Middle Provo Mousing

[ru22dizzle]

This is my first post to this page so please forgive any items I might miss.

As I was on the middle this past week I was catching a few fish during the day with the usual scud and midge nymph rig. However as the day was coming to an end around 3:00 pm I decided to put a mouse on and hit the edges to see if I could draw out some beasts. I am glad I did. They were hitting that mouse like crazy. I was throwing the mouse slightly down stream and as close to the edge as I could. I was steadily stripping in very short strips back as it drifted as well. Play with the speed and cadence, but they were not shy by any means to take the mouse. I caught several really nice rainbows following this specific tactic up until I left at about 4:45 pm or 5:00 pm.
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[ddmoogs]

Awesome! I didn't think they'd still be aggressive enough to hit a mouse this time of year.
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[RiverHag]

Some days they key in on those big patterns. I was chucking a mouse on the lower for about an hour the other day but they just were not interested.

The middle is a good place for it.

I am still itching for that evil ice to leave the Berry so I can get back up there with my mouse box.
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[remo_5_0]

Very nice!
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[Tarponjim]

Mousing in the dead of winter, whooda thunk it? That's awesome. What's your pattern? I used foam-backed synthetic body with a rabbit tail last summer with limited results. (Gurgler) Deer hair is a pain to spin that large for me. Rabbit hair holds a lot of water when wet. Haven't found the "perfect" one yet.
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[ru22dizzle]

I cant wait to get back to the berry for some ice off mousing. Was lucky enough to get a good solid day in before the ice started forming last month. Those cuts were running so close to the bank and so willing to take the mouse, even if they missed it the first time.
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[ru22dizzle]

Hey TarponJim, I have been using this pattern from cabelas with great results. (see attached picture and link) I don't tie my own flies as of now. I tried to get back into this last year, but just had too many other things going on. Give this little pattern a try and let me know how it goes. This has been my go to so far, but have seen a couple others I will give a try and let you know that results.

[url "http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fly-fishing/fly-fishing-flies/salmon-steelhead%7C/pc/104793480/c/104721480/sc/104333580/i/103933080/preparation-h-mouse/711900.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsalmon-steelhead%2F_%2FN-1100427%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_103933080"]http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fly-fishing/fly-fishing-flies/salmon-steelhead%7C/pc/104793480/c/104721480/sc/104333580/i/103933080/preparation-h-mouse/711900.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsalmon-steelhead%2F_%2FN-1100427%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_103933080[/url]
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[RiverHag]

I have played with a lot of mouse patterns, and this one is by far the best I have found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjhUx-k2Chk

You do want the rabbit fur to get soaked. A natural mouse gets that way. Ya know, like a drowned rat....

One thing I do to mine that is not mentioned in here is I tie a stinger hook with fifteen pound spider wire that I run on top of the tail and then run the hook (black, size 10) through the leather so it is coming out the bottom of it.

The fish like to grab the mouse by the tail and pull it under to drown or stun it. A live mouse can bite and hard.

I missed a lot of really nice fish that would do this until I figured out what they were doing. I just though I was sucking at setting the hook. Once the stinger went in the hook up and landing rate went up.

It is a lot of fun watching those pigs chase down a mouse.
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[ru22dizzle]

I saw this pattern and video that you posted on another forum on here. I would love to try this pattern, but I haven't mastered the art of tying my own flies yet. So, I am a bit limited on the flies it use.

Maybe I'll have to just master this fly so I can have a killer mouse pattern. Thanks for the post!
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