work well when fishing from shore with buggers and leeches, just cast, let it sink for a bit, then strip. The guys using indicators were fishing nymphs between 5'-7' under the indicator.

Good luck with the weather and the fishing.[]
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[MBM1969]

Five and six weight fly rods work great for Stillwater fishing. more important I believe is length. Nine foot to ten foot rods make casting form a tube or pontoon a whole lot easier. With sinking lines there is no need for a tapered leader. A level 7 to 9 foot section of 6 or 8lb test works great. Even fishing indicators with a floating line a 10-15 level section of leader works well.
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[gofish435]

[quote Sharknado]I’m moving soon to Utah and making future plans to break out the float tube this year and have some questions for you. What weight rod are you using? How do you like the force fins? Are you using tapered leaders with your sinking lines?[/quote]

I use a 9 1/2' six weight rod that has some back bone to it when I float tube. A longer rod is an advantage when tubing since you sit low in the water and the longer rod allows you to keep the line higher in the air.

I have had the force fins for years and I know they are pricey, when I bought mine they were $95.00 now I think they are around $200.00, but I can spend a long day without any problems. The majority of my tubing is what I call trolling, moving for most of the day and unless the wind is blowing the fins are almost effortless. One thing you want to look for in a fin is stiffness. Don't go for the cheap caddis fins or ones like them. They work fine when there is no wind but if you have to put the torque to them they will fold back leave you helpless.

I do you use a tapered leader with sinking lines. I learned from a gentlemen that a lot of Utahn's no by the name of Mike Andreasen, about how to fish a tapered leader on a full sink line. I buy a 7 1/2' 0X (15 lb.) tapered leader and cut about 2' off the butt section and attach a size 20 barrel or rolling swivel to the end. I then attach about two feet of 3X tippet (7.8 lb.) to the other end of the swivel. Using this method allows you to fish most of the season without ever having to replace the expensive tapered leader and the tiny swivel does not effect the casting. You don't want to use too long of a leader with sinking line or your fly will ride up in the water column and it will be more difficult to detect the strikes. I know some guys will fish an even shorter leader on full sink lines.

I hope this will help you get out and catch some fish in the tube.[]
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[gofish435]

[quote wormandbobber]That's funny....all the retired guys on the lake at the same time--my father was out there yesterday too. He fished up lake though towards the old beer and bait shop. His success seemed to mirror what you guys did. But, he also said that an old guy on shore was catching 2 or 3 fish for every one he caught off a point with a fly rod and indicator.[/quote]

It's too bad I didn't know Dale was there, I would have enjoyed catching up with him. Was he out in the raft or casting & stripping from shore? It might have been too windy for the raft.

Tell your dad Hi for me.[]
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[wormandbobber]

He was out in his raft. He fished for several hours before dialing it in. Those rafts are better in the wind than what you might expect--he has a pretty good homemade wind sock and good oars go a long ways.

I will tell him that you were out there!
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[T-DOG91]

[quote gofish435][quote T-DOG91]I was planning on going this weekend. Thanks for the report! I have never been before, I do have a float tube and fly fish. Have indicator and sink tip lines but not full sink. Any pointers for a first timer? Will I be able to sleep in my suv at the lake? Thanks[/quote]

The weather does not look good for this weekend but heck, that never stops me either.[]

There is several places around the reservoir that you could park and sleep in your vehicle.

As far as pointers here are some things that you can try. If your out in the tube you can use your sink-tip and leech and bugger patterns. I was using a #3 sink line with 55' of line out so my fly was in the 10' - 12' deep range. A sink-tip should get you into that depth range. A sink-tip will also work well when fishing from shore with buggers and leeches, just cast, let it sink for a bit, then strip. The guys using indicators were fishing nymphs between 5'-7' under the indicator.

Good luck with the weather and the fishing.[][/quote]

Thanks! I have rain gear that I plan on needing to utilize and just have to make the best of it. I only get a few days off a month and have to hit it rain or shine as long as it’s not overbearing weather. Thanks for the advice
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[PBH]

[quote T-DOG91] Will I be able to sleep in my suv at the lake? Thanks[/quote]

If you pull in to the main county park entrance (boat ramp) then you'll have to pay the fee -- $5 day use and $10 overnight?. But that would give you a nice spot to park with access to the restrooms and a hot shower!

If you don't want to pay the fee, then you'd just need to pull into one of the other roads that access the lake. No hot shower.


Beaver County has done a nice job with the campground / restrooms / showers. It's good to see that they finally realized the value of having water in the reservoir, which means good fishing. When fishing is good, the campground stays busy.
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[Sharknado]

Thanks for answering the first of many questions as I start trying to catch many new species of fish (new to me). White Bass, smalllmouth, walleyes etc.
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