Peak Fishing

Great fishing once again looms just around the corner, or at least, it does if you believe the solunar fishing tables. Available from many different sources, we will occasionally check in with the Best Fishing Times Charts from In-Fisherman. The latest glance at the fishing charts indicates that the best fishing will be occurring this next week during the full moon. This is terrible timing because of final exams that are scheduled for the first half of the week. Thankfully, I'm done with the last one by noon on Wednesday and after that, it will be out to the stream for me!!!

Eyes Turn Westward

As summer approaches, the realization that my trip west is approaching has me scouring the Internet for any and all information on the Montana and Wyoming areas. I enjoy keeping track of the fishing Journal at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone just to see what they have been catching and what works at various times of the year. The Dakota Angler & Outfitter maintains a fishing report as well that I check from time to time. Western South Dakota really has some excellent fishing and is a must-fish stop for me when heading to the Yellowstone area.

The latest word from the Billings Gazette in Montana appears to indicate the the Mother's Day Caddis are starting on the Yellowstone River. Rumors have been floating around of good numbers of caddis showing on the famed Arkansas River in Colorado as well. Of course, this leaves me wondering why I chose to head west at the hottest and most crowded time of the summer. Some of my best fishing in western South Dakota has been during early May to mid June. The early season in Yellowstone National Park can be an experience as well. The Firehole is often one of the best options for early season fishing in the park and it provides reliable hatches of BWOs, PMDs and evening caddis.

The early season can be a hazardous time to plan a trip around however. Depending on runoff, most western rivers will be high and dirty at best and quite possibly downright unfishable. If you time it right however, early season fishing can be among the best of the year as the crowds are nowhere to be seen and big trout hungrily feast on the bounty of spring. This can be the best time to fish the high country lakes throughout the Rockies. The expert stillwater fisherman will generally all tell you that the time for large fish is either soon after ice-out or in the late fall just before everything freezes. Some of my best early spring memories involve high country lakes. From Apache trout in Arizona to Grayling in Yellowstone, the early season often provides non-stop action for the adventuresome angler.

That's all well and good, but this year I'm going to settle for the terrestrial action of summer. I've been dreaming about the big Cutts in Yellowstone for awhile now and this is the year to make it happen, which reminds me...I've gotta tie some flies....

Stuck a Couple Nice Ones

As promised, I went fishing yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. The rain that was falling as I rolled east gave me high hopes for a good hatch. However, it had basically quit raining by the time I got to the river. The clouds were still thick though and I figured the bugs should pour off sometime in the middle of the afternoon. I started fishing with a parachute Adams and red Copper John as a dropper. "Assuming the hatch was about to start, the fish should be looking for nymphs drifting in the current," I reasoned. The fish were feeding occasionally on top when I arrived, providing me a good opportunity to figure out where they were. I waded slowly, watching for feeding fish and as often as I saw a rise, I got a fish to eat.

It was one of those magic days when you feel that you can do no wrong. Everything happened naturally and smoothly as fish after fish succumbed to the dropper. I would cast straight ahead only to see a fish rise at a 90 degree angle away but no problem. One back cast and then a quick change of direction and my fly was floating right over the feeding fish. Unfortunately, this couldn't go on to long as the generation pulse was rapidly approaching. I saw the water rising upriver and quickly worked my way out and back to the car. A short drive upriver put me above the pulse and back into fish.

Frustratingly, the sun was making a reappearance putting an end to any hopes of a large hatch with fish slashing everywhere. Recalling something I read by Dave Hughes where he recommends using wet flies on small streams when the sun is on the water, I figured maybe it would work on a larger river as well. This proved to be the ticket and I soon was catching lots of fish again until something big broke off my fly. I quickly retied and continued slowly down the river, swinging the softhackle through every likely spot. More often than not, a fish would hit and sometimes I would catch several out of one little pocket.

I finally worked my way to a spot that has a nice deep run with some big overhanging rocks breaking the monotony. "There's got to be fish better than these little stockers in there" I thought to myself. I cast my parachute with the softhackle dropper to the top of the undercut boulder and watched as the dry sucked under. "This better not be hung up on the rock" I grumbled. The hook set provided quick proof that it was definitely NOT stuck on a rock as something on the other end started shaking its head. I immediately started putting a lot of pressure on the fish, trying to get it out from under the rock and it came out but not towards me. It rain downstream a little ways and then back up, bulldogging hard the whole time. A glance at the red flash and I knew it was a rainbow, and a bit better than the usual 8-12 inch stockers also. After a battle that seemed unusually long, I had the nice fish in for a quick picture. It was sporting what was left of a kype jaw which was interesting. While not a huge fish, this was the best rainbow I've caught on the Hiwassee and made the day worthwhile.

"Maybe, just maybe....." was running through my head as I approached the second undercut boulder. This time, my dry was soaked through and so I highsticked the unweighted flies along the rock. The leader gave a brief twitch and I set the hook, again feeling the weight of a better than average fish. After another battle, I admired a beautiful brown that was fat and healthy.

These two fish definitely made my day. I always catch a bunch of the recent stockers and while that is okay, the larger fish provide a much better challenge to land. The softhackle was easily the fly of the day and continues to produce the best fish so far this year.

Tuesday Happenings

This morning I have spent a bit of time perusing the internet, debating whether I should go fishing or not. While checking out a few online forums I frequent, I came across a new fly fishing blog based here in Tennessee. It is the Southeastern Fly blog and is brand new! It already has some well-written fishing reports so check it out!

Back to the subject of going fishing today, the weather forecast is for rain to continue for most of the day. It has started raining in the last hour or two here in Chattanooga with a few heavy showers but for the most part, it has been the slow steady rainfall which will help bring the water levels up without blowing out any streams. Oh yeah, and the lovely weather should trigger some excellent hatches. I think I'll go fishing... Check back this evening for a report!

The Crowds Are Out

The time of year has arrived that I always dread. Last weekends excursion was probably one of the last times fishing the Hiwassee without the crowds for awhile now. Yesterday I made the routine trip to the river to fish the Big Bend with a new fishing buddy. We met up before sunrise and the river was socked in with fog. The fog slowly began lifting as the sun peaked over the ridge and lit up the banks with the brilliant colors of spring.

The fishing was okay but not great. Over the course of the day, I caught somewhere between 12 and 15 fish with several 'bows in the 11-13 inch range and the rest smaller browns anywhere from 5-9 inches. The fish were picky for the most part. I had the best luck when the generation pulse came through and I swung softhackles for risers in a large hole. The fish were definately looking for emergers and kept hammering the softhackle. The only thing preventing me from catching more fish was the fact that most were rising safely out of reach. No fish pictures to show, I find myself leaving the camera alone more and more except for the most notable catches, and none were worthy of this distinction. The scenery was excellent however, especially early in the morning and I found myself getting distracted from the fishing trying to capture the everchanging mood of the river....

Anyone interested in fishing this river, pick your time carefully. The river was packed by the middle of the day. I really wouldn't recommend fishing it for awhile unless you are hiking in or it is a weekday. Also, if the weather gets nasty it will provide good fishing again without the crowds. Until this happens, look for me to start spending more time in the Smokies which is where I'll be doing most of my fishing for the next 3 months.

Fly Fishing the Smokies

A great new website on fly fishing the Smokies contains just about everything the angler needs to know to plan a trip to the park. One of our favorite sections of this site is the park "streams" section. This gives an overview of all major waters in the park and provides excellent information on what to expect. It is a great place to spend a few minutes or longer daydreaming and planning that next trip. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!!!

The Evening Rise

The BWO action has been insane the last 2 afternoons on the Hiwassee. This short video was taken with my digital camera, hence the lack of quality. However, it gives you an excellent idea of the number of rising fish... The water was literally boiling with rising trout at times!!! See below for the rest of the report...

Foul Weather, Epic Hatches, and Hungry Trout

The last two days have been less than desirable weather-wise. Of course, as a fly fisherman I start thinking about BWOs during inclement weather. The dreary conditions got the bugs going and the fish have responded enthusiastically (see video above). The surface of the water was carpeted at times with the little mayflies. Today, the hatch started in earnest while it was raining and this made it even harder for the bugs to take flight. The fish were feeding with abandon, completely oblivious to any potential dangers around them.

Yesterday was the better day as far as numbers of fish caught, but both days will be remembered for a long time to come. This was by far the largest and most concentrated hatch I've witnessed here in Tennessee. At times, I felt like I had been magically taken to the Firehole in Yellowstone where I have experienced similar blizzard hatches.

These bugs were everywhere and were being eaten by these...

The best two fish took my softhackle dropper instead of the dry fly offering...

The monotony of clouds and rain was broken when the sun made a late afternoon appearance, lighting up the opposite bank...

New Camera!!!

The frenzied pace of the last month of school had prevented me from fishing as much as I would like and has taken a lot of free time, hence the continued lack of updates. However, I just got my new camera a couple of days ago and this was the perfect excuse to go fishing. Being the nearest trout water, the Hiwassee was my destination for an evening on the water.

Caddis were hatching steadily when I arrived with the fish taking notice. As always with this type of fishing, the takes were not subtle. The fish were exploding on the caddis before they could escape to the air. Occasionally fish would jump clear of the water in pursuit of the insects. I fished an experimental pattern I tied recently and it performed very well. The fish were strong and full of fight with several in the 12-13 inch range caught. I spotted some larger heads breaking the surface but couldn't get them to eat. At least I know where to go back and look...

The new camera performed very well. I experimented with the underwater capabilities this camera has and had some decent results (see top picture as well). The camera is the Pentax Optio W30 and is perfect for the fisherman. As long as everything is securely closed, there is not any concern about the camera getting wet if dropped in the water. If there is such thing as a hassle free camera for the fisherman, this is probably it or as close as you're going to find...

Two Days, Two Rivers and a 24 Incher!!!

This past weekend I was home visiting the family so I had to fish the Caney on Sunday. I arrived at the river and noticed that there was not a lot of activity, at least where I first took a gander. However, upriver there seemed to be a few fish working. The dry with a zebra midge came out and I was soon casting, covering the usual places without any results. "The fish must be holding in deeper water" I thought. As low as the water levels were, this made perfect sense. I moved up to some deeper holes and soon hooked up...and then again, and again, and again....it was one of those days where it seems you can't do any wrong. Lots of very healthy 12-16 inch fish were attacking my fly consistently, often as soon as it hit the water. I moved 3-4 large fish (18-20 inches) but couldn't get a solid hookup. Later in the day, the generation pulse caught up with me and I decided to try my hand at ripping streamers (something I never do). This proved to be the ticket as the brownies all wanted to play. One monster swirled on my fly but wouldn't hit again. I called it a day soon after having lost caught how many fish I hooked. Hopefully I will find the time to return sometime soon with my canoe. I can only imagine how many good fish could be caught floating the pulse and flinging heavy stuff.

Yesterday, I woke up and wasn't feeling good enough to attend classes. Thankfully, I wasn't so sick that I couldn't fish so I drove up to the Hiwassee for a couple of hours. Things were fairly active here as well with lots of Hendricksons hatching the whole time I was there. The fish were responding enthusiastically but unfortunately I didn't have a good match with me. This WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!! Thankfully, a small red copper John seemed to do the trick for the nymphs and I caught several nice fish. My best catch came when I saw the 24 incher swimming slowly across a large pool. Hooked up on the third cast but it turned out to be foul hooked.... After a surprisingly short battle I brought the nice snake to hand and released it. Hopefully it will be able to grow larger, providing someone else with some entertainment....

In other more exciting news, I have a new camera on the way. It is waterproof and will hopefully allow some excellent underwater pictures to be available for use on this blog. I should have it in a couple of weeks at most so stay tuned for some great new pictures!!!