Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Revisiting One of my Favorite Trout Areas

I wanted to try an area closer to the dam on the tailrace the other day. I had fished this area a couple of years ago and found it to be absolutely beautiful. The place had not changed with the exception of the newly constructed access point that had been built there. The water in this area is a cool 58 degrees and there are no fast runs but more of a slow flow. It is perfect for dry fly action early and late in the afternoon. Unfortunately that was not the case with the dries, there was very little action on top. In fact there was a little or no hatch.
The early morning mist made it difficult to see your offering, but I wasn't complaining because it was so cool in the water and the swamp and forest smell of the area just added to the experience.
My first rainbow of he morning with what else the Zebra Midge
A Mother/son team taking a break to change patterns. This boy doesn't know how lucky he is . She had taught him well in the casting department, he was making some exceptional cast---he was 10 years old.
I found a nice blonder to sit on while I changed patterns, notice I am using the wind-up leader in the L-connect system. This is really a handy set-up in that you can have your fly already tied on your leader and all you have to do to change flies is to connect the orange connect into your fly line connect of the system---for more info on the L-connect check out this link   these leaders are hard to find and the last ones I purchased was in Canada--sorry not USA!
All you do to change flies is unwind the leader off the spool and insert the connect end into your fly line connect. Another handy accessory I have to save on leader purchase is the Tippet Ring. I did a post on the ring sometime back and have found that it is extremely useful when extending the life of your leader. Since going with the ring I have only changed leaders once this season.
 
I tried a number of these nymph patterns before the midge proved to be the winner
Everyone that fly fishes likes to gets that take on top, and I for one go along with the crowd here. I started with a PMD early but as stated earlier had trouble seeing the fly. Not to be outdone I changed to a Gnat, Padams and finally realize that the top action wasn't going to happen.
Trust me the trout is there in my hand ---today was an enjoyable morning even if I only brought 3 to hand. I met some nice trout fishermen/ladies and learned a few things along the way.
This was my access point to enter and leave, notice the concrete embankment, this sort of structure is needed when you have 8 to 10 ft. water rise on release
One needs to be in pretty good shape to make his way up the steps and on up to the top of the ramp.


14 comments:

  1. Very nice looking section, Bill!! I have been seeing an increased frequency of mother/son fishing duos. I personally think it's outstanding!!

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  2. i need a good tailwater excursion God do i miss the white

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  3. There are some days when I could use some steps like those to get out of a canyon. On the other hand, I could use some repelling gear to get in sometimes too. California sure doesn't provide any, of either. In fact, California isn't providing much in the way of fish. It's sad.

    Mark

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  4. Hey Bill, I really enjoyed this post and that's a great photo of you in the water. That's framable. Looks like a great day.

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  5. That river is nice. Good to see you searching and finding some trout. It looks like they are of the selective type too.

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  6. Alan
    this area of the tailrace is deeper and slower, and limited backcast area. Not many anglers fish section. There are also better trout here. Thanks for the comment

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  7. Hi Howard
    My son has already got a photo of me casting last year. The lady with her son took the photo of me there. I told her to get the shot of the trout but the shot ended up featuring me instead of the trout. I would have preferred the trout. Thanks for the comment

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  8. Howard
    The stairs makes a big difference especially when one had to climb out up rock walls. We have seven access points now to enter nad leave the area from. Thanks for the comment

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  9. Blake
    This tailrace is the only place I have to fish for trout in the state. It's not a the best of the best but at least it is a trout stream wiht some quality fish. Thanks for the comment

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  10. Brook
    This trip was kind of special for me seeing the Mother/son team, my first. I talk to both of them for a while and found out the son started with the fly at age 7. He said he loves to fiy fish. Thanks for the comment

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  11. Out here in Oregon the snows are finally giving way out in the mountains and although the rivers are running hard, the water is cool and the trout are out...what a great time of year! I'm glad to see others out and about enjoying these warm summer months!

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  12. 58 degrees in the dead of summer. Gotta love those tailwaters! Good stuff Bill.

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  13. Haines
    You have the advantage of fishing in a fantastic place where you live--enjoy. Thanks for the commnet

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  14. Ty
    This is an area of the tailrace where there is some nice bows, but they are really hard to land because of the all the pressure. thanks for the comments

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