cabezon
06-02-2006, 01:50 PM
I fished Dry Falls Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday. As I headed out about 7:00 PM, there were sporadic risers at the surface. There appeared to be two targets: cream-colored mayfly spinners (about a size 14-16) and a red/tan midge that was emerging (about a size 16). The mayfly spinners vibrated on the water (loosening/releasing eggs?), but it seemed like they were ringing the dinner bell to me. As dusk turned toward dark, there was a flush of tiny and medium-sized midges and tiny mayflies (Caenis??). I managed to hook and land two 18-22" bows on a Lady McConnell dry fly; both fish fought well with several extended runs and one of those leaps where the fish hits the surface yards from where you think it is based on the position of the flyline. Still, I would have anticipated more action given the number of bugs on the surface. At dark, I picked up two more bows cruising the shallows; both fish hit a lead-eyed rabbit-strip sculpin.
Wednesday had partial overcast and light winds. I tried the chironomid combo that had worked in April, but had no love after two hours of watching the float. Unlike the situation in April, I saw only the occasional fish cruising the shallows (10-15'). For most of the morning and early afternoon, there were occasional showy rises after a largish midge that was emerging in low numbers. While I had no success enticing these risers with dry flies, another flyfisher said that he had picked up a few over the course of the day. I managed to hook and land one bow on the rabbit-strip sculpin as I trolled back to the launch for a mid-day break. There were some damsels emerging in the shallows and even a few fish trying to knock them out of the sky with leaps; alas, they weren’t interested in my damsel dry imitation. In the evening, flat-calm was replaced by swirling winds. During lulls, surface activity increased, but none of the risers were interested in what I had to offer. After dark, I had four short-strikes on the sculpin pattern. Major league frustration for the day; it seems that the fish aren’t all cued into the same prey: some fish working the shallows along the shore, some on the topwater, some in the deeper holes. When that happens, it’s a big lake.....
As it was on the way home anyway, I stopped at the Yakima on Thursday and drifted from Reds to Big Pine. Overcast skies produced a light drizzle occasionally in the afternoon (gotta love a place where it can drizzle on you for an hour and you’re still dry when it done!!). Water visibility in the canyon was about 18" – translation, if you’re using dry fly, it works better in shallower water. There was an intense PMD hatch beginning just before noon; it continued for about an hour and then petered out for another hour or two thereafter. The fish were really keyed into PMDs at the surface for the first hour and parachute PMDs were a favored offering. I don’t know if the fish were full or what, but the surface action tailed off before the presence of PMDs did. Later in the afternoon, there was a mixed emergence of larger yellowish mayfly, a gray-drake-ish mayfly, and a BWO-ish mayfly. In addition to the occasional fish that took a swipe at flies drifted along the bank, there were occasional pods of fish rising to bugs just below the surface and less commonly on top. These pods were centered on tailouts where the water is shallower and the current a bit slower. A CDC caddis was effective for some fish; after several clear ignores, I managed to induce the hold-outs to play by switching to a parachute biot-bodied BWO. I finished my float just as the caddis flies were picking up their activity. All in all, it was a fun day on the moving water.
Steve
Wednesday had partial overcast and light winds. I tried the chironomid combo that had worked in April, but had no love after two hours of watching the float. Unlike the situation in April, I saw only the occasional fish cruising the shallows (10-15'). For most of the morning and early afternoon, there were occasional showy rises after a largish midge that was emerging in low numbers. While I had no success enticing these risers with dry flies, another flyfisher said that he had picked up a few over the course of the day. I managed to hook and land one bow on the rabbit-strip sculpin as I trolled back to the launch for a mid-day break. There were some damsels emerging in the shallows and even a few fish trying to knock them out of the sky with leaps; alas, they weren’t interested in my damsel dry imitation. In the evening, flat-calm was replaced by swirling winds. During lulls, surface activity increased, but none of the risers were interested in what I had to offer. After dark, I had four short-strikes on the sculpin pattern. Major league frustration for the day; it seems that the fish aren’t all cued into the same prey: some fish working the shallows along the shore, some on the topwater, some in the deeper holes. When that happens, it’s a big lake.....
As it was on the way home anyway, I stopped at the Yakima on Thursday and drifted from Reds to Big Pine. Overcast skies produced a light drizzle occasionally in the afternoon (gotta love a place where it can drizzle on you for an hour and you’re still dry when it done!!). Water visibility in the canyon was about 18" – translation, if you’re using dry fly, it works better in shallower water. There was an intense PMD hatch beginning just before noon; it continued for about an hour and then petered out for another hour or two thereafter. The fish were really keyed into PMDs at the surface for the first hour and parachute PMDs were a favored offering. I don’t know if the fish were full or what, but the surface action tailed off before the presence of PMDs did. Later in the afternoon, there was a mixed emergence of larger yellowish mayfly, a gray-drake-ish mayfly, and a BWO-ish mayfly. In addition to the occasional fish that took a swipe at flies drifted along the bank, there were occasional pods of fish rising to bugs just below the surface and less commonly on top. These pods were centered on tailouts where the water is shallower and the current a bit slower. A CDC caddis was effective for some fish; after several clear ignores, I managed to induce the hold-outs to play by switching to a parachute biot-bodied BWO. I finished my float just as the caddis flies were picking up their activity. All in all, it was a fun day on the moving water.
Steve