Tuesday, June 27, 2017

A Capital “P” for Persistence Thursday on the Sipsey

As I drove the 145 miles Thursday to fish the Sipsey, I was thinking how easy it once was to drive the 12 miles from our house in Jasper. The trip now is a bit more important than it was back then.

Partly cloudy skies keep the sun from penetrating the crystal clear waters of the area I was going to fish this day. The water level was somewhat low which makes the Sipsey more difficult to fish, and as always the pressure from other fly fishermen adds to the challenge.

This section is where my wading boots got the most use, fishing small pocket holes throughout the stretch. No surface activity at all caused me to stay down under with nymphs changing back and forth from tight lining to the indicator. I was using a furl leader today casting upstream and letting the nymphs drift slowly back to me. I choose to do this because of the super clear low water levels I encountered. The trout spook easily in these conditions and they had been hammered all morning by other fishermen.
I landed my first rainbow of the afternoon using a long 6X fluorocarbon tippet tipped with a size 20 tungsten bead-head midge.  My eyes had to strain a bit even with my magnifying glasses to thread the line through the eyelet of the fly. I seldom fish a fly this small but it was producing and I couldn’t complain.
The 4 weight today enabled me to get a little more backbone in the hook set, which I needed fishing those tiny nymphs. I wondered if this trout had spent a lot of time in the deep holes of the Sipsey causing it to have a very little color, but still beautiful. Persistence kept me focused this day through long periods of no takes. A couple more rainbows would touch the net this afternoon before I headed back home. 
I noticed this turkey hen in our backyard the other morning and ran and got my camera and took the shot through the window. I knew if I stepped outside on our porch it would spook. Not the best picture, which continues to make me search for a better quality camera. I hope you guys have a great week!

9 comments:

  1. Wow, 145 miles! I'd guess you missed the Sipsey huh? Good for you Bill. I see a lot of wildlife around my backyard but never a wild turkey! Thanks my friend for sharing your trip.

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  2. Bill, always nice to go back home in a kind of sort of way! The Sipsey sure looked low and tough to get much going on. A few Rainbows always help! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
    Take care..............
    P.S. The only Wild Turkey we have around here is in the icebox...........

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  3. Bill you did all the right things.
    6x fluoro, and the small flies.

    Most of all you were able to get out and fish....

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  4. Howard
    I'll be fishing the Sipsey less as soon as the generation slows on the Caney. Thanks for the comment

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  5. Mel
    The Sipsey will test a fly fisherman for sure. Thanks for the comment

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  6. Lester
    It is difficult to get close enough to sight fish, because the trout spook in the crystal clear water. The place gets tremendous pressure daily and the trout have seen most all the patterns that are thrown at them. Casting up stream and letting the fly drift to me work best for me Thursday. Also using the furled leader with a longer tippet help slow the drift. Thanks for the comment

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  7. Alan
    Glad to know you would have fished it the same way----thanks for the comment

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  8. I say capital "G" for Good Work, Bill, in being persistent on the old river that takes more time to get to now and can be worked hard already by other anglers doing the same. You made some good connections there.

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  9. Walt
    The "Sip" what most anglers call it is challenge for sure; I was lucky to land the trout that touched my net. Thanks for the comment

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