Sunday, October 11, 2015

Fishing High Water on The Sipsey

Fishing a tailrace can always be an adventure especially if you fish one that has unpredictable generation. Tuesday was that day, where I thought I had the generation time exact, but upon arriving at the waters edge I discovered otherwise. I should have known when I drove up to the parking lot and no one was there that something wasn’t right. I never fish this place alone; but this morning I would have the Sipsey all to myself. The water was higher than I have ever fished the Sipsey. No turning back for me today, I was determined to fish and fish I did. 
The road to the first access point was just about covered with the leaves from some of the tress lining the road. It is so beautiful this time of year around the tailrace. We had a light rain the night before and I could still smell the wet leaves.
The food plots along the road are in full growth now and the deer have already started to graze on the clover. I was hoping one would be near the plot but all I saw were some butterflies feeding on the clover blooms.
As I stepped off the last step at access 6 I encountered a foot of water. All the rocks you see in this image are always void of water when the generators are off. The area I was going to fish was the deep channel off the edge of the rocks. There was a fairly fast current in all the rock areas that I waded through to get to all the spots I wanted to fish. No rises, at all so dries were not the option.
If there is a plus for me fishing high water on the Sipsey; it has to be its beauty with the fast ripples, swift current and super clear water. I remember a time last year fishing high water here, and my selection of flies then were nymphs and soft hackles. With the water moving fast I knew I wanted to fish a pattern that would get the attention of the trout quickly, so color was the first choice, forget hatch nothing there on the surface or in the air.
This little gem would be my first choice in a bright orange. I haven’t fished a scud in a while here so today was my chance to see if this bright color could attract. I knew the trout would have only a few seconds to see the fly before it was swept down stream from view. The water in the channel where I was going to fish was actually 5 to 6 feet deep, so I was hoping the trout was closer to the top, than down on the bottom. To drop the fly a little deeper I added a weight 6” above the scud.
My first rainbow of the morning, after endless casting in the fast moving water; this rainbow inhaled the scud and decided to leave the deep channel and head to the shallows. I decided not to use an indicator and just let the fly swing through the current with a slow retrieve. This would be my lone trout this morning, with my new found scud friend. I'm not complaining when one can fish a beautiful place like the Sipsey on a early fall morning. I’m planning on spending a lot of time on the Sipsey in the coming months; I hope you guys don’t get bored with my repeated trips.


10 comments:

  1. Well done Bill. You chose to fish and you were rewarded.

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  2. Glad you're enjoying some quiet time on the home water and connecting with those trout. It's a wonderful time to be out there. I'll look forward to hearing more.

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  3. I never get bored of fishing related content. I'm glad you caught something, even with those conditions. Fishing swift deep water is tough. Especially with fly gear. Have you ever tried a bounce rig?

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  4. Alan
    Tuff trip but rewarding fishing the high water--thanks for the comment

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  5. Walt
    We are so lucky to have the Sipsey tailrace here in Walker county; funny I never come in contact with anyone from Jasper, everyone is from out of state or out of the county. Thanks for the comment

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  6. I never get bored of fishy content. I'm glad you had success despite the conditions. Fishing fast moving water is tough, deep fast water is even tougher.

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  7. Kevin
    I'm not a fan of fishing high tail waters and was lucky to land the lone trout I brought to hand. What is the bounce rig, haven't heard of the rig. Thanks for the commnet

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  8. No chance I'll get bored. Looking forward to learning about your water.

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  9. Drew
    Hope to make a float down the Sipsey next week, new experience for me, will have a report coming soon. Thanks for the comment

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