[Greg Price]

Fished RF last Monday evening.

Fished a scud below a pinned corky.

Also tried a white leach.

No followers, no strikes no takers, no nothing.:hmmm:

The fishing was great, but the catching left something to be desired. I enjoyed my quiet time in the desert.

Any other reports from RF?

 

[Jonathan Tachell]

Drag scuds through the weeds extremely slow to specific fish.

 

[Gary Thompson]

Greg, you buy the beer and I'll give ya a lesson.
Also it coulda been the cold front, NOT

 

[troutpocket]

I was there a couple of weeks ago. Irafly put on a scud clinic and coached a newby into a few fish on scuds as well. I had the same setup and only hooked one that was off after the first headshake. I eventually switched over to a pheasant tail nymph and caught three in the last 30 min I had to fish before getting back on the road for home.

 

[SpeySpaz]

I just got back from RF for four days.
buggers, slow. Couple fish. Scuds under bobbicators, slow. Couple fish.
midge emergers and small mayfly emergers and dries, some action. several fish on each.
Even caught one on a beadhead chironomid.
I tried a huge experimental articulated crawdad bunny I've tied, and got a couple smacks but no hookup.

Basically, was tough fishing. Weather was tough in particular, strong southerlies , at times 30 mph plus. Made sightfishing near impossible.

BTW, N end of Lenore was practically empty of fish. Never seen it so empty 1st week of Apr.

 

[Greg Price]

Nice report, Spey, thanks for sharing.
It sounds like you are dialed in even during challenging conditions.

I find I catch fish about 4 or every 5 times I go to RF.

Skinkings make me appreciate the times when the fish come more easily.

 

[Fly Boy]

The Ford can be great fun and a real frustration at times. I've had great success and total skunks. I've had a 10 fish day and a no fish day and it doesn't seem to have reason I can deduce. My best days have been fishing buggers and my biggest fish was on a chernobyl ant in February (yes, a terrestrial in winter.) The chance at landing multiple big fish and seeing those hogs in skinny water continues to be a big draw for me. I think it's time to hit it again.

 

[Old Man]

That's why it's called fishing,. If we were to catch many fish every time out it would be called catching instead of fishing. And then it would be boring. Getting skunked is all part of the game.

 

[Gary Thompson]

Out of all the places I fish RF is one of the few I don't get skunked at.
I must admit I have had to work really hard to hook and land just one sometimes and it seems like some other fisher is hooking'em up right and left. Go figure.

 

[Keith Hixson]

Rocky Ford is interesting. Sometimes you can't miss, sometimes catching is difficult. I usually stick with mini leeches and marabou leeches. I have used pheasant tails and other nymphs. But most of the time I catch a few fish. Before learning the Ford, I would have days without a hit. That rarely happens anymore. 90% of my fishing is with mini leeches and marabou leeches, they are consistently the most effective. Going over on Monday!

Keith

 

[Keith Hixson]

My friend Al and I went to Rocky Ford today. It was windy. Windy for me at Rocky Ford means slow. We got there early and were the first folks on the creek. We used everything and everything worked at times. Al and I both brought a very large black marabou leech, size four. Basically a steehead fly. We both had success with that over sized leech. We mostly fished mini leeches in size 8 and 10 in brown and black. Towards late afternoon we noticed the fish hitting the surface and notice caddis flies in the area. I looked in my "Rocky Ford box" and found a dry fly. It was a size 14 royal humpy. Tied it on and caught one large fish with a dry fly. Over all I'm not sure to the numbers but I believe Al had 11 fish to hand and over 15 fish on. I had five fish to hand and 11 or 12 fish on. For us it was a fairly slow day. But it certainly was a fun day on the Ford. The wind made casting and fishing more difficult than usual.

Keith

 

[Gary Thompson]

Nice report Keith.
Did ya find any ticks on ya after? and has the creek started to turn over?

 

[Old Man]

I have only been there about four times. The first time I went just to see where it was and what everybody was hopped up about. I got two fish. The second and third times nada. The forth time it was blowing at gale force winds. I still managed to cast a scud. I hooked a bigger fish but in my stupid haste to stay out of the wind I lost it. I haven't been back since.

And to all reading this, the wind blows just as hard here.

 

[Keith Hixson]

No ticks. I have fished the Ford in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and have yet to see a tick. I know there a ticks there but I have yet to see one after more than twenty years fishing there. Must be my body odor my dog got a tick right in my back yard here in Ellensburg. I have seen a few ticks up the Manastash but for some reason, Rocky Ford has been kind to me. I've only seen two rattle snakes, both on the East side (far side from the parking). So ticks and snakes haven't been much of a concern for me at Rocky Ford.

Keith

 

[mike bornemann]

i've been fishing it almost every other day since early march; over here on business till junish and i want to get the most out of it. have not had a multiple fish day, but haven't caught anything under a foot which is larger than my usual. scuds were fishing great the end of last month, shitty this month. haven't thrown a leach yet but talked to a couple guys today who brought in 7 or 8 on streamers so i guess i will throw one out tomorrow. lots of tiny brown gnatish lookiing things buzzing around and gettign ate, but i don't know what they were and didn't have anything that small. any idea what those are? maybe they are just gnats.

side note, if anyone on here was out there Tuesday and left something, i probably found it.

 

[Old Man]

No ticks. I have fished the Ford in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and have yet to see a tick. I know there a ticks there but I have yet to see one after more than twenty years fishing there. Must be my body odor my dog got a tick right in my back yard here in Ellensburg. I have seen a few ticks up the Manastash but for some reason, Rocky Ford has been kind to me. I've only seen two rattle snakes, both on the East side (far side from the parking). So ticks and snakes haven't been much of a concern for me at Rocky Ford.

Keith

So, somebody else fish's the Manastash Creek. Do you also fish Taneum Creek??

I saw only one tick in all the years of going over to the Dry Side. No Rattlesnakes either. Here in Montana I haven't seen any either.

 

[Gary Thompson]

Mike, midge hatch, good luck matching that one.
Those fish will get hip to your scud, so ya gotta change it up a little, different size, color, mini leach, big leach, streamers, caddis, whatever.
Keith, ticks seem to like me.
Two or maybe it was three years ago I got back to the truck and took off my vest and there were 20 plus ticks on the inside back of my vest. I picked many more off my cloths as I stripped down. The other guys in the parking lot must have though I was crazy when I ask if they would look at my back for ticks and one guy picked off a few more from my back.
I had my old dog with me and I spent an hour picking ticks off her. Damn things were in the cab of the truck, in my lawn most of the summer, damn.
As for the rattlers I've never seen any at the Ford, but have heard a couple as I've walked by them.

 

[Keith Hixson]

Gary,
Great advice for Mike. Mini Marabou Leeches are by far and away the most productive for me. Size 10 an 8 work best. But I take a variety of flies with me. About month ago this guy was frustrated and tied on this big steelhead fly and the first cast he was into one. That's why we brought a big (huge) size four black marabou leech with us. When we tried it, the first cast we both had a hit. I got quite a kick out of it. I would have never thought of doing it myself. I use size 16 pheasant tails, #16 scuds, #14 and #16 chironomids and lots and lots of mini leeches in size 8 and 10. The most consistent fly, time after time is the marabou mini leeches in sizes 8 and 10 in black, brown, and dark olive. I also move from spot to spot every ten to fifteen minutes. Staying in one spot just educates the fish in that area. I've seen folks stay in one place for hours and catch very few or no fish at all. Move around because often when you move to a new spot you'll immediately get some action.

 

[Gary Thompson]

Very true Keith, I'm always moving (on the hunt) for feeding and active fish.
I spend as much time watching the water as casting.
I also treat the creek like any other small stream and approach with caution, not to spook the shore line huggers.
First casts are always the most important.

 

[Irafly]

I also fish a variety of flies at the Ford, but I've found a size 12 tanish green scud is by far my best fly. I think ultimately the trick for me is I never fish to where a fish is, I always fish to where a fish is going to be. Watch the fish, they have specific patterns and even if you scare one off a lie it is likely he was there for a reason and he will return. If you saw the fish eat a scud off the bottom in a specific spot and you cast to the fish and it swims away that is not a bad thing in fact it could be your best bet for catching that fish. Put that scud right on the spot where you saw him eat and then wait, then wait, then wait, then wait. The waiting will seem like hours, but as we all know time is relative to that activity, it will seem like a long time because as you are waiting you will see fish eating elsewhere and everything in you will want to cast to them, but mark my words as soon as you do the fish that you were waiting for will return and eat a scud off the very spot you just had yours. When the fish does return (and this will happen about 80% of the time, it's up to you to figure out the other 20% of the time) ever so slightly twitch it on the spot it sits. The fish will most likely dip down and eat it. When it does do not set the hood too quickly wait just a twitch until you see the fish slightly chomp, then make sure you set your strike back towards the back of the fish.

Well there you have it Rocky Ford secrets officially revealed for the umpteeth time. But like bobber fishing for some it can be akin to watching paint dry.

As for moving around, there are areas of the ford where the fish continue to move in and out and I and a couple of my friends have caught 20 + fish a day standing on the same rocks all day, sometimes switching up methods but otherwise standing in the same spot or general area.

Seen two rattlers both on the same day after many many days of fishing the creek. One swam across right under me, the other was just under some sage brush on the trail, but it moved away very quickly. Picked ticks off both myself and my dog. One I found imbedded in my neck after I was already home.

Ira..