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Archive for March, 2010
South Fork Boise River 3/31 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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In waders I have fallen one time in the water while fishing. Well yesterday was number two, right in the middle of the South Fork; completely down. The only thing that wasn’t wet was my left arm, which was carrying my pole. It’s a terrible way to start a fishing trip on a windy, 45 degree day, but I’m just a big enough idiot to keep fishing. I took everything out of my vest, hung the vest and my outer shirt and took off up the river with a #12 Black Gold (dry fly fish Idaho) on my line and a canister of gink. I had to leave my fly boxes behind to dry so I felt like I had entered the “One Fly” contest.
I moved up the river slowly, viewing out across the submerged boulder patches above Neal Bridge. There was a nice BWO hatch coming off and I began to see rainbows surfacing up ahead. All of a sudden I saw a fish about 10 feet in front of me next to a large boulder against the bank. I flipped my Black Gold (dry fly fish Idaho) ahead of the boulder and let it gently drift back toward me, and bingo! Right on queue, the fish slowly rose up and took the fly. After a short fight and a dancing finish, I’m admiring a beautiful 14- inch rainbow. I was beginning to feel a little warmer inside my flooded waders.
I continued up river searching for feeders as the BWO hatch intensified. I could see at least a half dozen fish in front of me sipping bugs, and I positioned myself to serve the fly; always avoiding a cast that would land directly over the fish. In almost every situation, if there were a fish actively feeding, I’d hook him. Sometimes it would take a few casts, and at times the fish seemed hesitant, but on this end run, the fish would take. I finished out the run and I’d landed six fish. So I decided to go back and get all my gear and fish on up the bluff that blocks further passage on the east side of the river.
I entered the next stretch of water and was greeted by feeding rainbows; some tight against the bank, others out a ways eating in front or in back of submerged boulders. I downsized my fly to a #16 Black Gold (dry fly fish Idaho) and began serving it to feeders. Same result, they would almost always take or come up and false take on the fly, but most of them ended up in the net for a short viewing, a thank you, and a gentle release.
I ended up landing 15 fish and one really nice male about 20 inches long. It turned out to be a pretty good choice to stay and fish even though I was cold and had water down my waders. A small amount of frost bite is a small price to pay if you’re catching fish!!
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
Owyhee River 3/12 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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Steve Hardy was gently moving the #22 midge (dry fly fish Idaho) across the surface of the slick when a small fish moved toward the hook. Suddenly, from the depths a large golden body roared to the surface and stole the fly from the smaller fish. The hook was set and all hell breaks loose! The fish zinged off line as it bolted to the center of the slick; back and forth the battle raged on until a spectacular 20-inch female lay resting in the net. I even got to watch it happen on Steve’s handy-dandy small video camera. How cool is that?!!
We worked Halloweens (dry fly fish Idaho) and Slow Stones (dry fly fish Idaho) early in the day below the Power Line Hole, but the fish in the upper river didn’t seem to be keying on the larger squala patterns. I caught one giant male on a Halloween in a riffle, but we never saw a single natural stone (dry fly fish Idaho) on the water. No problem though; we moved to the slick up above and began catching one fish after another on a #22 black emerger (dry fly fish Idaho). There were a few small fish we landed also.
After exhausting the run of brownies on the slick, we decided to move down river to work some stone patterns (dry fly fish Idaho). We began fishing the Bridge Hole and immediately there were squala on the water, not in larger numbers, but they were there. Strangely, the fish were not keying on them; instead the fish on the surface were taking emergers. We continued to throw our stone patterns, but no takers. They wouldn’t even take the naturals that occasionally floated by.
It was 5:30 p.m., windy, and a slight mist of rain began to fall, but being the die-hards that Steve and I are, we decided to try one more hole. The smart fishermen were headed down the river for home. It was very dark for 6:00 p.m., and the wind was swirling hard. It was cold; we both had our sweaters and hoods on, and our hands were freezing as we began to fish the Boulder Garden.
Steve and I were both using a slow stone (dry fly fish Idaho) in the gentle current around the rocks, fishing the deep edges and around the sunken boulders. As to be expected, we seemed to be wasting our time. I had been focusing most of my casts tight to the edges and decided to try a mid-stream cast over a cluster of sunken boulders. I could see the fly perfectly against the shimmer of the wave when he came–a massive break at the surface and a toilet flush as he submerged with my fly. I set the hook gently, and his initial surge told me he was a giant. After working him around the boulders out to the depths of the pool and across the river, he finally succumbed to the net. He was a beefy 21-inches long, dark, yet golden, and we guessed him at 5 lbs.
We hiked out at dark, and my final thought was–you know, sometimes it pays to be the idiot that stays until dark in impossible weather conditions!
Emergers
$1.65
- Color:
- Black Wing Black Emerger, White Wing Black Emerger, Blue Wing Olive Emerger, Brown Emerger, Gray Emerger, PMD Emerger,
Halloween Stone
Fish this fly in faster water in tandem with Slow Stone. Between the two, they are a devastating combination--especially for big brown trout. Preview our movie, Fly Magic: Fishing with Halloween and Slow Stone and learn how to fish these flies together. Note: There are NO tenancles in sizes 16 2XL and 14 2XL.
$2.05 — $2.25
Slow Stone
The Super Bowl Champion of all stoneflies--this bad boy can score on every play!! Fished tight against the edges, along willow banks and cut banks, it is pure hell on fish! Slow Stone is built with the total package, front and back antennae, egg bag, jointed legs, and a glittering moose wing. It is an absolute necessity that you own this fly.
$2.05
Owyhee River 3/2 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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At 10:15 we’re on the river driving toward the dam and the river is alive with fish. Every slick and every window of holding water there were noses popping at the surface. The river was showing every sign that it was going to be a monster day on the “O”.
We parked on the midge water just below the dam and just like clock work there were Brownies working the surface. Geoff snuck into position on the high side the run and the second cast…bang!! He’s into a big old brown, with a lot of spark. Up and down and across the hole the battle raged on until a beautiful 18 inch fish slid into the net. We snapped a few photos and admired her a minute, and slid her back for another day.
Geoff dried the #22 BWO Emerger, ginked the shuck and engineered back into position. He targeted another fish and the cast was perfectly served. There was a moment pause, then a big mouth encompassed the hook. A gentle hook set, an instant jump and then a bolt of electricity zinging across the slick. The war was on again! Life is a beautiful thing with a fly pole in your hand, the right hook on your tippet, and a 20 inch Brownie thrashing at the end of your line. The fish begrudgingly slid into the net and filled it up.
And so the morning went picking a fish here and there and the hatch staying strong with targets at the surface to serve a fly to. Things all of a sudden, like someone flipping a light switch there were no fish feeding anywhere on the slick. We figured it to be a perfect time for lunch and let the fish regroup for the afternoon show. The show never happened and the fish stayed down, so we moved down river in search of rings. All the schools of fish we saw feeding in the morning has disappeared and the Owyhee shut down.
We hit a few runs of water with small numbers of fish feeding and we picked up a few more fish, but the hot fishing of the day was over by 2:00. Oh the Owyhee, it can throw you more curve balls than a pitching machine and occasionally it throw you a split ball. You never anticipate a hatch to come off early in the morning on the Owyhee in the winter, but by golly it did. We should have been there at daylight!
Flies that caught fish:
BWO Emerger #22
Emergers
$1.65
- Color:
- Black Wing Black Emerger, White Wing Black Emerger, Blue Wing Olive Emerger, Brown Emerger, Gray Emerger, PMD Emerger,