Flatwings

I am slowly getting ready for my Boston trip in August and tying some flies for stripers. Most of my recent flies have been flatwing-type, inspired by writings of Ken Abrames and fishing methods described in Jock Scott's " Greased Line Fishing for Salmon." Two flies pictured are my (slightly tweaked) version of Abrames' Squidazzle (above) and the classsic Antlantic salmon fly, General Practitioner-a great shrimp/prawn imitation (below).

Baptism of the 8' 5wt Lami

I went to the local spring creek yesterday, to try the new rod. It’s been a pretty windy year around here and the 5wt rod was a good choice. I usually fish 7’ 6” 4wt or 7’ 3wt Lamis on this stream, but the 8-footer performed admirably. It felt comfortable and fairly precise in close. The casting stroke needs to be relaxed and the smooth loop would follow-I used a WF5. What surprised me the most was the power this rod has in comparison with his shorter ‘brothers.’ Just for the fun, I shot some longer casts in the shallows, into the archways of the slab bridge. With the haul, the rod was able to produce pointy loops into the wind. I closely observed the loop shapes… The rod is capable of producing nice loops without little wave-like formations in the bottom leg of the loop. They are fairly common on most fiberglass rods, since the tip-wobble is so typical for glass. This would be a nice rod to fish in lower sections of some trout streams around here, where you can expect a mixed bag of trout and smallmouth bass.

I managed to hook six browns, and landed five of them. There was no hatch going on and the fish would not take beetles nor ants, but went for soft hackles fished on the greased line and CDC Loopwing Caddis Emergers. Below is a picture of the first brownie caught on the rod. The rod handled 6X and 7X tippets with absolutely no problem. The little extra length proved really handy in turning trout when they would rush into the thick weeds. I can't wait to try it with grasshoper imitations in the upcoming months.

Lamiglas Honey Glass 8' 5wt

I have just finished this rod, built on a Lamiglas E glass blank. It is currently very hot and windy-not the greatest fishing weather, but I am hoping to test it on the water sometime during the next week. It is soft actioned and I am hoping to use it for nymphs, wets, and hoppers. I shot some close-up photos of the rod which you can see as a collage below. The main wraps are tan, with rust and chestnut trims. Notice how tan becomes translucent on the yellow blank. The reel seat insert is burled walnut, and I used single foot Ti guides and H&H stripper.

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.