Fishing Against the Odds

Never think you have this great sport of trout fishing figured out. That is what I find out every time I set foot on the waters of the Sipsey Tailrace. The trout may be wiling to take a certain pattern one day and the next it could be something completely different. I know the holidays always bring out a lot of fishermen either on the lake or on the tailrace. The tailrace was covered on Labor Day with fly fishermen from all over the state, not a good day for a retiree to fish anywhere near the place. Neither is the day right after the holiday, but Tuesday was the only day I had to fish this week, so I gave it a try this morning. I did the walked up to access seven, which is right at the dam to set up for my first cast around 9 AM. I knew I was fishing against the odds today. No activity at all  as I approached the waters edge so I started with a size 18 Zebra Midge, which produced a couple of rainbow early. I like to use smaller flies on days when no activity is present. After landing the two rainbow the drought set in and didn’t let up until right before I left at twelve.  

As I made my way back to access five to leave, I saw this nice rainbow moving in some pocket water right below where I was standing. I started casting my nymph trying to get a decent drift to entice a take; but the rainbow was having nothing to do with the indicator nymph combo. Time to change patterns and method of presentation. I decided to tight line my nymph down and across the pocket which allowed the nymph to pass through the pocket with less time for the trout to inspect the fly. On my second cast I saw the rainbow slam the nymph in the super clear water. The take was savage, and the fight was a stretch for my 3 wt. One of the fly fishermen near me was kind enough to take the shot of this beauty. This fish was one of my better trout from the Sipsey this year. Seeing this nice rainbow take my nymph was an awesome experience and a fitting way to end my morning outing.

 

Speaking of pocket, I will be out of pocket for the next couple of weeks; Cathey and I will be making a trip out west starting tomorrow; so no post for a while. I will be carrying my fly rod and hope to wet a fly especially in Yellowstone.

 

Tight Lining Using the Microlight Combo

A fantastic day on Smith using the 7 1/2 ft. Microlight fishing in 30 to 35 feet down under. When the fly rod won't get to the fish try the next best combo to the fly rod, the Microlight!!!
                                                                            

The lake is very low now and the fish are in the deepwater and very finicky; adapting to the conditions and making the best of the situation is a must if one is going to land fish this time of the year on Smith. I used a technique yesterday that will work on any water one may fish. Tight lining using a microlight spinning rod rigged with a slip shot, 20" above a bluegill hook. A bobber stopper is used to stop the slip sinker from sliding down the line while the rest of the line with the hook float along the bottom. The hook is tagged with a cricket and tipped with white crappie nibblet. A slow retrieve will usually get the take and most all the hits are on the fall as the cricket falls back to the bottom. There is no mistaking the hit, most of the time the fish will take the cricket and swim away franticly, that is when you merely lift the rod and set the hook. I have found that 4 lb. test Vanish line is the best choice for fishing this technique. The above group was the best of the best for yesterday's outing. Got to love it!!!!