Chasing Monsters Away

The best part of the holidays is getting together with family. Turkey day was spent with our daughter and her family. They were with us through Saturday and as always it was time well spent. After lunch Thursday my son-in-law B.T., Bryson, and I spent the afternoon touring the shoreline of Beautiful Smith Lake. The fishing on the lake is slow at this time of the year because of the constant drawdown of the lake. The lake level now is 12 feet below full pool.

Friday Pops spent the afternoon with Bryson and Laelyn at two different parks located a few miles from our house. The grandchildren love going to the parks and just being outdoors when they come to visit. 

Gamble Park is their favorite not because of the playground station; the live creek running through the park really gets the imagination going for a six and four-year-old. Feeding the small perch and chasing monsters from the creek by Bryson is more fun than playing a video game at home.

Picking up tiny pieces of fish food to throw in the moving water; the small perch would inhale it!!

This creek exploring just wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t get your shoes and pants wet; oh how Pops loves to go exploring with these guys!!!

Deciphering a Midge Hatch

When I fish the Sipsey Tailrace I usually notice a midge hatch. The best hatches usually occur in the afternoon. Seeing a hatch on the Sipsey doesn’t always mean one will be successful landing trout fishing the hatch. As most of us know landing trout during a hatch depends on matching the hatch and how you present the pattern to the trout, and sometimes that doesn’t work. I know all of us have been there; where you are watching trout feeding heavy on a midge hatch and we cast everything in the fly box at the feeding frenzy and come up empty.

As most you know I just can’t let this hatch mystery go without doing a little research that hopefully will help all of us out on our next hatch adventure. The following image and explanation below are some of the best examples of hatch feeding I found. Keep in mind the bugs mentioned here are mayflies, caddis flies, emergers and a midge, but the surface action trout image below could be the same regardless of the insects.

Watching trout rise from a vantage point at the water's edge will tell you where to cast. But by taking an even closer look and noting how those trout are rising, you can also see exactly what type of fly to throw at them—especially when there are different insects flying in the air. Here’s what to look for.
1 - The Sip
What you see: A very subtle dimple in the water, and only the nose of the trout appear.
What that means: The fish are either sipping midges or eating spent mayfly spinners.
What to fish: A Rusty Spinner—but no bigger than a size 18.
2 - The Slurp
What you see: More pronounced “beaks,” eating on the surface.
What that means: The fish are dialed in on a hatch—likely mayfly duns.
What to fish: A size 18 Parachute Adams. When the fish are really chopping, try a cripple variation.
3 - The Splash
What you see: A sudden, explosive pop with some splash.
What that means: Trout are on moving targets, like skittering caddisflies.
What to fish: Tie on a caddis pattern, such as a size 16 Lawson’s Caddis, and don’t be afraid to give it a twitch.
4 - The Boil
What you see: Disturbed water but no faces—only a dorsal fin and maybe a tail.
What that means: They’re eating emergers before they reach the surface.
What to fish: A size 20 Flashback Barr Emerger just beneath the film.
The following illustration came from a Field and Stream publication

I stocked up on some hatch patterns on my recent visit to the new Cabala’s in Huntsville Alabama this past Thursday. This store had the largest selection of flies I have seen in any fly shop ever!!! I would also say that Cabala’s has a leg up on the Bass Pro fly shops when it comes to quality fly fishing equipment and accessories.

I’m curious what fly size and pattern would you select to get a hit using images 1, 2, 3 or 4?
   

Hope all you guys have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!!!

Going Back After Better Trout

Today’s post is the second installment of the Logjam post from last week. I knew last Tuesday when I kept losing all those better trout on the Sipsey I would be making another trip to try to redeem myself. I am one of those fishermen who dissect every trip I make. I left the tailrace Tuesday wondering why I lost more trout than I landed. I surmised it came down to fly rods. My 3 weight just didn’t have the backbone needed to really set the hook as opposed to using a heavier fly rod such as my 4 weight.

 I thought I was completely prepared for today’s outing. I wanted to film some of the action today, so I brought along my Contour Video camera. My first rainbow of the afternoon inhaling my nymph right after I stepped off the metal steps into the waters; camera-ready so I reach up on top of my helmet to flip the switch on. Nothing was happening, after repeated tries, reached in my front pocket and used my camera to record the last part of the action. I need to remember to charge the Contour camera even when it is not in use. The uncharged camera was the only downer for today’s trip.

I discovered these small plants scattered all over the tailrace. All the plants were less than 10 inches tall. They were covered with tiny lavender buds, with leaves similar to a rubber plant. It is a hardy plant because when the generators are running all are covered with the frigid 57-degree water for hours. I am thinking of digging one up and transplanting it in our yard at home.

I like to think this is one of the better rainbows that I lost on Tuesday. Dropping a nymph at least 3 feet deep in fast water got his attention. The colors on this trout were more vivid than most I land.

I continue to be amazed that I am landing trout like this in the Deep South, especially in Alabama!!



Landing Rainbow in Logjams on the Sipsey

I finally made it back to the Sipsey Tuesday to connect with the new stockers that were released in the tailrace a couple of weeks ago. I was met this morning with a slight mist and cooler temperatures in the high 40’s, which is a drastic contrast from the hot humid weather I face here in the summer.

As I was suiting up I was wondering if I should wait to tie on a fly before seeing if there was any type of hatch occurring. I do love to land trout here on top and lately that hasn’t been the case, but that little voice kept telling me to suit up, and fish the nymph. My last outing here had me fishing high water and today was supposed to be different with no generating and the guys at the dam held true to their word, generators off all day.

I begin casting today at a set of logjams that span 30 to 40 yards in fairly deep water up the gorge. The water was super clear making it easy to see my prey with my polarized glasses. This area is not fished heavy, simply because most like to fish in shallower water here. This area has depths of 5 to 6 ft. The trout like to use the logs as cover and dart out and nail a fly pattern as it passes over.

Dead drifting nymphs over the logjams and letting it drop produced this dark-colored rainbow.

A deep cut on the gill plate of this trout tells me that there is more than trout swimming in this tailrace.

 I wish I had been using my video camera for this particular rainbow; lots of air jumps. No way was this trout going to let me whole it for the picture, but it did manage to stay still long enough for me to get this water image shot before it swims away to freedom. I landed a number of trout today, but what really frustrated me was losing so many fish on this outing. I guess it may be time to change from my 3 weight and go with my 4 weight on my next trip.  

Time Spent When I'm Not Fishing

For the past couple of weeks we have had overcast skies with periods of rain, which pretty much covers the forecast for the region here. These kinds of days usually have me at the computer reading blogs, watching fly fishing videos, working on my ancestry tree, downloading seventies music on my USB MP3 player, or watching some of my favorite western movies.

Reading fly fishing blogs has become one of my go-to activities just about every morning after breakfast. I am one of those guys who gravitate towards people who have things in common with me. That is why I like blogging so much because it gives me a chance to converse with other fly fishermen who love the sport as much as me.  

I really enjoy watching fly fishing videos, especially the ones that pass along bits of information that will help me land more fish. I think one of the best fly fishing videos series for the beginner and the seasoned angler is The New Fly Fisher with Bill Spicer.

How could I go through the winter without working on my Ancestry tree? I sign up for the three months on the first of November and leave the site at the end of January. During those months I catch up on all the information that has been submitted concerning my ancestries. Ancestry recently added DNA testing and that is something I may consider while on the site this time.

As most of you know I am an avid western movie fan. If I could have lived another life it would have been during the 1800s. I know times were tuff back then but my love of the outdoors and the adventure that period offered would have made it perfect for me. I am more of a fan of the ’70s through present day westerns as opposed to the earlier westerns. The earlier westerns were not as realistic as the Eastwood era and Duvall era movies. Any western with Robert Duvall in it is considered a classic in my book. Three of his best were Lonesome Dove, Open Range, and Broken Trail. 

So I will end this rambling episode by saying if you guys haven’t tried some of these overcast day activities, then I highly recommend you give one a try.