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Dry Falls ???

2K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  Bob Triggs 
#1 ·
Did anyone fish Dry Falls this weekend? I have been hearing rumors about problems at the lake and that WDFW is going to do a electro shock and net survey this week. I also heard they were considering rehabbing the lake this fall. Somebody must have fished it over the weekend so give us a report.
Blessings
jesse clark
 
#2 ·
I fished it Fri, Sat & Sun. It was only my second time there, and the first time it was just my first month of Fly Fishing, so I can't really say what it was like in comparison. The first day I caught a chunky chrome rainbow about 14" down deep on a #10 olive damsel, then on the same fly an hour later a nice 17" rainbow. The seccond day I caught another 14 incher on the same damsel at about 10:00. Then my first Brown on a brown beadhead leach down deep at about 12:00, this was my most memorable fish measuring 18". Most guys were fishing Chironomids, but only a few were actually catching them. I tried the first few days, but was impatient and switched back to a sinking line. Sunday however, I decided to fish chironomids all day and managed to catch my first, 17", on a size 18, black body & thorax with a tiny white tail, I hooked up with another, but couldn't keep him on. My buddy caught about 4 and lost 2 on that same fly within the hour.

I had a blast this weekend, and learned a lot about chironomid fishing. I'd give it a few more weeks and they should be coming up good. From what I could tell, and others explained, there wasn't a very good hatch going on.

Hope this helps. And by the way, I hadn't heard a single comment about the lake being rehabed.

Des
 
#3 ·
A buddy of mine went yesterday and it was SLOW! He caught 3 fish all day, two on chironomids and one on a leech. We have fished Dry Falls the first week of April since they started the early opener about 4 years ago. We hammered them the first two years, but last year had to really work for 8-10 fish days. We fish essentially the same area w/ the same techniques and flies and have had good luck. I'm no expert on the lake, but the fishing last year was not anything like I experienced the two years previous. I understand that one day of fishing does not a season make, but when my buddy didn't see 1 fish in an area where we usually see many, it's not a good sign. My buddy talked to several people and everyone said it was slow with one exception. One guy said he had had 20 hookups and landed 10, fishing a size 8 Bomber chironomid 20 feet deep. That sounds like some serious Rowley/Chan stuff. Let's hope it picks up.
 
#4 ·
I recently read an article quoting Jeff Korth, Region 2 biologist that they will be evaluating Dry Falls for a possible rehab. The fishing has been going down hill the past several years. I had great fishing in 2001 & 2002. 2003 was ok and last year was slow, by Dry Fall standards. It seems the triploids they put in there never really took off. Some nice fish were caught but no real hogs. It hasn't been rehabbed for a long time. It is probably due.
Brian
 
#6 ·
There has been a slowdown in the catch rate, ie. it's getting a little tougher. I've talked with Jeff several times recently and he indicated he would like to drop a couple of nets for sampling to better evaluate conditions. This was just in conversation, may or may not be done. A friend got a 20+" Tiger since the opener and a few nice fish are being taken. Just a little more challenging than the last couple of years. The only local lakes being considered for rehab. are Park & Blue this fall.
 
#7 ·
I'm also curious about the purpose of a rehab. If fishing is slowing down, what will a rehab do that, say, a stocking wouldn't?

Are there a ton of less desirable species present that are out competing the trout?

I don't hear anybody saying they caught a ton of bluegill in their reports, so it makes me wonder...
 
#8 ·
You don't suppose the tiger trout or the triploids have anything to do with it, do you? Those slimy mutants are on artificial growth and eating curves. Dry Falls is a pretty rich lake, but the food source isn't infinite. To be honest, I've never gotten the whole tiger-trout/triploid thing; exactly what was broken about Dry Falls that needed fixing? (Tiger trout especially gross me out; if I hooked one I'm not sure I could bring myself to even touch it.)
 
#9 ·
Ray,
Heh, heh, heh! You're the first person I've ever heard express my own opinion of the tiger trout. Leland and I spend a lot of time verbally abusing them. Although I've caught a few, I can't say I was particularly impressed with their performance. I also suspect that at least the larger ones are less likely to feed on top than rainbows or even browns. I suppose that some argument can be made for stocking triploids (rapid growth, good condition even when other rainbows are going into spawning condition), but why tiger trout? I've never been able to come up with a reasonable explanation.
 
#10 ·
One thing that we have notice over the last few years is that the level of the lake is getting shallow. And I am not talking about the water level. There seems to be a building up of a new layer of sediment on the bottom and the lake is changing, this could be effecting the fishing. Also, there are more guys that seem to be fishing it with spinners and row boat, this will have an effect on the fish survival rate also. (watched to many times as some guy pulls a fish out of the lake by a spinner or spoon and then hear the fish flopping around the bottom of the boat and then they put it back --- ha will not survive).

Anyway... I hate to see them rehab the lake if it is just lower fish catch rate. the lake has been pretty consistent over the last few years.

Tight Lines
wabow
:beer2:
 
#11 ·
The information I had was a Fishing and Hunting newpaper article that said there was "a problem" at the lake and "it might need to be rehabbed" I don't know the reasoning behind this but Couleefisher seems to have the most information on this.
Low water and low fish counts could go hand in hand but it doesn't seem to merit rehabbing if that is the ony problem. :confused:
jesse clark
 
#12 ·
Rehab? Dry Falls surely doesn't need to be rehabbed, or restocked. I fished there Sunday and had very good fishing(15 fish, 6 hours), not hot, but good, Some fish were very fat while others looked skinny, 5 Browns and about 10 or so bows landed with maybe a dozen missed strikes, no tigers. The surface water was at 47 degrees and there were midges hatching sporadically in the deep(21-22') throughout the day. I believe in waters that get the pressure that DF gets, the fish wise up very quickly and that will seperate the catchers from the fishers. Chironomids Chironomids Chironomids ! :thumb:
 
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