Signs of Spring

Mind Control II

Maybe there is a little angel (or demon) sitting on your shoulder telling you to relax, telling you to lower your expectations and fool yourself into feeling good about something lackluster. If so, then I hope there is also a little demon (or perhaps angel) sitting on your other shoulder telling you to buck up, target the beast, expect something great.

Mind Control

In fishing, as in life, it’s all about expectations. If you are like me, you have to temper them from time to time. My mind often gets the better of me. I recreate my best days on the water, forgetting about the other 99% of the time. Sometimes reality lives up, even surpasses our best dreams; usually it doesn’t.

Control your mind, I tell myself.

One trick you can play on yourself is to fish a stream you have never fished before. One that doesn’t get much (if any) press. A stream that might not even have a fish in it. Lower your expectations.  Catching a big fish on these days is like winning the lottery. Catching anything is unexpected. The focus is on exploring, learning something new.  In many ways, this is what fishing is all about. It’s easy to loose track of that when you’ve gotten used to pounding fish on familiar water.

I thought about this today while on my way to a small stream. Hardly anyone fishes this river. The substrate is all sand. It is shallow and without much structure. The banks are lined with alder and it’s hard to get a cast in where you need to. I found a pod of very small brookies willing to take a streamer. It was nothing special. I fished something like eight or nine runs and caught fish in only one of them. But it was better than I expected. I'll be back, only with higher expectations. Damn, I hate it when that happens. 

Carp Flies

I'm blown away by the flies I received in the carp fly swap. I'm normally obsessing about trout on March 1st, but right now I'm thinking about Mr. Cyprinus Carpio. Again I'll reiterate my affinity to fish a fly tied by fellow carp fishers/bloggers. There's a story and person behind each fly and that's cool.

Carp Flies Tying Videos

"In the Riffle" has a great fly tying library. I was particularly happy to see some carp fly videos. Some goodies here.

Carp Flies Tying Videos
McTage's Foam Trouser Worm

streamers

Fill the box, feeding fish soon.

Piggy

I see this image in my sleep. More often than I'd like. Cabin fever, anyone?

electric smallie

i have a marker board on my office wall. i erased my to-do's and sketched a smallie. then hit some buttons in illustrator. it's what you do when you can't fish.

making tele-turns

Too much ice to fish the local spillway for pike. Those big pike will soon hit the shallows for some pre-spawn activity. I've been using the snow to carve some tele-turns on my backcountry cross-country skis. I picked up some new BC boots after last winter and boy a stiff boot makes a big difference. It may look like I'm falling onto one knee but that's the anatomy of a telemark turn. These guys showing how it's done. You've gotta embrace winter. 

Fly-Carpin Fly Swap

Carp flies are headed out the door for Trevor Tanner's fly swap. I tied a variant of Barry's Carp Bitter. I received one of Barry's Carp Bitters in the 2012 fly swap and the pattern proved irresistible to hungry carp. Plus, Barry is a carp fishing legend so I'll imitate as best I can.


Here's a look at the condition of my carp box. The chicken scratch notes indicate the tier or the pattern author. In some cases the original fly from the 2012 fly swap is still in this box. I'm pretty sure I caught fish on all of the flies I received in the 2012 swap. Pats Shaggin' Dragon hooked the most carp lips for me in 2012. What I really like about fishing the fly swap flies is knowing some background about the fly and the tier. Catching fish on so-and-so's fly creates an association. For example, I caught this mean old catfish on Ty Goodwin's Mean Ol' Dirty Frisco (MF'er) and this carp on Pat's Shaggin' Dragon. Both of these guys blog about carp fishing. In this way the fly box starts to connect to other carp fishing  aficionados. And that's cool.

Thanks Trevor for hosting the 2013 carp fly swap!

Winter Camp

A couple weeks ago my neighbor asked when we're going campin'. I arbitrarily said next full moon. Pics from Saturday night.

Between the Ice. Winter trout.

With an extended forecast for frigid temps Andy and I figured we oughta hit a trout stream before the pools ice up. We found some pools completely sheeted but enough fairways to get to a few brown trout. The best water on this stream are the big slower water pools – also the first water to ice up in winter. We tossed buggers and zebras. All our fish gobbled the bugger. Low and slow. Pretty good winter trouting.

Cast Cast Cast

Last fall Tim Pearson and I set out to create a video about the in's and out's of proper lining and casting methods for spey rods on small rivers. After I got home and checked the footage I realized 1) my camera ain't that good, 2) my editing software ain't that good, 3) I ain't that good, and 4) Tim can't speak in front of a camera without laughing hysterically. I also figured out what was good: Tim's casting and songs by the Kills. So, without much editing, I present to you: Tim Pearson, spey casting extraordinaire and 'Satellite' by the Kills. Enjoy it for what it is…

Forget what you’ve been told about winter trout fishing; fish a streamer

Put away your 6x tippet, #20 thread midges, micro-indicators and tiny split shot. Walk past that slow glide and toe-up at the start of a long riffle. Tie on a Dirty Mop and swing it through. Swing it slow, twitch it, jig it, let it sit there for a while.

This chunky Bow took a Dirty Mop like it had no choice. 

To be fair, this attitude may simply reflect the warmer winters we’ve had over the past couple of years. Last year was remarkably warm and fish were commonly moving long distances to chase down streamers in January, February and March. While this year has been substantially colder than last year, we haven’t experienced many nights of sub-zero temperatures and most days have reached the upper 20’s (at least). Yesterday, Dan H. and I were finding fish (both browns and rainbows) in the riffles and getting them to follow streamers into the shallows.

Dan and I have spent a lot of time fishing the winter season in Minnesota. Back in the day we fished in some very cold conditions (highs in the upper 20’s) during cold winter seasons (these were typically the warmest days of the winter). It seemed like all of the fish were hanging out together in large groups in the slow glides and deeper pools. It was pretty easy to see them and take them on a midge fished deep. In the last couple of years I just have not seen fish hanging out in these large clusters. Has anyone else experienced such a shift in fish behavior and distribution during the winter? Have you modified your tactics? Is this one silver lining of climate change?

Dan working a run with Charlie

 Or, will fish take streamers day in and day out regardless of temperature? A fish should not have to move long distances to eat a slowly swung streamer, so this is possible. The problem here is that neither Dan nor I have any interest in fishing when the daily high is below freezing (to old for this), so we probably won’t be testing this hypothesis any time soon. Is there anyone out there willing to fish streamers in very cold temperatures and during cold winter seasons and report back (Justin)?

Much credit for this change in my thinking and approach to winter fishing should go to Tim Pearson and his dedication to all things streamer as well as John’s obsession with targeting large trout, developing the Dirty Mop and giving me some for Christmas.

3 Flatheads

3 Flatheads

On this cold winter day I'm thinking of warm summer nights. With flatheads. Large circle hooks, heavy line, live bait, friends, beer, campfire. You know, summer stuff. 

Best fly of 2012

The samurai was the fly of the year for me. Black marabou tail, peacock body, grizzly hackle, and rainbow flashabou with black rabbit strip for the wing. I added some rubber legs to these and tossed in a couple of olive buggers. I would like to credit the person that developed this fly, but all I know is Trey Combs mentions this fly as the 'Bulkley River Samurai' in his steelhead fly fishing book and indicates that he first saw people fishing it in the late 1980's.  If anyone knows who is responsible for this magical creation, please let me know.

Merry Christmas John, these are yours. 

Dirty Mops

Dirty Mops

November Cloopers

Clooping carp in November? I'll take it. I more commonly see this behavior in the summer when the cotton wood trees are dropping seeds. So I tossed a dry & dropper. The dropper being a very nice soft hackle tied by WFF -- Justin Carroll. When fishing a pod of cloopers it's wise to target the outlying fish. Once the pod is spooked they may not go back to school for awhile. I picked a few fish off the edges and eventually spooked the pod. Sipped hot coffee waiting for the cloopers to return. They didn't, but that was fine by me.

Ocean Floor Fossils. Coralville Lake / Lake Macbride.

November Trout

I went to the river in search of large spawning brown trout. I did not find any.

Last Smallie of the Year?

The Driftless Ugly Bug or the Dirty Mop?

My woolly buggers have evolved into something resembling a bass fisherman's mop jig. I'm also contemplating calling this pattern 'The Dirty Mop'. Feedback welcome. 

Tying Tips: 

I prefer a hook with a shorter shank. This helps keep the legs from getting tangled in the hook gap. • The legs are secured with turns of wire. I use craft wire. A thin wire may cut through the legs. • These particular rubber legs are from a pack of bass jig skirts. • I'm tying on a size 8 hook. • Overall pattern is about 2" long. 

Don't hesitate to throw some split shot on and dredge that deep pool with a 'Dirty Mop', or is it a 'Driftless Ugly Bug'? 

Instinctively Crazy

I've grown an affinity for rubber legged buggers. The movement gets em. I'm thinking the rubber legs are particularly helpful in slow water. Whereas a standard bugger in slow water will have less action. I've got a pending post featuring the 'Driftless Ugly Bug'.

Andy and I managed a quick small stream outing this week. Hit the water around 9:00a.m. and didn't catch more than a couple chubs before noon. Then something shifted, perhaps just our luck. The browns decided to act like pre-spawn fall browns. Instinctively Crazy.

Good Driftless Fishing

Nate and I spent a couple days throwing streamers on the Driftless. The colder days have triggered browns to reclaim their breeding grounds. Pretty soon they'll be making beds. The pre-spawn bite can be crazy good--perhaps the best time to catch a Driftless pig. I've been looking forward to this window of time that follows every long summer.

Gar-You gotta believe!

I doubt Alan Sparhawk was thinking about Gar when he wrote this song. Nevertheless, I give you a very slow look at a gar,  to the tune of "Little argument with myself" by Low

Fall Steelheading is a process

To fully appreciate flyfishing for steelhead in the fall, you must think of it as a process. Of course, you can simply show up at a river and fish for these migratory beasts any old day of the week. You may even catch one or more. But that really isn't what it's all about. I've realized this since moving away from a certain Great Lakes coastal area.

When I wake up in September and it is raining (like today), I think of this fish

For me, fall steelheading would begin on a day like today; a rainy mid September morning. The fall colors are only starting to change, the weather is still pretty warm, and the flows are typically low and clear this time of year. It is just starting to feel like steelhead should be in the river. You go because you've hooked fish during September before. But mostly you go because it is raining and you are craving what October and November will soon feel like. While it doesn't feel like that now, you know that you are starting the process of fall steelheading. You also know that fishing in October and November won't feel the same if you don't put some hard work in early. If you are like me, you've got to earn your fish.

October Steelhead are also very nice, but only the really big ones are memorable

During October the fish show up. Some were already there in September and maybe you hooked a couple then, but the majority of the fish enter the river during mid October. Now you experience days when you hook and land several fish. But you also get skunked. That's just the way it is. You play by the rules of the fish and the river, you can't force success here. The leaves are at their peak colors now and the mornings are cold. The is what steelheading feels like.  

                Perhaps just as important as your experiences on the water are your experiences off the water. The fly shops are buzzing with talk about big fish, where someone hooked this or that fish and on what fly. You don't contribute much to these conversations, choosing instead to listen and nod your head. You meet friends at local bars to watch the baseball playoffs and talk about your last day on the river. At the end of the season you will look back and realize that for every hour you spent on the river you spent 2 or 3 thinking about being there, tying flies, talking about it. For me, fall steelheading was about immersing myself in a feeling best characterized by constant anticipation and tension. Not catching fish only increased the time I spent thinking about catching fish and further added to the anticipation of getting back on the water.

                The fall steelhead season ends in November, when the air temperature might not get above freezing all day. You still fish because you know that fish are in the river. You also know that you won't be having the sort of days you had in October. But you go because this is the end of a two-month process. Most of the leaves are off the trees now and the scene is brown and cold, perhaps with a dusting of snow. Ironically, you spend more time looking around now than you did when the fall colors were so pretty because you simply can't stand to be in the water for extended periods of time- it's just too cold. And then it's over, the season ends. Perhaps more importantly, the mystery is gone. You now know that the fish are in the river and you know where to find them. That doesn't mean you'll catch them. But you know much more now than you did in Sept when this whole process started. In the Spring you will come back and fish hard. But you will know that the fish are in and the process will be much different.

Damn I miss fall steelheading. Driving to the coast for a couple of days just isn't the same.