None of these flies got fished last evening. Once I got to the place we were fishing (spring creek conditions/lots of weeds/shallow crystal-clear water), and saw the type of flies that Tim was using (tiny flies/some of his flies were tyed down to size 32's), I quickly change plans. My flies looked gargantuan for the water we would be fishing. The bead heads were simply a recipe for disaster in the weeds of these streams.
Here is a view from the bridge looking into good holding water. As I watched the stream for a while, I saw multiple rises and one huge brown chasing a minnow out of the water along the far side.
Spring Creek - Cold water (58°F) and crystal clear conditions - Lots of weeds swaying in the current.
View under the railroad tracks:
Here is a view, looking down stream while standing on the railroad tracks. If you look very carefully, you can see Tim sneeking into position along the trees at the edge of the stream. He is standing near the bottom of the embuttment.
Here is my first fish of the afternoon, and the biggest one I caught from the spring creek. Nice brown, which had to be dragged out of the weeds. I was using 7X tippet, so I worried he was going to break off.
"I said I don't want my photo taken!" ---Flip...Splash...and he was gone... A nice healty and very feisty fish!
Brook Trout
I caught a total of eight trout, and missed many others.
So what did I catch them on? One of Bill Shuck's soft hackle nymphs (callibaetis imitation I believe). Thanks Bill. Once again, your flies were the answer! (I just noticed that these are barbless).
The stream was lined on both sides with trees/vegetation, making any sort of back cast next to impossible. Fortunately I had brought along my fiberglass rod, which does a nice job with a simple roll cast. I was able to stand on the edge of the stream and flip a roll cast nearly to the other side. I tried drifting the fly down thru the runs/weed lines but could not get the fish interested. At one point I was lifting the tip of my rod, preparing to make another roll cast, when I got my first strike. The fly had been rising towards the surface, as the line was pulled off the water. That first fish showed me that they would respond aggressively to a fly in motion. From that point onward, I was roll casting to various spots, waiting a few seconds for the fly to sink, and then lifting the rod tip in a slow steady movement to cause the fly to rise to the surface. I was able to work back and forth over this small section, without moving or disturbing the weed beds in front of me.
When it started getting dark, Tim and I headed to another location. We were going to be fishing for big browns in full darkness, so we switched tactics and gear (heavy line and BIG flies). Here is a shot of Tim's fly box. Man can he tye! Superb collection of fishing streamers.
As the sun went down, and dark settled in, the fireflies came out and put on a light show. It was magical standing in the stream and hearing big fish splashing, as they hunted along the weeds. I managed to hook and land one fish (10"), but I missed three others. One of them had some "shoulders" to it (meaning that it was a BIG fish). I played him right up to my feet, but he flipped off my line, as he got into the weeds. I wish I could have netted that one...
At one point, Tim reached down and grabbed a small handful of the green vegetation in the stream and showed it to me. As he jostled the weeds around, his hand was filled with an array of wriggling scuds/fresh water shrimp. The weeds were loaded with these things. No wonder the trout love these types of streams. Lots of food. Nice cool water, and lots of cover to hide in. Trout heaven...
We fished until midnight and then headed home.
Thanks Tim, for teaching me how to fish a spring creek! What a fantastic way to spend a summer evening.
