Stalking beetle-eaters

Hot and windy days are the best for terrestrial fishing. During the past week I gave my glass and graphite rods a good workout, stalking wild browns on the nearby spring creek. You need to fish far and fine to get good results. I usually carry a pair of small binoculars to spot good sized fish. Tuesday was really windy with gusts up to 30 mph. This made precision casting a bit challenging, but I had the whole river for myself. Fish were turned on and I enjoyed one of the best days this year.

Streamside Idyll

Each year when water buttercups (Rannunculus sp.) blossom in the stream bed, I think of one of the best definitions of the chalkstream by Ron Wilton, a river keeper on the Itchen. According to Wilton, the chalkstream is "a flood under control." At this time of the year the fishing is shifting from the full force dry fly action to the more technical fishing among the weedy channels. While the weeds provide food and protection for trout, they represent a challenging obstacle as well. For the past couple of weeks I lost several nice fish deep in the weeds. One particularly large trout managed to straighten the hook after I patiently tried every trick to get it out. Amy fished with me several times and caught fish each time!

I savoured each day on the stream during the past several weeks. Light Hendrickson/Pale Afternoon Dun hatches were incredible, and the caddis are still very active during the day. Other mayflies I encountered sporadically were E. needhami and Baetis spp. During the best hatches the fish would switch from one species to the next, even though soft hackled imitations proved to be the most consistent producers during the day. With the abundance of caddis flies, it's no wonder. I haven't had a chance to fish any spinner falls in the evenings, but a wide variety of caddis and mayfly emergers were productive during the day: Rabbit Foot emergers, CDC cripples, Soft-hackled pupae, Parachute caddis and Klinks, CDC Loopwings a la Urban, plain PT nymphs, etc. On the left (bottom) is a picture of myself with the nice fish taken a couple of weeks ago

Today's weather was almost perfect, with considerable cloudiness, so unlike many of the recent bright and sunny days. Above the weed-choked stretch, I found a flat in the meadow section of the stream with active fish (see the pic). They would not take dries, but went for a tiny size 20 soft hackle fished on the greased line just under the surface. Each time the fly would tighten before the swing, the fish would take it gently. They took it dead-drifted upstream just as well. Every time the sun would peek through the clouds, the fish activity would suddenly die.

I have also been working on several glass rods during the past month. Today I have just received a very interesting vintage glass blank-7'6" dark brown Lamiglas 5 piece travel model. According to the seller it was made in the late 1970's-early 1980's. It is much stiffer than the honey E glass blanks, and Lamiglas made plenty of S glass fly rod blanks at the time, so it might be one of those. I will write about my progress with the latest rods in one of the upcoming blogs. I need to finish them soon and take them fishing!

Caddis Time

Multiple hatches sometimes require a simple solution. That was the case yesterday on a charming SE Minnesota spring creek, where you could observe small BWO's, sporadic Light Hendricksons, small yellow craneflies and plentiful caddis flies .

The weather was quite sunny and bright, and spring caddis were the most active under the trees. There were occasional surface risers, but the major feeding activity occurred under the surface. Trout were darting and fleshing in the riffles, intercepting emerging pupae.

I tried several pupa patterns, but settled for the very simple one, which trout found irresistible. For some reason, they preferred the fly with pretty thin body instead of the typical bulbous one. I fished mostly shallow riffles and shaded areas. The pattern designed to sink easily and weighted only with its copper wire rib is a perfect match for these conditions. It sinks just deep enough, it is not overdressed, and has plenty of action built in.

The fish took the emerging pupa fished upstream on the dead drift or twitched, and across or downstream on the swing. I got some fish on Light Hendrickson emerger as well, but it was still a bit early for this hatch on this particular stream-LH action should really start next week.

The trout pictured is slightly above average size for this stretch of water. I released seven trout in a couple of hours of fishing during the mid-day.

I suspect the evening would bring out some spectacular dry fly action.

Guiding Amy...

A couple of days ago Amy and I decided to explore Whitewater River complex in SE Minnesota. None of us have ever been there, so it was a true exploratory trip. Also, this was Amy's first FF trip this year, so I had to play the guide (something I actually really enjoy doing.) The fishing reports weren't the greatest, since the rivers are fairly low, and the weather conditions were not very spring-like. We decided to go anyways, since any day of fishing is way better than a day spent in the city.

We arrived to the river valley and decided to hit the South Branch first. The water was fairly warm for May, and apart from plentiful cream midges and solitary Light Hendricksons there was not much going on. We concentrated on sporadic riffles and Amy missed a couple of strikes on the small nymph. After walking upstream for a while, without much luck, we decided to change the location.

A short drive away is a beautiful little spring creek, Trout Run Creek-located in the middle of the Whitewater State Park. It was a lunch time, and the strong wind started to blow. It felt more like mid-summer than spring, and the fish were acting accordingly. I did not fish much earlier in the day and after a series of rapid casts with a BH nymph, I finally hooked a nice brown in a shaded riffle. It shot towards the shore and then straight upstream, throwing the hook. We continued upstream, exploring the wooded stretches. On the way back to the car, we located a bunch of smaller fish feeding on the surface, under the rocky wall. Amy deceived a couple of fish with tan coloured Rabbit Foot Emerger. Those were Amy's first trout of the year.

The fishing was just getting better in the afternoon hours, but it was time to go. The area holds some incredible trout water and there will be plenty of chances to get acquainted with it later this year.

Novi tereni

Protekle nedelje sam obisao nekoliko novih voda na jugoistoku Minesote: Trout Run, poznati "spring creek", i Forrestville State Park, koji skriva nekoliko interesantnih voda, od kojih je izuzetno impresivan juzni krak reke Root. Kratka slajd prezentacija u danasnjem blogu docarava zivopisnost ovih terena.

Toga dana nisam pecao jer je trebalo dosta voziti, ali sam zato za ribolov odvojio cetvrtak-vedar i topao prolecni dan, ali sa dosta vetra. Obisao sam obliznji Hay Creek (na naslovnoj fotografiji), gde je riba radila samo za vreme prepodnevnog rojenja Grannom krznokrilaca, za koje sam zakasnio, jer sam stigao na vodu tek oko podneva. Uspeo sam da prevarim svega nekoliko riba. Grannom emerdzeri i namasceni spajderi privlacili su paznju pastrmkama pri povrsini tokom rojenja, a kada je aktivnost insekata potpuno prestala, duboko vodjeni Bugger prevario je par manjih riba.

Dark Hendrickson & Grannom Emergers

The spring is here and so are the first important hatches on the Driftless area spring creeks. Here are some of the patterns I really enjoy tying and fishing...

Hendrickson Rabbit Foot Emerger

• Hook: Curved nymph/emerger
• Shuck: Rusty-brown antron or Z-lon
• Body: Rusty-brown biot
• Wing: Dun or natural rabbit foot hair
• Thorax: Fox squirrel hair

Hendrickson Cripple

• Hook: Dry fly or curved nymph
• Tail: Wood duck fibers and antron
• Body: Rusty-brown biot
• Thorax: Mahagony beaver
  
• Hackle: Dark dun
• Wing: Natural CDC
  

Grannom Emerger*

• Hook: Dry fly or curved
• Body: Bright green biot
• Wing: Charcoal CDC
• Thorax: Charcoal beaver
• Post: Orange antron
• Hackle: Grizzly or dun (parachute)

* Tied with black or grey biot body, this fly imitates adult caddis as well.

During the last week we didn't have the greatest weather. I spent my time on several spring creeks with abundant brookies and fished mostly various wets, nymphs and Buggers. Semi-parabolic Resava SF Glass rod of my design proved to be the perfect weapon.

On some of the streams the anticipated Hendrickson hatch never materialized, and sporadic surface feeders would attack BWO emergers during the brief BWO appearance. I did notice some caddis activity, but it was spotty. The weather is finally warm and stable, so the fishing should just get better.

Old School Flies-Soft Hackle Wets, Spiders, Flymphs

Left to right, top to bottom:

Hare's Lug, Starling & Claret, Little Dark Watchet, March Brown Flymph, Hendrickson Flymph, Baetis Flymph, Sulphur Flymph, Starling & Pheasant, Snipe & Purple, Partridge & Orange, Light Snipe & Yellow, Starling & Red (wire body)

Kinnickinnic-prolecno musicarenje suvim imitacijama

Tokom prethodna dva dana, proveo sam po nekoliko sati na obliznjem krecnjackoj reci Kinnickinnic i uzivao u neverovatno produktivnom ribolovu suvom muvom na povrsini.

Prvi dan je bio relativno vetrovit i lovio sam od 13-16h, kada je najtoplije. Neposredno po dolasku sam bio nagradjen jednim letargicnim napadom na crnu nimfu. Riba je zamotala predvez oko potopljene grane i brzo se oslobodila udice. Na vodi nije bilo nikakvih znakova aktivnosti. Pretrazujuci terene uzvodnije, naisao sam na blagu krivinu reke, gde su me docekali tihi pljuskovi na povrsini. Pazljivo posmatrajuci brzak dvogledom, primetio sam da pastrmke, poredjane kao vojnici u stroju, kidisu na male crne kamenjarke (Taeniopteryx sp.), koje je vetar obarao na povrsinu vode. Polako sam zauzeo poziciju i u naredna dva sata uzivao u non-stop akciji na povrsini.

Kinnickinnic je u svom gornjem toku poznat po izuzetnoj gustini populacije pastrmki (7000 jedinki po milji), iako nema reputaciju po velikim ribama. Pastrmka od 14 inca duzine je dobar primerak za gornji tok ove vode. Prvog dana sam na lokaciji od nepunih 15-20m duzine ulovio oko trideset riba, medju kojima je bio solidan broj krupnijih primeraka. Ponekad bi svaki zabacaj donosio ugriz. Tokom popodneva pastrmke bi se usredsredile na kamenjarke u pokretu i onda bi promena musice donosila bolji ulov. Interesantna je cinjenica da su Taeniopteryx kamenjarke izuzetano lokalizovane na ovoj reci sporog toga. Kao i sve kamenjarke (red Plecoptera), zahtevaju brzi tok i kamenito dno. Ovakav habitat nije toliko cest na Kinnie-ju. Konkretno, u prethodna dva dana sam obisao nekoliko lokacija i kamenjarke su bile zapazene i aktivne jedino na gore pomenutoj.

Drugog dana (juce), stigao sam na vodu u isto vreme. Bilo je znatno toplije, suncano i sa nesto manje vetra. Pastrmke su se hranile na povrsini, na istoj lokaciji, ali ne u tako velikom broju kao prethodnog dana. I pored toga, ulovio sam izmedju deset i petnaest riba, dok aktivnost nije potpuno prestala, negde oko 15h.

Od musica najuspesnije su bile dve verzije crne kamenjarke (krila od CDC-a ili zecje sape, vidi sliku-imitacije su malo rascupane jer su ulovile po nekoliko riba ;-)). Kada bi se ribe usredsredile na insekte u pokretu, bilo je neophodno potezati dobro namascene muve po povrsini. Tada bi verzija musice Country Gentleman (bez doterivanja makazama) bila dovoljno uverljiva pastrmkama i izazivala je najvise napada.

Otvaranje sezone 2007. (Waterloo Creek)

Izlaskom na Waterloo Creek otvorio sam ovu ribolovnu sezonu. Vrlo hladna zima i velika kolicina snega koji je nedavno pao i naglo se otopio sprecili su me da ranije izadjem na vodu. Od izlaska na vodu nisam previse ocekivao, jer se tokom protekle nedelje sneg topio neverovatnom brzinom i naglo povecao vodostaj na svim vodama Driftless regiona.

Na Waterloo Creek sam stigao u subotu oko podneva. Zatekao sam tragove nedavne poplave-na obalama je poleglo suvo rastinje, zatrpano finim muljem. Prozirnost vode je bila oko 60cm i voda je polako opadala. Zbog otapanja snega temperatura vode je bila ispod proseka. Od vodenih insekata ni traga ni glasa, sto se moglo ocekivati zbog ovakve situacije. Bujice je izazvala manje promene toka, kao i ispiranje recnog korita- belutak se caklio sa dna na mestima koja su ranije bila prekrivena muljem.

Prilazeci reci, uplasih povece jato bekasina na pescanom sprudu. Ovo je siguran znak da je prolece na pragu. Na predvez sam vezao otezanu imitaciju crne pijavice i nisam je menjao tokom trocasovnog ribolova. Najbolje se pokazala imitacija sa sintetickim telom (kombinacija EP fibers-a i gumenih nozica), marabu repom i crvenom conehead glavom, ali prvu ribu sam ulovio na regularnu "all black" veziju. Nekoliko pastrmki koje sam uspeo da prevarim su je uzimale polako i letargicno.

Ove nedelje dolazi nesto toplije vreme, bez ekstremnih padavina. Vodostaj se polako stabilizuje i obecava dobar ribolov.

Zonker "Trobojka"

Zonker in flag colors (red-blue-white) is the most recent version of my Spey Zonker. This is somewhat larger fly, and represents a generic baitfish imitation. To tie this simple fly, you will need:

Hook: Blue Gamakatsu salmon fly sz. 1/0
Wing: White zonker strip
Body: Lite-Brite blue/pearl, teased out
Hair Hackle: Thin layer of blue bucktail, tied in reverse
Front Hackle: Red mallard flank feather

Jig Hook ALF

This is ALF Synthetic Baitfish tied on the Gamakatsu 60 degree jig hook. The inverted hook design becomes really handy for fishing around rocks, barnacle covered humps, and other underwater obstacles.

Starling Soft Hackles

Starling feathers are such a classic material for tying pulsating wet patterns-simple impressionistic nymphs and soft hackles. I prefer starling anytime I need a smaller, dark soft feather. Just like snipe feathers, you can use it for pretty small flies.

Pictured above are Red Tag version of Peacock & Starling, and Weilenmann's Fish & Chips flymph. Notice the incredibly intense red on the upper fly. I used Fluorofibre for the tag. It is the same fiber-optic material I prefer to use for gills on my synthetic baitfish patterns.

New Wave Squid

We are getting more snow in Minnesota, and it is hard to think about spring time fishing. I haven't started working on my new rods yet... For today's post I chose a picture of my most recent squid imitation.

All marine predatory gamefish love squid. I have been working on the 60 degree jig hook version, which incorporates both synthetic and natural materials. It is easy to cast, and has interesting action in the water. Hopefully I will be able to test it this summer in New England.

New Wave Squid recipe:

Hook: 4/0 Gamakatsu Wide Gap 60 degree Jig
Body extension: Pearl E-Z Body Braid or Corsair tubing
Tentacles: Tan ostrich and pearly "salt and pepper" sili legs
Eyes: Large silver Spirit River Deep Sea aluminum eyes with epoxy 3-D Stick-ons
Body: Pearl estaz
Veil: White and tan slinky fiber, mixed with bronze and pink flash

Country Gentleman Revisited & Lapsang Souchong

Almost a year ago I started writing this blog (in Serbian language). The first entry was about the fly I named the Country Gentleman, which could be modified/trimmed on the location to represent an impressionistic imitation of various aquatic insects. Today's entry is about the current incarnation of the same fly, which served me well during the past year. This version is in the mayfly form, and it works as a reasonable imitation of Trico mayflies and various olives, abundant on the spring creeks of the Upper Midwest Driftless area.

Sometimes the silhouette is more important than the exact color of the artificial. The dark body of the fly enhances the overall silhouette of the imitation. Instead of the original brown Hungarian partridge feather, I am currently using the snipe wing covert feather for the front hackle. It enables me to tie the fly in small sizes much more easily. I also started shaping the wing in the Comparadun style, for the low-riding, flush floating imitation of the freshly hatched dun. The delicate, sparse profile enhances the overall vulnerability of the newborn insect.

The recipe:

Hook: Dry Fly 16 or smaller;

Tails: Microfibetts;

Body & Wing: Badger saddle, palmered and trimmed to shape;

Front hackle: Single turn of snipe wing covert feather (medium dun).

This winter has been quite extreme in Minnesota. I found Lapsang Souchong, the legendary and robust tea from the Fujian province of China, a perfect companion to my fly tying sessions. I have recently switched from Twinings filter bags to the Tea Source loose leaf tea (my neighbourhood tea shop.) The difference is quite noticeable, with more fragrant, smoky and less bitter brew. It will be a perfect companion for my early season fishing trips.