Stream and Weather Data
I try to pay close attention when it comes to happenings above and below the water. We'll get more into the underwater piece of things once my seine arrives in the mail. For those who do not know, a seine is a tool to collect invertebrate samples from the various streams I'll fish. As Peter Stitcher says, "it helps us define what's on the menu." At any rate, I digress. The car said the air temp was 44 degrees when I parked it at around 12:45 pm. Once I got to the first run, I realized the car was lying. A quick check of the weather app indicated it was about 34, and the temp was dropping steadily. We had ample amounts of sun today, but the wind rode along with it - essentially zapping any warmth that we'd get. So, it was no surprise that when I tested water temperature, it was a warmer 40 degrees. I knew we'd be playing around with active fish since the water temp was nice. Also, with some clouds passing in and out, I knew there was a chance for some top-water activity. Sure enough, in examining the banks, I noticed midges popping off in clusters. These were tiny little clusters, probably a size 22 or smaller. Jinkies! It's our first clue. Okay, timeout. When you're seeing activity on the top, it's telling you a couple things. First, there's a hatch happening (or it happened). The second thing it tells you is.....(drum roll please)....where the fish might be in the water column. If you aren't seeing them sipping bugs off the surface, they could be keying in on emergers. During this time of year, a wd-40 is a great "catch all" based on these observations.
Today's Yield
Given the information above, I probably shouldn't have even rigged an articulated streamer. But guess what? I like a big bite, and a brown trout doesn't turn down a free lunch. I hooked up with my first fish a little after 1:00pm. It was a small brown, but he smashed my Circus Peanut with the savagery of a much larger fish. That's what I like about the streamer bite - it's pure aggression. Over the next couple of hours, we hooked up with fish in different sections of the creek with good regularity. In all, I was averaging a fish about every 20 minutes. Not bad considering the weather and air temp. We only had one take the streamer. The rest of the fish feasted on the euro style nymphs. There's something to be said about the versatility of those patterns. They mimic a myriad of insects in different stages during their life cycle. Remember in 8th grade when you first started learning about probability? Ok, the euro nymphs are a good lesson in this. If these patterns are imitating a number of invertebrates that are on a trout's dinner plate, the chances of you catching the fish.....you got it, it's greater. Don't get me wrong, it's not as simple as that. There are certain things one must do in order to effectively catch fish on a consistent basis. However, this is a good starting place.
Want an Inside Track? Check these resources out!
As I mentioned in previous posts, I've always been data driven. I've applied that to fly fishing quite a bit. It's enabled me to have a lot of fun on the stream. Apparently there are others who think like I do. That brings me to my point. I have a good resource for everyone who is interested in turning their fishing trips into an all out tactical war on the salmonids. The websites I'll tell you about are run by the same guy, Peter Stitcher. He's an aquatic biologist, and is way qualified to be dropping bug knowledge on people The first site, Ascent Fly Fishing, is focused on delivering flies to you that work for the areas you are fishing. In fact, their database is so solid, Peter and friends can prepare a fly box for you that matches the the hatch on your local water by the hour. It's insane, and the flies are quality. You're paying a little over a buck a fly for stuff that is proven to be on the trout's menu that day. The only thing that can screw things up is you :). I buy flies from them on occasion, and I've been really pleased with the product. The second site, which is more educationally oriented, is called River Oracle. They specialize in scientific tools and tutorials to help you become an amateur biologist on the stream. Seines, measuring tapes, thermometers, field journals, and many more products to help you decipher the stream's code.
Back on the water tomorrow. It's looking to be pretty cold....We'll leave you with a fish pic to close things out.
Keep 'em wet,
MB
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