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Posts Tagged ‘cutthroat’
12 Days of Christmas Sale- Day 5
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On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me: No, not 5 golden rings but mayflies! Hands down, the best mayfly selection of patterns on the market from DFI. December 9, 10% off all Single Upright Wing, No Hackle, Searcher, and Parachute patterns. If you need to match a hatch anywhere, rest assured DFI will have the pattern, color, and size you will need to chase a hatch!
Lower Gospel Lake 8/27
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It’s a big huckleberry year, so I convinced Peach and Mudd that it was picking time; but before we could start on that endeavor, I would have to drop in the canyon and fish Lower Gospel Lake. They took the bait, and I found myself on the two mile trail that falls off into the lake.
I had fished the lake a couple of years ago, and the cutthroats were all about 8-11 inches long. If the lake took its natural progression, the fish should be larger this year. I was wrong—the fish were just about the same. There are too many fish in the lake, and the food source isn’t supplying the nutrients to grow larger fish. Looking at the outlet, I could see at least a dozen fish, and they looked exactly as I remembered. Regardless, I had a fishing rod in my hand, so my choices were to fish or to fish. I elected to fish.
The cutties were cruising the shorelines cleaning up the small midges and occasional caddis that had hatched during the night before. I began targeting the fish out ahead of me along the edge with nice sift casts, landing the Flying Black Any out ahead of the fish then putting a little movement on the bug. The fish would see the ant at surprisingly long distance and bolt to the surface. Even with small fish, it’s still exciting to watch “the take.” In fact, there is no excitement in all of sport like “the take.” I have been addicted to it for 50 years, and it never grows old.
So I fished the shoreline for 150 yards, caught and released about 25 gorgeous cutties, hiked out of the canyon, and huckleberried the rest of the day. Life is good!!
Flies that caught fish:
Black Flying Ant; #16
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Adams Caddis – Green; #18
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Twenty Mile Lakes (Day 3) – 8/17
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Up a steep mountain chute, through a saddle, and across a ridge top, and we found ourselves at the upper lake in the chain (East Lake) to start Day 3. We fished around the lake and saw a few feeding fish beyond casting range. I caught one fish then moved down to the center lake (South Lake). Again this lake was being fished, so the obvious choice was to revisit Long Lake where the fishing was fantastic the day before.
Steve started in the southeast corner of the lake and immediately hooked and landed a beautiful 14-inch cuttie. I started about center on the southern side of the lake and on the second cast, I hooked and landed the largest fish of the trip. It was a beautiful 17+ inch rainbow. From there, we both continued to hook fish of all sizes: 8 inches to 14-inch fish. We pulled off the lake in mid-afternoon and decided to chase fish at our home lake the rest of the day.
Steve landed two nice cutties, and I landed one to finish off the day. All told, it was an awesome backpacking trip to Twenty Mile Lakes. Great scenery, ice-cold spring 40 yards from camp, and lots of rainbows and cutties. Life is good!!
Flies that caught fish:
Adams Stimulator; #16 & #14
Adams Stimulator
$1.95
Emperor Caddis – Black; #20 & #18
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Flying Black Ant, #16 & #14
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Beetle, #14
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Green Sedge, #14 (Tester Fly)
Adams Caddis, #16
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Twenty Mile Lakes (Day 1) – 8/15
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If you’re going to fish high-mountain lakes, there is always a physical price that must be paid. The trailhead is always much lower than the lakes that are tucked in at the highest peaks. Twenty Mile Lakes, northeast of McCall, are no different with a 3,000 ft. vertical climb to a wonderful cluster of lakes.
We started up the trail early; and three hours and seven miles later, we’re setting up camp at North Twenty Mile Lake. After gathering wood, making the firebox (see our video), and consuming a few quarts of water, it was time to check out the fishing on our home lake.
The tie-on fly was an Emperor Caddis – Black, Size 18, and it didn’t take long for Steve Feldmann, my backpacking buddy, to hook and land the first cutthroat of the day—a nice 12-inch fish. I settled in on a corner of the lake with a stiff wind blowing directly in my face. By using the wind as a gatherer of food, then pushing it into a concentrated corner, this often consolidates fish in a small section of the lake. I guessed right, and without moving from the corner, I picked up a half dozen beautiful cutties.
We fished the same lake for the rest of the afternoon, selected a few nice fish for dinner (see filleting a fish video) and finished off the day with a beautiful sunset.
Flies that caught fish:
Emperor Caddis – Black; #18
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Flying Black Ant, #16 & #14
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Adams Caddis – Green’ #16
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Big Creek (2 miles below Beaver Creek) 8/9 – Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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After a massive dose of huckleberry pancakes, I got an early start on the trailhead. It was my intention to be below where any day fisherman would normally fish. I figured about 6 miles would do it. It’s a wonderful trail; mostly downhill, so the miles went by quickly. After 2 hours of solid walking, I settled in on a beautiful pool with a long riffle. The cuttie fishing picked up exactly how it had ended yesterday–one beautiful cuttie after another.
I worked my way through two more runs of water and then settled into a nice hole about a mile below Beaver Creek. I hooked a couple of real nice cutties and landed them. I casted back into the pool again, and a small fish rose up and took the hook. As normal, you always set the hook. I had a small fish on. I brought the small rainbow in as quickly as I could and saw a large fish chasing my line. The large fish was really thrashing to eat the small one. I skipped the rainbow in and the big fish disappeared. I released the small fish, dried out my fly (Bullet Head Hopper, Dry Fly Fish Idaho), and casted back into the pool. This time another small fish about 10 inches took the hook and again I set the hook and began to retrieve the fish. Immediately the big fish was back after the fish on my line. It was a fairly good sized rainbow, so I wasn’t concerned about the larger fish eating it. Then bang! He ate my rainbow! The water is crystal clear, and I cannot see my 10-inch rainbow, but I have the BIG FISH ON! He’s on my rainbow! So I start fighting the fish. I immediately recognize that he was a giant Dolly Varden (Bull Trout). But either way, I have him on my rainbow. All of a sudden I see him open his large mouth and out comes my rainbow. The little fish came free, then immediately the big Dolly Varden sucks him in again!
So, I got the Dolly Varden back on my rainbow. I start hucking him towards the bank as hard as I could, then again he let go of my rainbow and the big fish swims off. But I had him on twice and felt his power. Unfortunately, the rainbow didn’t fare so well. Being swallowed twice left him battle scarred. I revived him a long time, and he did swim away.
The rest of the day I spent hooking cutties and totally enjoying their beauty. It was an awesome 3 days on Big Creek. After enjoying the river until 4:30 p.m., I began hiking out of the canyon. I crossed a set of wolf tracks on the trail since I had walked it earlier, not far from where we saw the black bear the first day here (See 8/7 blog). Gotta love Idaho!!
Flies that caught fish:
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Bullet Hopper
$2.35
Middle Fork Salmon 7/31 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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Two and a half miles above Dagger Falls and about 12 miles down river from yesterday’s blog.
The day started exactly like the previous day—on about my third cast with a #12 Black Gold Hardback (dry fly fish Idaho), I hooked and landed a 13-inch cutty. Then exactly like the day before, I began catching numerous small rainbows. I worked through a great run of water for an hour without landing another quality fish. I moved up river to an awesome run of water, the best riffle I’d seen in two days. It was 100 yards long with a shallow riffle on the left gently sloping to a deep green riffle in the middle with a deep boulder edge on the right. It was the first place I’d seen in two days where you could work a small fly in great holding water.
I waded the river to the deep bouldered edge, tied on a piece of 5X tippet, and put on a #18 Emperor Caddis Black (dry fly fish Idaho). It looked perfect; it fished perfect, but the only problem was the fish didn’t think it was perfect. I caught small rainbows and one nice cutty all the way through the run in water that should have held big fish. I changed flies….same results. I skated flies…same results until I had fished the entire right side of this magnificent hole. At the top of the hole, I waded back across the river and walked the bank back to the bottom of the same hole. I was determined at that point that I was going to figure this river out.
There had to be a dry fly that would work, but the river offered zero clues. There were still no hatches to match and no fish at the surface, but I remembered a time fishing Kelly Creek for cutthroats where the conditions were the same. On that day I tied on a Beetle (dry fly fish Idaho) and it was the answer, so why not today on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River? I tied on a #14 Beetle (dry fly fish Idaho.)
There was a caramel colored cobblestone bottom on my side of the river with a gentle riffle that fell off to a deep green center of the river and it made a transition line through the entire run of water. There had to be a fish there—it was too perfect not to hold fish. I began working the beetle over the transition line. All of a sudden a big cutty rose in slow motion and ate my bug. I could see his red underbelly from 60 feet away. I hooked him and pulled him down river out of the hole. A few minutes later, he was laying in the shallow riffle at the bank. I gently removed the hook, revived him, and watched him slowly swim away.
I cautiously moved back into position casting quarter angle across the riffle and letting the fly float to the transition line caramel to green. Bang! Another nice cutty took the fly and I landed him. The angle was perfect to set a hook and they were seriously eating the fly. For a hundred yards of river, the scenario repeated itself time and time again. The fly would float gently along the surface from shallow to deep and yet another cutty would suddenly appear at the surface. I retied my knot a couple of times—they wore out my first beetle completely. It had tooth rips all over it, and the peacock hurl was shredded and sticking out the sides of the fly. I retied another fresh beetle and the fish immediately began mutilating it, too.
For two hours clear to the top of the hole, the fish smacked the beetle, and we had a reunion at the bank. I admired their beauty, they admitted that they didn’t like me, and we both went about our business.
Over the years, I have had this experience with cutthroats and beetles many times, but I’m a very slow learner. I throw our beautiful stimulators, caddis, and everything else, and the fish continue to refuse them. It finally dawns on me that cutties flat-out love beetles everywhere I have ever fished them. DO NOT ever underestimate the power of a beetle!!
Fishing Tip: Here is a technique we recommend trying the next time you fish a beetle fly. On a small high mountain stream fish the fly down stream and skate it across the riffles and holes. You’ll often catch the quality fish in a small stream working it that way.
Flies that caught fish:
Black Gold #12
Emperor Caddis – Black #18
Beetle #14
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Marsh Creek 7/30 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
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(Two miles above the confluence of Bear Valley Creek)
After a 3-mile walk down Marsh Creek, I did the same thing I always do when fishing an unknown stretch of water: Find a great looking stretch of water across the river and wade across. It’s always less likely that someone else would wade the river and thus you’ll normally have less fished water on the other side.
On the third cast with a #10 Black Gold stimulator (dry fly fish Idaho), a 12-inch cutthroat rolled up on the hook and I landed the first fish of the day. He was a gorgeous fiery red fish; I had forgotten how beautiful these cutties were. Thinking this was going to be easy, I began working the soft edge of the run upstream. The fly would settle and gently drift the current and bang! a small native rainbow would hit. After landing a dozen and a half 7 to 10-inch rainbows, I began to wonder where are the cutties?
I changed flies and caught more small fish, sometimes one after another. I was beginning to think there were no large fish in this section of the river until I settled into a nice hole that ran dead against a giant bluff. I tossed a #12 Tan stimulator (dry fly fish Idaho) to the deep riffle against the bluff, and right on cue, a 9-inch rainbow came up and ate the fly. I set the hook, and the fish ran to center stream then down toward me. All of a sudden, there was a GIANT fish chasing the fish I had on, and they were both coming right at me. The small fish ran right by me, made a small loop away, and I pulled him toward me. The large fish was right on his tail to the point I lifted the small fish out of the water. The big guy rose to the surface about 3 ft. away from me, then plunged off into the deeper water. The water was crystal clear, and I had a really good look at the fish. He was a 20+ inch rainbow, caramel colored back and beautifully colored along his side. The question about large fish was answered in a heartbeat; they were there!
I wanted that fish. I changed flies several times trying to get him to rise, but he wouldn’t. I changed to a #8 Bullet Head Hopper, and on one of the drifts, a nice 15-inch cutty ate the fly and I landed him’ but he wasn’t the guy I was looking for. An hour later, I left the hole and I never saw the big rainbow again. The son of a gun licked me, and I never take too kindly to that, but I know his address to come calling again. I’d walk the three miles down river any time to throw a fly at that fish.
And so the day went. Catching tons of small native rainbows and an occasional larger cutthroat, but I never sunk a hook in a big fish all day. I did see a couple more large fish deep in the crystal clear pools, but never connected on one. It was an interesting day. I never saw one fish rise, there were zero hatches, but yet I had fish at the hook all day long on a myriad of flies. I ended the day at 7:30 in the evening, caught 70 or 80 fish, 7 or 8 nice cutties 12 – 15-inches long, and still felt like I got my butt kicked.
Flies used to catch these fish:
Black Gold #12
Beetle #14
Golden Stone
Halloween
Adams Caddis
Hopper #8
Tan Stimulator #12
Emperor Caddis -
Peacock Caddis
Black Ant
Black Gold Stimulator
$1.95 — $2.25
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Golden Stone
A spectacular dry fly with extended tail, dark hair back, ribbed abdomen and front antennae. It's the best producing golden stone I have ever fished.
$2.05 — $2.25
Halloween Hardback Stimulator
$1.95
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Bullet Hopper
$2.35
Tan Stimulator
The perfect fly when fish are feeding on that large tan caddis or bright golden stones in larger sizes. You'll love fishing this fly, always bone dry and riding high. Sizes #16, #14, #12, #10. This was our #1 fly on the Metolius River in June, 2010 and has proven deadly in its testing period over a large variety of water.
$1.95 — $2.25
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Peacock Caddis
$1.95
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Black Midge- Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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Does size matter in the fly fishing world? Does it have to be a fly on a hook size of a #10 or #8 in order to land big fish? The answer to both of these questions is no. The Black Midge from Dry Fly Innovations has landed more big fish in all elevations of Idaho. You can dry fly fish Idaho with the Black Midge in all mountain elevations, low elevation rivers, and any stretches of water in between. This fly is universal, but it is very underestimated because it is such a small fly. The Black Midge is small in size but it is easy to fish and it floats quite well with the Z Lon that protrudes out over the eye of the hook. The Black Midge (dry fly fish Idaho) is the perfect imitation of the black midges that hatch in Idaho in the early spring, late fall, and winter. It is a dynamite fly that will land you big trout when you come to dry fly fish Idaho.
Dry Fly Innovations ties the Black Midge in two sizes (#22, #20) and in two wing colors (black/white). When dry fly fishing Idaho with the Black Midge you will want to make sure that there is a midge hatch coming off because this fly is not designed to stimulate fish from the depths. The Black Midge will catch all species of trout that Idaho has to offer from cutthroats in the high country to giant rainbows on the South Fork of the Boise River. Do not underestimate the catching abilities of the Black Midge when you come to dry fly fish Idaho this year.
Black Midge
$1.65
$1.49
You save $0.16 (10%)!
- Wing Color:
- Black Wing, White Wing
Ginger Mayfly- Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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If you are coming to dry fly fish Idaho in the mid summer fishing season I have the perfect low elevation river fly in the Ginger Mayfly (dry fly fish Idaho). This is a great fly that has proven itself time and time again from the South Fork of the Boise River, Silver Creek, Big Wood River, and the Owyhee River. The Ginger Mayfly is a match the hatch type of fly, which means you would only fish this fly when there is a light color mayfly coming off. The Ginger Mayfly is not intended for use in the high country because there are very few light colored mayflies that come off at that elevation. When you are dry fly fishing Idaho I would highly recommend you having a couple of Ginger Mayflies in your fly box because you never know in the summer seasons when their will be a light mayfly hatch coming off.
Dry Fly Innovations ties the Ginger Mayfly in two sizes (#18, #16) with a quill wing. The Ginger Mayfly comes equipped with the standard Dry Fly Innovations single upright wing and the body is spun with stripped peacock, which gives it a beautiful striated body. You can effectively dry fly fish Idaho on low elevation rivers or streams and it will catch all species of trout that Idaho has to offer. Come enjoy the Ginger Mayfly this summer and come dry fly fish Idaho, the rivers are calling out your names.
Ginger Mayfly
$2.05
- Wing Color:
- Clear Wing, Quill Wing.
Gray Hatching Emerger- Dry Fly Fish Idaho
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When you are dry fly fishing Idaho in the summer seasons there is a prevalent hatch that comes off and that is a gray drake. One of the best emergers I have ever used is Dry Fly Innovations Gray Hatching Emerger. The adult gray drake is just like any mayfly where before it comes an adult there is an emerger stage, and if you tie on the Gray Hatching Emerger, you could have a fishing day to remember. The Gray Hatching Emerger is a fly where you have to be in that particular hatch because it is not fished like a stimulator or a humpy. When you are dry fly fishing Idaho and you start to see little gray drakes appear on the waters surface; that is your key to tie on the Gray Hatching Emerger.
Dry Fly Innovations ties the Gray Hatching Emerger in two sizes (#16 2XL and #14 2XL). The Gray Hatching Emerger can effectively be dry fly fished throughout Idaho at all elevations, but where I have had the best success has been on streams and rivers. This fly has a low floating, belly down style that is very easy to fish because of the CDC combined with several turns of hackle. The Gray Hatching Emerger is a nightmare to tie, but is a dry fly fishermen’s dream. This fly will catch all species of trout so if you plan on dry fly fish Idaho next summer, grab your Gray Hatching Emergers. You will be saying “There He Is!”
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