Tailrace Fishing can Really be a Challenge

Fishing trips for me is always a learning experience, especially if the trip doesn’t turn out the way I imagined before I leave the house. The tailrace today was the ultimate learning experience. I left the house with the intention of using a variation of the Mayfly patterns; all reports indicated on the Sipsey Forum that the Mayfly was the success fly. After arriving at the waters edge with a guy from Huntsville tagging along beside me, I made it to my first honey hole, where he moved on up the tailrace about 100 ft. to another great hole that I was going to try if my first choice didn’t work out. ( so much for fishing along this morning) I decided before I ever made a cast that my dry pattern wasn’t going to be successful, no rises. In fact it was kind of strange in that there was absolutely no surface action at all. So being the optimist I made my first cast and as the fly landed in a fairly fast run I thought I just had to get a take on this cast because the drift was so perfect. Just goes to show perfect cast and excellent drifts don’t always produce. I finally gave up on a variety of dries after realizing I was wasting valuable time with a limited amount of shade fading fast. I didn’t move although I wanted to go up and try a couple more holes before the sun got them, but I knew the trout were here. I switched to my go to nymph which was the Zebra Midge using an indicator on a 5X tippet. I made a couple of cast with no success, and decided to move the indictor up on the leader about 10” to get a little more depth on my midge. I proceeded with another cast and finally got the drift I was looking for and ever so slightly the indicator moved and my first bow of the day was netted. I have to say the trout made its presence known on the 3 wt. I continued to make cast after cast with no more success, so I moved on up to one of my holes near the dam. As I approached the area I was going to fish I notice there was still no rises at all in fact as I walked the bank up to the hole I saw no activity. I continue with the Midge pattern and on the second cast I set the hook on another nice rainbow that went straight down stream. I landed the trout by bringing it to the shore and not using my net, because it was easier and quicker going to the shore as opposed to the net. I can’t explain why the bite was over after this fish but it was like someone turned out the lights and everyone went to bed. Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot of fish to satisfy and today was the case. Just being here was a plus and today’s trip will continue to make me come back here time and again because I want to keep learning about this great sport? 

The Zebra Midge did the trick with this nice rainbow   

Ancestry Report + Trout Fishing the Bomber Dry Fly

Wednesday the 25^th I left for Mississippi to work on our family’s Ancestry tree and got back last night. I am trying to finish up both sides of the tree before fall and then have the information published. Ancestry will proofread and published all the material you have in your tree for an extra charge, but for me, it is worth it. This has been an ongoing project of mine for the past two years. I decided not to research your typical tree diagram where you have endless names of your decedents. I wanted my children and their children to remember what their grandparents and great grandparents were like so I wrote backgrounds and profiles of all the decedents. In other words, I was only interested in the direct descendants of the Trussells and Daves families. To do this I had to talk to individuals who were older than me and get them to tell me what their grandparents were like. The libraries in the different small towns they all live close to had a lot of information telling what life was like back in the early 1800s which was extremely helpful. Former Governor J. P. Coleman researched and wrote a book telling what life was like in the late 1700s and 1800s. This has to be one of the most interesting things I have ever done. I am really glad I started this project because it has given me a chance to see what my decedents went through during that time and how they survived on just the land they lived on. O.K. I have bored you enough-----------------

Now for the trout fishing trip, I made on Tuesday the day before I left. I wanted to make a trip before I left because I knew I wouldn’t have another chance to fish until this next week. I was trying some of the Bomber flies I had Alan to tie for me at Small StreamReflections. I am so impressed with this pattern because of its ability to stay afloat so well and ride high on the surface and two how well it gets the attention of the trout. I arrived at the water’s edge around 7 AM and started casting these little flies a few feet upstream. The water surface still had fog but I could still see the bomber as it floated down a fairly fast run across from me. The very first cast produce a take but I missed the hookset because I wasn’t expecting to connect that fast. On the third cast I managed to set the hook on a nice rainbow. For the next couple of hours, I stayed with the bomber because it was my producing fly for the morning.

The third cast produced this beauty with the Bomber--I missed about as many as I landed. For some reason I was either too late on the set or the trout was missing the fly. I tend to think it was my late hook set.

I think the colors on this stocker trout are less vibrant as opposed to the colors on native trout. Don't get me wrong they are still amazing to view. Sorry for the poor image, I am still in the learning stages.

As I said this pattern has got to be one of the best I have ever fished here. During the week is the best time to fish this area because one has the water to themselves, and today it was just me and my Bomber pattern. Thanks, Alan for making this a great trip.

Gone But You Guys Are Not Forgotten

Hi Guys
Been gone this week and not onto the blog as I should be. I have a number of interesting post coming in the next couple of days. Stay tuned!!!