The humidity had already kicked in even at 9 AM , causing a haze of fog to cover the water surface. If one is on the
tailrace early the fog is the main obstacle you have to contend with in the heat of summer. At times
it makes it really difficult to see your indicator or dry fly. So the 9:30 arrival was kind of blessing in disguise.
The water today was extremely low with a slow
flow most of the way up the channel. The generators had been turned off at 4 AM so the water had settled down quite nicely. I really like to fish this
place when its low like today, because it give me a chance to fish areas on the
other side of the channel that I never get fish.
My first trout of the
morning on a beadhead nymph, which I thought was going to be my pattern for the
morning; not the case. The trout today were into a smorgasbord of food choices.
I must admit I’m not up on my Entomology aside from recognizing a midge, mayfly
and possibly a gnat, but trust me none of those were on the menu. After the bead
head went dead, experiment time set in.
Super clear water made it
easy to see trout moving from deep pockets to current seams. The seams are
where I had the most success. Feeding would decrease as the sun broke through
the cloud cover. I am not a fan of fly fishing in the sun!!!
This rainbow was a little
camera shy after a size 14 soft hackle was removed from his mouth.
I had plenty of company around
me all morning. Some fishermen would leave and others would show up to try
their hand at landing some rainbow. I talk to fly fishermen from Tennessee , and numerous cities all over the state. One guy
traveled from the Alabama Gulf Coast just to fish the Sipsey.
Sorry for the bad camera
work, which doesn’t do the colors on this trout justice? Most all the stock
trout on the tailrace have very little color, this one was an exception. The size 20 renegade got its
attention. Numerous trout were brought to hand today on various patterns
throughout the morning which proved to me if the bite is slow keep experimenting.
Sounds like a great day. Like you, I have a better idea of what's in my fly box than identifying insect life on the river. I noticed how much knowledge I lacked when I was in the driftless last week. So much to learn...which is exciting.
ReplyDeleteBill a fine outing for sure.
ReplyDeleteI guess that's why we carry all those different flies.
Some good advice there. Whenever it gets slow, I always start changing patterns. Glad you had a good day!
ReplyDeleteDrew
ReplyDeleteI am still working on insect identification of this sport. Hopefully in time I will get better. Thanks for sharing
Alan
ReplyDeleteI used a total of 7 different flies as the morning wound down. Thanks for sharing
David
ReplyDeleteThis trip brought back memories of you talking about changing flies often if things are slow in one of your recent post; glad I read that post. Thanks for the comment
Lester
ReplyDeleteThe Renegade is a fly I seldom try on the Sipsey; it was one of many flies I tied that morning. My go to dry flies there are the Gnat and Adams , which got no attention from the trout that day. This trip proved to me if things are slow, start testing other patterns. I was changing flies every 15 to 20 minutes. Thanks for the comment
A find outing, Bill. I love fishing in the fog.
ReplyDeleteJustin
ReplyDeleteTrips like today is what makes trout fishing so enjoyable. Thanks for the comment