A Changing River

This past winter, minor rumblings erupted into widespread complaint about the Caney Fork River here in Tennessee. Unethical anglers had simply taken too many large fish out of the river during the spawn. After fishing throughout the winter and spring and not finding the same numbers of large fish, many people concluded that the river was toast. Fortunately, a changing attitude about the resource now prevails and many fisherman are moving towards catch and release as a way to keep good fish in the river. So far this summer, I have not seen as many fish leaving the river on stringers as in the past. This is in no way to say that people are not keeping fish anymore because they are but I believe that an attitude shift is taking place.

Current regulations allow fisherman to keep 2 brown trout with a minimum length of 18". The problem with the current regulations is that it is producing a river full of fish up to 17" but not nearly as many over that as the river is capable of supporting. Based on the number of complaints and suggestions this spring to TWRA, we will probably see some new regulation proposals this fall for the river. It would be nice to have a slot limit of 16"-22". I really do not mind people taking fish as it is their legal right but it would be nice if the fish were allowed to grow just a little longer before harvesting. Brown trout in the 18"-22" range are really the perfect size. There will still be larger fish, but the river could support a large number of fish in this range and the fishing opportunities would be exceptional.

The floods we experienced this past spring also severely damaged the river and raised the water temperature of Center Hill Lake. As a result, current water temperatures on the tailwater are running a little warmer compared to other years. The flushing the river received during the high water episode actually does not appear to have damaged the actual river. The huge weedbeds are still intact and the river has not changed too much. The fish populations on the other hand took a significant hit. Prior to the high water, you were guaranteed to hook several hard fighting rainbows in the 16"-18" range in a fishing trip if you knew where to look for them. Now it seems that the overall number of rainbows is quite low. I don't want to make any generalizations based on just a couple of fishing trips but I would have to say that the number of quality rainbows has definitely decreased. On a positive note, the brown trout population seems to be doing very well. There are good numbers of fish in the river from 5"-6" all the way up through 17"-18". Larger fish are there, but it often takes a change in tactics to find them.

The shift in the fish population is definitely significant. Fisherman will probably fish the river and think it is much worse off than it was and in some ways they would be correct. However a change in your tactics will allow you to continue to catch fish. Numbers of brown trout are definitely up but these fish will still eat similar flies. Sight fishing opportunities abound if you know where to look and are proficient at spotting fish. The bug life on the river seems to be doing well also. Midge hatches are still the main fare for the resident trout but scud and sow bug populations are also doing fine.

Overall I would say that the Caney still has a lot of potential. I really do not expect much from it for the rest of the year but with the slowly changing attitude of the people who fish it and regulation changes from TWRA, I believe it can still be a quality trout stream to rival any river in the southeast.

The Week Upcoming

Fishing, tying, and getting ready for Yellowstone are all on my to-do list this week in addition to "teacher" stuff like lesson plans. I still have a lot to share about my trip to Colorado and Utah and the next thing I want to share is about the Green River in Utah. Since Yellowstone is less than two weeks away, I'll be tying like crazy and starting to figure out how to pack most efficiently for the trip out. I've also had a request for an article on the subject of what gear I carry and why. Several of you have asked about things like my lanyard so I'm hoping to photograph some of my equipment and explain why I carry each piece. Maybe in the process I'll realize I don't need some of it and will be able to downsize...I can only hope...

I just found out about another regional fly fishing festival here in the southeast that is happening soon and want to pass that on to everyone. It will be happening just after I leave for Yellowstone but looks like an event that you should not miss if possible. The South Holston Fly Fishing Fest will take place on Saturday July 18th and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at River's Way. There will be a lot going on with leading regional experts in the industry scheduled to present on various topics and also do some tying demonstrations. I'll look forward to hearing about it when I get back from Yellowstone. Hopefully some of you can make it!

Robbery on Moving Day

Our journey to the Green River from the Montrose vicinity got a late start. I had to get a couple more hours of fishing in on the Gunnison. It is difficult to leave a place where the average fish is a solid 17 inches, but based on what we had heard, the Green did not sound too bad either. In fact, a campground with shower facilities sounded downright appealing. Before the trip, I had done some research and discovered that we would have access to hot showers while staying near the Green and we were both looking forward to this immensely. You don't realize how much the comforts that we normally take for granted really mean until you are on a camping trip complete with pit toilets and no showers.

Despite our excitement at seeing new scenery, packing everything up was a slow process. We ate a leisurely breakfast and finally got around to the process of taking everything down. There was a lot going on at once with tents coming down, sleeping bags being crammed into stuff sacks, and loads of equipment being carried to the car. I had the utensils from breakfast sitting out on the picnic table along with an empty bagel bag full of trash. Coming back down the stairs from the car, I was shocked to see a thief at the table debating what to take. My camp stove was sitting out along with the frying pan and several other random items. I froze in shock unsure of what to do while the thief took a deliberate turn for the trash bag. Apparently the smell of banana peel was just too alluring to resist. I chuckled because the important items were obviously safe from this little guy.

A few pictures later it was time for the chipmunk to move on. Feeding the creature's habit was definitely not the responsible thing to do so I chased it off and cleaned all the goodies up off the table. The local wildlife population provided many other enjoyable moments throughout the trip and later I'll share a few more...

The Gunnison and Something New

Our first full day in the Black Canyon was somewhat lazy. We decided to spend a lot of it just fishing at East Portal for the big wild rainbows and browns that reside there. Over the course of the morning, several nice fish were caught, but the bite slowed down as the sun rose higher over the canyon.

The beauty of fishing at East Portal is that you can do a fair amount of sight fishing. My favorite aspect of fly fishing is targeting visible fish that are out feeding. Blind fishing with a deep nymph rig will produce plenty of fish on a river like the Gunnison, but very nice fish will move into the shallows to feed. Here on my home tailwaters it is normally easy to sight fish and cast to them because the water is so clear. However on the Gunnison, the off color water means you have to find fish near the banks and in the shallows. The brilliantly colored rainbows stand out if they are anywhere near the surface and even the browns can be spotted if you look for them.

Our favorite spots to target these fish are the shallow riffles and the tailouts of the deeper runs. You can spot the fish holding near any type of structure such as weed beds and even small rocks that offer just enough of a break in the current for the trout to rest. Interestingly, we caught more rainbows than browns which is a change from the past few years. For awhile, the river was devastated by whirling disease and the rainbows suffered a huge setback. Stocking of disease resistant strains of rainbows have boosted the population of rainbows and seems to be helping the river return to its former glory when the huge 'bows were measured in pounds instead of inches. There are not a ton of huge fish yet, but there were good numbers of fish in the 16-22 inch range.

After we got tired of fishing East Portal, we drove into town for some food. After finishing everything that we needed to do, we decided to try something different. Neither of us had ever fished the Uncompahgre so we drove up to Ridgway State Park to fish the tailwater just below the reservoir. The special regulations on this section gave us the hope that there might be some big fish. We got down to the water and immediately realized that the flows were way up from a good level for fishing. However it was not impossible to fish and we set about making the best of the situation.

The first couple of spots we tried produced absolutely nothing. However I finally waded across a side channel and into a good bend pool. My first few casts produced absolutely nothing but then I let one of my drifts swing in the current. Almost immediately I felt a hard strike and it was game on! Several cutthroat soon followed the first. The fish would hardly touch a dead drift, but as soon as we allowed it to swing, they would go absolutely crazy for just about anything we had tied on. There were not too many good pools with a flow that was conducive for swinging nymphs and soft hackles so after exploring a bit further upstream, we decided to check out the stocked ponds by the river. As expected they were full of catch and keep type fisherman and freshly stocked trout but we had a good time casting to the fish cruising for midges. After a couple of fish each in the pond, we decided that it was time to head back.

On the drive back to where we were camping, we started talking about the next day's fishing. Both of us were itching to try something else because the word around town was that it would be at least a week before the salmonflies were in full swing. Since that was the biggest reason we were there, we both agreed that it might not hurt to head for the Green River for a few days and then come back later. Back in camp we went straight to bed in anticipation of the long day ahead...

Onward to the Gunnison

Colorado 2009 was really about catching big fish on big bugs. My buddy Trevor and I were hoping to hit the Salmonfly hatch on the Gunnison River and also fish the Cicada hatch on the Green. The weather conspired against us to cause some trouble in reaching our goals but not entirely. We got tired of the cold and wet weather that seemed to be the norm on the Taylor and decided to head west in search of clearer skies.

Last year was a banner year on the Gunnison with lots of good fish caught and some monsters hooked and lost. We were hoping for a repeat performance as we rolled into the Black Canyon at East Portal. There is a pleasant campground there that we really like staying at. The main problem with the campground are the hordes of mice that will find their way just about anywhere, including into your car, in search of food. Despite the mice, we were excited to get started so as soon as we arrived, the fly rods came out and we headed down to the river.

The biggest difference between this year and last was the water level. Last year the river was at around 1000 cfs and quite easy to fish. This year, an unusually wet June had the Bureau of Reclamation constantly altering releases from the dams across the Rocky Mountain states, and the Gunnison was no exception. When we arrived, Crystal Dam was releasing over 3000 cfs and the difference was definitely obvious. The water was much cooler so the fish were not as active. We fished for a good 20 or 30 minutes before I finally hooked up on a red midge larva. A nice chunky brown finally came to the net, and my buddy Trevor took a picture of the first Gunnison River trout of the trip. We moved slowly down the river and got into a few more fish. The fishing was not on fire, but it was not terrible either. All of the fish were in great shape and athletic, ripping line at will.

After catching several fish each we finally decided to call it an evening. Our hopes were high for the next day and we went to bed thinking about swarms of bird-sized insects and fish crashing the surface for the huge morsels...

Back On My Home Waters

Three weeks in Colorado might seem like a lot of time to fish, but I am not burned out on fishing yet. Today I headed over to one of the area tailwaters to see how the fish are doing this year. I got there around 7:30 and started fishing while I waited on the pulse to come through. For the first 15 minutes the fish were feeding heavily and I caught three fish in short order. Unfortunately the rising water hit and put the fish down for awhile. I moved upriver to get above the leading edge of rising water.

At the second spot I found a pod of fish keying on midges that were all good solid 16"-18" fish. Working those fish was definitely a test of my patience and while I did get a couple of good fish to eat, I never was able to get a solid hookup. Several other fish were nice enough to eat though so I did not get too bored. After awhile though I decided to head back downriver and see what was happening.

When I got there, I found one of the members from the Little River Outfitters message board that I knew was supposed to be there. We found some really good fish feeding and spent some time sight fishing with small midge patterns. We both hooked up a few times and even landed some of the nice fish...nothing huge but good solid 15"-16" fish. After much longer than I intended, I finally headed back up to the car as I was supposed to be back in Crossville. It was a great time on the river and I hope to head back again soon!

Steve Baker Photograph

Pike on the Fly

One of my goals on this trip was to get that first pike on the fly rod. On trips to the Boundary Waters and Quetico, I've done okay with spinning gear but this was the first time trying for them with a fly rod. After asking around a bit, I determined that we could pursue these fish during our stay on the Taylor. Apparently Taylor Reservoir is a good place to try for these toothy fish.

On our second day at the Taylor, we fished the "Hog Trough" in the morning and then moved up to the lake later in the day. Catching nice trout in the morning and then trying something new in the afternoon is not a bad way to spend a day. Terry Gunn from Lees Ferry Anglers had given me a few suggestions on where to try and what to expect so we headed over to the area he recommended. Slowly driving along the shore, I finally spotted a large fish cruising the shallows and quickly jumped out and rigged up. The fish had long since vanished by the time I was actually ready to throw in but we began searching the water anyway. I remembered the times I fished for them up in Canada and knew that a lot of patience and covering water was in order. However after covering the water for awhile without so much as a strike, we decided to try a different spot closer to the area I had been told about.

When we got there, I immediately realized that it was prime pike habitat. Weedy flats stretched well out from shore with a few slightly deeper channels. These fish love weeds and will lie in a good ambush spot until a meal passes by. We started covering the water again when I suddenly saw a huge swirl up against the far bank. I quickly stripped another 20 feet of line out and a good double haul delivered my fly right to the target. The fly slapped down on the water and I began stripping the line furiously but there was nothing. I cast again and this time something slammed the fly almost before it touched the water. It sounds so dramatic, but really I was a bit puzzled. From catching these guys in the past, I figured there had to be more to it. When I started reeling line, I started wondering if a stocker trout had attacked my fly. It just did not feel like much on the 7 weight. As I got it closer, I realized that instead, I had caught one of the little guys...a pike, but definitely not the trophy I had hoped for. Still, it was my first pike on the fly so my buddy Trevor kindly snapped a couple of pictures for me.

Convinced that there were indeed pike around, we began fishing with a renewed purpose. Slowly wading farther out, I was minding my own business when something absolutely erupted in the water a few feet away. I nearly walked on water for a second or two while things calmed down but then I started thinking. Pike are notorious for following a bait forever before committing. After this happened a couple more times, I was sure. Pike were following almost although to the rod tip and then just lurking a few feet away, waiting to see what developed. When I moved they would spook (or was it me that would spook?). I had enough big fish roll nearby to know that there are definitely some very large pike in Taylor Reservoir. Unfortunately neither I nor my buddy ever hooked into one. Thankfully, there is always next time. I'll be sure to have a better selection of flies, and hopefully they'll want to play when I return!

Saving the Best For...

...Last? How about first... In retrospect, going to the Taylor River first might not be a good idea. Seeing hundreds of huge trout and even catching a few definitely increases expectations for the rest of the trip. However tradition has been set and dictates that our first stop on these crazy road trips is the Taylor River near Gunnison Colorado. On this trip, we drove straight through as usual with just a brief stop to sleep in the car a couple of hours. Upon arrival, we found a campground and set up our tents and then drove to the river. The rumor was that the big rainbows were coming off the spawn and theoretically should be feeding heavily.

When we got there, we immediately found more big rainbows out than we have seen in the past. There were lots of big fish just waiting for a choice morsel like a mysis shrimp to drift past. My buddy Trevor and I rigged up and started flogging the water. These fish are pounded literally every day of the year and the key to success is matching the natural foods accurately, getting a drag free drift (much easier said than done), and a fair amount of luck. These fish will spook just from split shot drifting in the vicinity. I cannot begin to count the times that I saw a fish carefully drift a foot out of the path of my flies and after they passed, move back to its spot.

Despite all the challenges, these fish are not impossible to hook. Landing them is another story however. Before landing my first fish, I lost 3 fish from 18-22 inches. This type of fishing is definitely not for everyone. Every time I go there I see visiting anglers shake their heads in frustration and finally leave without hooking a single fish. It takes dedication and creativity to be successful here.

After fishing for awhile and losing some nice fish, I finally started working a particularly large fish. This turned out to be the big rainbow I posted on already. The fish ate and when I set the hook, it bolted downstream. I had to follow it down the river a couple of hundred feet, stumbling along the bank and splashing through the shallows. Upon netting the fish, I discovered several other flies in the jaws of the big rainbow. Apparently others had hooked this nice fish as well but lost the fight. Flies it had consumed already included a big red copper john and small midge patterns. This big rainbow taped out at 24 inches and I was glad to have my large Coho Ghost net to corral it with. This fish was the largest landed during the trip, and while I won't complain, catching the biggest fish first is probably not the best way to have a good trip.

In the waning light, we finally called it a day and wandered back to camp completely exhausted from the last two days on the road. We headed straight for bed as the cold night made sitting up a not so inviting proposition. While we were fishing the Taylor River, I was hoping to target pike up in Taylor Reservoir and I fell asleep entertaining thoughts of large toothy fish inhaling big nasty flies...

Back Home

Wow! After only a couple of hours of sleep over the course of the last 36 plus, I'm feeling a little tired. However, yet another spectacular trip is in the books and I hope to be sharing all about it over the next few days.

In brief, the trip was good but not quite what we were hoping for. The Salmonflies were having a hard time getting going this year with lots of bugs in the bushes but only limited numbers of egg layers on the water getting the fish interested. The Gunnison still fished on a variety of midges, scuds, sow bugs, and big stonefly nymph patterns. Hoppers, caddis, and PMDs also accounted for some fish. The Green River was somewhat of a disappointment because they are having some serious issues with the Bureau of Reclamation constantly messing with the flows, substantially affecting the fishing quality (similar problem on the Gunnison). Still, we caught some very nice fish and overall had a good time. As you can see in the previous post, the Taylor produced as always and we also found a few surprises on some new stretches of water around the state of Colorado, some of which I'll mention later and some I might just keep to myself.

One first that occurred for me on this trip was seeing my backing for the first time ever after hooking a trout. I've come very close before but this was the first time I've actually felt the end of the fly line running over my finger and out the end of the rod. Normally I'll chase fish fast enough that this doesn't happen but I finally met my match and got severely outwitted...

In another few weeks, I'm heading west again, this time to Yellowstone National Park for what should be spectacular fishing in mid to late July. On the to-do list will be some secret spots for big browns and also probably the spectacular terrestrial fishing in the northeast part of the park. The Salmonflies might even still be around so maybe I'll hit that hatch perfectly yet. Up until then, I'll be doing some fishing here in Tennessee including on the area tailwaters and might also do a pack trip in the Smokies. This will of course be in between all my tying for Yellowstone...

I'll definitely be busy the next few weeks but you won't find me doing any complaining about it...

Good Start

We are off to a good start here in Colorado with some very nice fish caught already. Today we're headed over to check out the Gunnison and hopefully the salmonflies...more to come as it happens!

Photo courtesy of Bill Hitz at Gotta Go Fly Fishing