A Reprieve from my Last Outing



 

After trying to fish the slim cover waters of Walker County Lake last week I wanted to fish some crystal clear waters this past Thursday. The Sipsey Tailrace was just the ticket, to rid me of the horror I experienced last week, while trying to bluegill fish on Walker Lake.  

Fishermen always have a plan in place when venturing out on the water, and my plan today was to get on the water by mid afternoon and hopefully experience some type of hatch. In fact I was so confident of some sort of hatch; I didn’t even rig my fly rod until I actually got to the waters edge. As I approached the fast water at access four I notice a few midges here and there but nothing significant enough for me to tie on a dry. So I started with a soft hackle, because a few trout were feeding just below the surface. A soft hackle usually will generate a take if the drift is near perfection when the subsurface activity is happening. I stayed with the perfection drift soft hackle for a while with no results; so plan B was put into play, which was dead drifting a nymph. I hoped I could land some quality rainbow on the swing part of the drift. This same technique has produced some of my best rainbows this season on the tailrace. 

 

The dead drift yielded this rainbow on the swing. This technique places less emphasis on mending and more emphasis on feel.   

While viewing this rainbow, I imagined seeing these spots on the backs of future browns that may be stocked one day in the Sipsey.

 

The last rainbow of the afternoon was taken using a copper john dropped under an indicator. A few minutes after landing this trout the generators came on and cut short what looked to be an even more promising afternoon.

 

 

 



B.T. and I on the Caney Fork

Fishing with a guide is always a plus when one is trying to land quality trout. Friday’s outing was one of those guide trips that had quality trout as well as numbers brought to hand. David of Southeastern Fly had B.T. and me on trout from the start of the half-day trip to the finish. The weather was good with low humidity, and some rain, which took a back seat to the fish action.  Generators were off giving the Caney tailrace a natural flow with all the familiar pockets, seams, and some fast water; which would test our skills landing the trout as well as getting that perfect drift.

Some of the many trout B.T. landed while fishing the Pheasant Tail nymph in some slow to fast water. B.T. and I have made a number of trips with David of Southeastern fly and always had great trips. Fishing with someone who loves the sport as much as I do makes the trip special. Our daughter found a winner in B.T. Cathey and I consider him our second son!!

 My second favorite tailrace to fish; the Caney has some awesome browns and rainbow swimming in its waters. B.T. and I enjoyed fishing with David, hope we can make a trip again next year. 

Landing Weary Trout in High Winds and High Water

I finally got back on the tailrace today with my fishing buddy Charles. The 3 hours Charles and I had to fish proved to be productive.  We were fishing in high wind with gust in the twenties and some of the highest tailrace water we have fished this year. As we approached the first access point we notice no hatch and a wave covered water surface, so dries were ruled out. There was an occasional sub surface trout scattered in some of the faster runs that both of us normally fished. We decided to tie on a couple of soft hackles and fish the flies just under the surface of the water. The drift would be difficult at times with all the wind; but we were persistent and it paid off.

This rainbow just couldn’t resist Alan’s Soft Hackle. I have really got into fishing soft hackle flies this year. An excellent pattern when trout are sub surface feeding. The drift is critical even on windy days.

Charles with another sub surface bow, a good fight for the 3 weight

One usually walks dry on all these rocks but today we were wading for the entire trip.

My best rainbow this year, giving the 9 ft. 3 weight Greys Hardy fits!!!

This trout made my trip---I know this trout may seem small to you guys, but a trout this size on the Sipsey is special!!!

Charles working this trout to the net

I change my tippet after landing this fatty---one determined rainbow!!

Fishing a tailrace today with water reaching from bank to bank, super clear and a cold 55 degrees made for a special outing for Charles and me.



Using the Picket Pin and Soft Hackle Flies on the Sipsey Tailrace

Today was my first trip this season on the Sipsey Tailrace to cast a few dry patterns the rainbows way. I was really surprised to find no other vehicles in the parking lot when I arrived around 8 AM. In fact, I fished my couple of hours without seeing another fisherman, which proved to be really productive.

As I walked towards Access 6 I notice I had some unexpected company following me. I tried to get closer with the image shot, but they were having of that.

As I moved up the mist covered tailrace I notice trout rising in one of the fast seams I usually fish. The trout were rising with no visible hatch, but that didn’t keep me from tying on one of Alan’s dries.

Both these flies, the Picket Pin and the Soft Hackle would get quite a workout for the couple of hours I had to fish today. I started with the Picket Pin and work the fly for almost an hour, with numerous trout landed and later switched to the Soft Hackle after the trout started feeding just under the surface. The takes on both flies were aggressive, especially the Soft Hackle. My better trout were taken on the Hackle.

The footage for today’s trip is not my best at handling the trout. Hope you guys enjoy.

 



The Contour Roam2 Camera Added to my Fly Fishing

As stated in my last post I like to find and watch good fly fishing videos on the net. I recently found some great fresh water videos dealing with warm water and cold water fly fishing filmed by Carter Nelson who lives in South Carolina. He has mastered the art of filming his fishing trips using a headmount camera. After getting some filming pointers from Carter last week, I decided I would do some research on video cameras and found one I was really impressed with on Amazon.

 The Contour Roam2 on Amazon was reduced half price at 98.90 with free shipping. The main thing that impressed me about this camera was the compact size and lightness. It attaches to your cap or hat and wherever you point your head it films. Carter said the only draw back to using a headmount camera is remembering to move your head slow as you work an area.

I have thought about filming some of my trips for years, but assumed it was just too much trouble. Using this camera is a breeze, meaning some of my first trips this season will probably have some video to share with you guys.  
  
 

Perfection in the Picket Pin & Soft Hackle Flies

I decided late last fall towards the end of my fishing season that I didn’t need any more flies or poppers. Well you guys know how long that resolution lasted; right after I saw the Picket Pin and Soft Hackle flies Alan had tied at Small Stream Reflections. Both these patterns impressed me not only for their success rate but also for their fishy look. For those of you who follow Alan’s blog know he is an accomplished fly tier and an excellent photographer.

I can’t wait to get out on our local tailrace and introduce both these patterns to the rainbow there.

The Picket Pin is one of Alan’s go-to flies and one that I feel will be productive for me as well.

The Soft Hackle Dry is another stellar pattern from Alan’s collection; I haven’t fished this fly on our tailrace and anxious to give it a try.  

Awesome Float Trip Fishing With B.T.

This past Friday my son-in-law B.T. and I got to fish the Caney Fork River in the eastern part of Tennessee. David, our guide had been trying to work a day around the generation schedule that would enable us to land numerous trout during an afternoon outing. We were not disappointed, B.T. and I stayed busy all evening landing some colorful rainbow, browns, and some beautiful brook trout just getting their fall colors.

I seldom get to fish with B.T. anymore because of his heavy work schedule; so getting to fish with him again on the Caney brought back some fond memories. This is the river that actually got me into trout fishing with B.T. right after he and Jenny got married. It only took landing one trout that first outing to get me hooked, and I have been obsessed ever since.

B.T. got things going quickly as we left the launch at Betty's island bringing this nice brown to the net. The Caney seldom gives up many large browns on top but this one made the mistake of taking the hopper B.T. was using.

David netted this nice brown I stirred to the net using my 5 wt. Redington fishing a pheasant tail nymph. B.T. and I found out the browns fight harder than the rainbow we were landing throughout the day. 

B.T. landed this beautiful brook trout using his 5 wt. Temple Fork fly rod. He was really impressed with this brook trout because David told us that not many brook trout are landed on the Caney. 

Another awesome brown trout landed using the pheasant tail nymph. B.T. landed this brown near the take out area. What a way to end an unbelievable trout fishing trip on an absolutely beautiful tailrace. What made this trip special was B.T. and me were able to land a lot of trout all afternoon fishing with one of the best guides in Tennessee. Tight lines until we make another trip with David!! 

Oh, forgot to mention these gobblers were feeding along the shoreline which makes me think that was the reason we had such success today. Anytime wildlife is feeding fish are biting!!!

Fishing For Rainbow, Brook and Browns on the Caney Fork River

It has been four years since Jason and I fished the Caney Fork River in Cartridge Tennessee. We were not disappointed with the trip. The crystal clear river was in top form with a slight mist hovering over the water surface when we met David Perry our guide for the half day trip. We had planned a full day, but the weather played a major role in shortening the float.

The view from the drift boat right before we shoved off for the float down stream.

Jason broke the ice quickly with this nice brook trout close to the launch.

A healthy rainbow landed by Jason who by the way was given the front of the boat for the morning, courtesy of Dad. I have to say he beat me on numbers for this trip and even completed the grand slam with the brown added to the mix before we left the river. 

The scenery on this river is absolute stunning with the high rock walls and the rich green foliage.

Jason, getting a super bend in his 9 ft. 4 weight

The prize of the trip for me was this 23” brown I landed near the end of the float. I may never land another trout this large, and certainly not with the 4 wt using a 5X tippet.

What really made this trip special aside from the amount of trout landed was getting to fish with my son Jason. As I have stated before on some of my post, I seldom get to fish with Jason because of his work out in Sacramento. He will be back in Alabama again next spring and hopefully we can make another trip with David, who did a fantastic job of putting us on many trout throughout the morning. His knowledge of the river and his expertise in fly selection, and mending techniques were essential in us having a successful trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Advertising My Favoritte Fishing Products

I am sure that all of you who follow my blog I have notice from time to time that I mention products that I used when I am out on the water fishing. I do this not to receive something free from the company which I do at times; but simply because I am so impressed with the performance of the fly, fly rod, or any other fly fishing accessory that I may be using at the time. Most of these products are sold through small companies and a few through large companies. The larger companies have many more avenues to promote their products as oppose to the smaller companies. A lot of the smaller companies use referrals, product reviews or their own website to help move their products.

Over the years while writing post in my Fishing Through Life blog I have featured many fishing products which have brought me great success on the water. So today I thought I would once again give a shout out to some of my favorite fishing products I am using.

 

Flies and Poppers----Boogle Bug Popper---BreamBugs—FlyDeals—Ultra Light Lures—Roostertails, Tiny Crank Baits, Small Grubs and Tiny Rapalas

 

Fly Rods----Redington Fly Rods—Greys Streamflex Fly Rods—St Croix Fly Rods---Ultralight Fly Rods—Dawai Spinmatic Spin Cast Rods—Micro Lite Spinning Rods

 

Fly Reels & Ultra Light Reels---Redington Drift Fly Reels—Venture 3 Gloomis Fly Reels—Orivs Battenkill Fly Reels---and how could I forget my Pelican Boat.



It is good to be back on the blog circuit, after my wife and I spent some time in South Carolina, and in and out of Tennessee checking on our daughter, who is expecting their 3^rd child. Somewhere near July 17^th. my wife and I will become Grandparents again, which we are looking forward to.

By the way I can't wait to get back on the water Thursday!!!!!

  


 

 

Fishing the Hares Ear Soft Hackle

With a lot of boat activity on Smith Lake this Memorial Day weekend I decided to give the tailrace a visit this morning at daylight. I walked down to access four around 6 AM and was met with heavy fog and a fairly fast flow. The generators had been off a couple of hours leaving the rocks quite slippery. It was good I had my wading staff at my side.

The dry action this time of year is limited on the Sipsey even in the early morning and late afternoon, so I started working a fairly fast run with a Prince Nymph size 20 under an indicator. After no interest at all I tied on the Seal Leech with no reaction as well. I did notice as I moved up the tailrace there were some activity subsurface meaning the trout were not taking anything on top but right below the surface. So, noticing that I tied on a size 20 dry PMD. I did get some runs at the fly but no takes. By now it is approaching 9 AM and I am getting some company above and below me. There was more subsurface activity located around a large boulder across from me, so I decided to tie on a size 20 soft hackle Hares Ear. I wanted the fly to float just below the surface as it traveled through a slow run near the boulder.

The end result of a good drift next to the boulder just as the fly passed next to the edge. The take was a simple swirl right below the surface. I missed numerous trout here in this area, mainly because this is something new for me. One learns something every time they wade into the water trout fishing and today was a learning curve for me. Rests assure I will use the soft hackle here again.

 

I'm interested in knowing how you guys would fish a wet fly in slow water or when trout are feeding subsurface?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Using The Swing Cast Nymphing

I was brought back to reality Thursday morning on the tailrace after having what I consider the best trout fishing outing I have ever fished. I wanted to fish a couple of hours before the wife and I would welcome the grandchildren for their spring break. I started at access four where there was some slow water with no surface activity at all.

The water was in great shape crystal clear and low. I have had success in this area with a size 18 Zebra Midge so that was the pattern 3 ft. below the indicator. With limited time and no takers here I moved up to another area I have fished before.

This run is where I always get some attention with the Leech. Between the two boulders here there is a narrow seam that has some current as it flows over a log jam at the bottom of the run; this pocket is always a trout landed using the Leech. Sorry to say I missed all that came at the Leech this morning here.

With time running out for me I decided to move up to some faster water and swing the nymph.

The swing paid off as I was working the Leech slowly back to me. I’m getting low on this pattern after losing two today in rocks, really a fantastic pattern for nymphing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unbelievable Dry Action on A Small English Stream

Guys I just had to share these three short videos of some fantastic footage of small stream fishing on an English stream. There is not a word spoken in none of the videos, but the old saying “action speaks louder than words” certainly applies here.
I was thinking of Alan and Mark fishing those beautiful streams in the northeast while watching these.  The hatch in one of the videos reminds me of the hatch I fished some weeks back on our tailrace here, the action was similar. What really impress me about these videos are the excellent filming and the sound of the stream and surroundings. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Notice the tremendous hatch occurring—I would guess he is a 2/3 reel with a 6 to 7 ft fly rod.

Beautiful wild brown trout nailing a dry

I can see now after watching these three short videos why Alan and Mark love small stream fishing so much. As you watch each video it will show you a link to subscribe to see more of his work. I have subscribed!!