10-17-2014, 07:25 PM
Had a great staycation with the family yesterday that begin with a 5 hour fishing trip at Hyrum State Park. We caught about a dozen fish, all rainbows; and we kept three (two 14” and one 15”) for the table (more about that later).
The trip brought a lot of satisfaction, but also a lot of angling questions, too. We began the (around 8:00) with fly and bubble, using a white wooly bugger type, fly at the suggestion of someone here who had success with that on Monday. Over the course of the next two hours, we tried some olive colors, orange colors, a purple one, and some darker greens and browns. In that mix, I was able to catch a 10” bow and my son landed one around the same size (his only for for the day--darn it!), but I was still searching for the pattern that the fish would like.
Around 10:00 I try a black fly with some green threads in it. Bam! In the next 15 minutes, I catch three nice ones. Unfortunately, during this time, my son had run to the van to eat some breakfast. I was hoping he’d come back quickly and the hits would keep coming. He gets about about 15 minutes later, but then they stop hitting on that color. We fish for about 2 more hours, catching a couple more on that black pattern, and with a black and white fly my daughter caught a huge one that slipped from my hands as I was going to measure it (it seemed as large or larger than the 15” I already had on the stringer) and she caught another 10” just before we had to leave. All were hooked within 20 feet of the shore at the beach location. Sadly, we didn’t see a tagged fish.
So, questions abound. Why the three quick fish, then nothing? Should I have changed location? Can a furious feed turn on and then off in a matter of minutes? A group next to us stayed in the same spot for about 3-4 hours and had a nice stringer of about 8-10 fish. I didn’t ask them what patterns they were using, but they were fishing fly and bubble. Perhaps I did the best that can be done, switching flies every 5-10 casts, searching for patterns that they liked. Just wondering what I can do better to hone my skills and strategies.
Another question I have surrounds landing/netting a fish. These bows were fighters--they flew into the air a couple of times as I was reeling them in. It added to the anxiety/excitement that I was always nervous that they wouldn’t stay on the line--and they didn’t always stay on. Having such a larger leader made it difficult to hold the pole in one hand, and net him/her in the other. I resulted to having my kids help with that part. But we lost a number of fish because we weren’t quick enough with the net. It seems like such a small, silly, thing; but I think I need to give more thought about how to land fish, and prepare myself for doing so. Any tips in that area would be appreciated.
Okay, the kitchen. Talk about disappointing. I tried to fillet the trout, and the youtube videos make it look so easy. After trying on my first two fish, and getting little pieces of fillet that comprised of probably 15-20% of the edible flesh, I just wrapped the third fish in foil. I felt
dened not to have given these fish their proper dues by not being able to fillet them properly. I realized that I need some one-on-one tutoring on how to fillet. Perhaps I can meet someone in the next week or so for a fishing outing, then you can teach me how to fillet. I imagine a lot of it is practice, but I’m sure some tutoring would go a long way.
Aside from the disappointing portion sizes, the cooking went great. Best-ever flavor, actually. Used a rub of red pepper, paprika, lemon pepper, coriander, and garlic powder, then cooked it in butter. Absolutely delicious, and made me want to go catch some more trout right away.
pics:
6905 - Hyrum didn't get skunked!
6906 - 14" bow
6907 - That same bow - face profile
6910 - Jacob and Dad showing off our dinner
6953 - Three most productive flies, all tied by a fellow board member.
PS: I think the tutorial on inline pics needs to be updated. I tried it and it didn't work. What am I missing?
[signature]
The trip brought a lot of satisfaction, but also a lot of angling questions, too. We began the (around 8:00) with fly and bubble, using a white wooly bugger type, fly at the suggestion of someone here who had success with that on Monday. Over the course of the next two hours, we tried some olive colors, orange colors, a purple one, and some darker greens and browns. In that mix, I was able to catch a 10” bow and my son landed one around the same size (his only for for the day--darn it!), but I was still searching for the pattern that the fish would like.
Around 10:00 I try a black fly with some green threads in it. Bam! In the next 15 minutes, I catch three nice ones. Unfortunately, during this time, my son had run to the van to eat some breakfast. I was hoping he’d come back quickly and the hits would keep coming. He gets about about 15 minutes later, but then they stop hitting on that color. We fish for about 2 more hours, catching a couple more on that black pattern, and with a black and white fly my daughter caught a huge one that slipped from my hands as I was going to measure it (it seemed as large or larger than the 15” I already had on the stringer) and she caught another 10” just before we had to leave. All were hooked within 20 feet of the shore at the beach location. Sadly, we didn’t see a tagged fish.
So, questions abound. Why the three quick fish, then nothing? Should I have changed location? Can a furious feed turn on and then off in a matter of minutes? A group next to us stayed in the same spot for about 3-4 hours and had a nice stringer of about 8-10 fish. I didn’t ask them what patterns they were using, but they were fishing fly and bubble. Perhaps I did the best that can be done, switching flies every 5-10 casts, searching for patterns that they liked. Just wondering what I can do better to hone my skills and strategies.
Another question I have surrounds landing/netting a fish. These bows were fighters--they flew into the air a couple of times as I was reeling them in. It added to the anxiety/excitement that I was always nervous that they wouldn’t stay on the line--and they didn’t always stay on. Having such a larger leader made it difficult to hold the pole in one hand, and net him/her in the other. I resulted to having my kids help with that part. But we lost a number of fish because we weren’t quick enough with the net. It seems like such a small, silly, thing; but I think I need to give more thought about how to land fish, and prepare myself for doing so. Any tips in that area would be appreciated.
Okay, the kitchen. Talk about disappointing. I tried to fillet the trout, and the youtube videos make it look so easy. After trying on my first two fish, and getting little pieces of fillet that comprised of probably 15-20% of the edible flesh, I just wrapped the third fish in foil. I felt
dened not to have given these fish their proper dues by not being able to fillet them properly. I realized that I need some one-on-one tutoring on how to fillet. Perhaps I can meet someone in the next week or so for a fishing outing, then you can teach me how to fillet. I imagine a lot of it is practice, but I’m sure some tutoring would go a long way. Aside from the disappointing portion sizes, the cooking went great. Best-ever flavor, actually. Used a rub of red pepper, paprika, lemon pepper, coriander, and garlic powder, then cooked it in butter. Absolutely delicious, and made me want to go catch some more trout right away.
pics:
6905 - Hyrum didn't get skunked!
6906 - 14" bow
6907 - That same bow - face profile
6910 - Jacob and Dad showing off our dinner
6953 - Three most productive flies, all tied by a fellow board member.
PS: I think the tutorial on inline pics needs to be updated. I tried it and it didn't work. What am I missing?
[signature]
]
