Well, went out fishing tonight again. It started very slow, but I saw lots of Steelhead and Browns in the river tonight. They were on the move and lots of local fishing pressure have them pretty well lock-jawed.
After an hour of dinkers', (pan fish) it got dark and I finally managed a nice Brown after dark. I had heard one splashing in a tight cove and focused on it. (It was resting in the tree falls under a well secluded section of this river) One tight fit for casting huh?
I pitched a small popper at it for over 10 minutes and finally goaded it to a hook-up. After a 5 minute tussle in the dark, landed a nice speciman of ~26-28" and about 7-8 lbs. It was fat, girthy and did a few airials too.
It was catch and release here now, so I have to revive the trout and release it. It was pretty pooped out & laid low for some time. It finally caught a 2nd wind and moved on up stream. I had to leave as the river closed after 10:00 pm.
Frankly, I was a bit dissappointed as this one did not have the same fight as I recall in native Browns in the fall spawning runs.(Better than kissing the skunk, but not the power-house blaster I had hoped for) These are DNR reared trout. Finiky yes, powerful NO.
Oh well, it did give the ol #5 rig a good tussle. I used a 15/10/6 leader/tippet tonight. A good tug for sure, but that old Lamiglass handled things with no prob. "It is good to do battle with a finiky trout."
Does this story set your "Fishing Jones" a fire? Hope so...
Swez
Replies (6)
jamesp on 04/23/2007 07:34:22
Good job Swez. A 7-8 lb trout on a 5 wt. rod is good work when you can get it. Of course all the trout around here are landlocked so there are no steelhead anywhere close to me and browns that big are very rare. The occasional brood fish may get stocked or one of the catch and release trophy streams in N. Georgia, One of the few trophy managed creeks up near Dahlonaga Ga. allows people to keep a trophy. The min. size is 18" Brook, 22" for bows and browns. The few times I fished the creek, i never caught a "keeper". I wouldnt of kept one anyway. I have only caught 1 Brown bigger than 7-8 in my life and that was on the White River in Arkansas. I released him but have 2 Rainbows mounted that are a bit over 7lb. from there. The big Brown I caught there had apparently gone through the turbine from the lake into the river when it was young and had an S shaped or crooked spine but still fought well once he realized he was hooked. I have a few pics of him and he went over 10. Some of the cold lakes in N. Georgia are growing some big browns now. Yea, I could get fired up a bit...keep me informed and I can at least fish vicariously thru you. Good Job.
swez on 04/23/2007 10:49:02
Yes sir, I guess I'll just keep fishing and pass on the highlights as they come along.
It was a good tug of war, but this one did not test my rig or other fish fighting skills as much as some small and largemouth bass I have battled in years past. It might be more to do with the water temperatures too. The water temp is now low 50's and these fish are a tad lathargic from it. Once the water gets above 60 degrees, these fish are a bit more lively.
We'll see as future adventures are pending,
Swez
jamesp on 04/23/2007 11:45:18
Swez, how far do you have to travel to catch....or fish for Steelhead and these fish travel the St. Lawrence Seaway to come from the Atlantic? I have only fished for them in Oregon in the Siletz, Alsea, Rogue and Deschutes back in the late 80's.Also fished for Bluebacks( sea run Cutthroats)
swez on 04/23/2007 13:14:58
The place I went yesterday is only 30 minutes from home. These are DNR planted fish. (Rainbows/Browns) Some can survive in the deep lake that feeds this river, but the O2 content, food supply and water temperatures are not ideal for all year fishing.
In this location, there is a dam that blocks thier travels back to the deeper lake attached. As I understand it, many fish are migrating from the dam and points down stream now. However, the water temps are too low to make them really active feeders. I hear-tell some guys will catch them in the river and put them back in the lake. (No Kill season) However, many are taken out of season and kept.
This is the catch/release part of the season now. The catch/keep season comes in a week. After about 3 weeks into May, most are gone or cannot remain viable in the river due to low water, O2 levels, and water temps go too high. Yes, there is forage food enough to sustain them, but few survive the fishing pressures and high water temps.
However, both species are native to Michigan and a few hours driving NW to Lake Michigan or NE to Lake Huron can produce good results in the tributairies that feed back to either of these fresh water lakes.
Some hole up in the bigger rivers all year long in various places in MI. Some are smolts that were reared in DNR ponds. Many are free-range and spawn in the spring, fall or both. Am still researching the best places and times for natural river catches.
The Hex flies often come in Early-Mid-May and are a staple diet for many native trout. It's all triggered by water temps, spawning habits and the eco-systems we have in MI.
That's about all I can say for now.
Swez
PS The biggest Browns are usually bagged in the fall. Early spring runs of native Rainbow/Steelhead have already been in place since March. A few more weeks and these will eventually hole up in the rivers or head back out to the deep lakes until fall.
jamesp on 04/23/2007 14:35:31
Hexagenia, your Mayfly hatch occurs simultaniously with ours. The Pale Morning Dun is the top "match the Hatch" dry fly on the Chattahochie River from Atlanta northward. If none of them are coming off, I usually use something with more color, at least I can see it better.No glasses yet, but maybe soon...
swez on 04/23/2007 21:09:26
Same here and 100% correct. We use a different approach during heavy hatches too. When the Hexagenials are thick, we switch to other colors and patterns to allow the fish a look at just one odd-ball fly that might be tempting, instead of competeing with the zillions of Hex emerganants. After dark, we'll often shift to bead head wooly buggers and sub surface flies that bump near the bottom. Black is usually good as is purple and other dark patterns too.
When bassin, I often use miniture purple worms, helgrimites and other odd-ball home-brew plastics too. Poppers work well before dark and just after sun down, if the waters are calm and can see that ploppling little devil at the surface. These are the most fun as we can see the strike in action and then set the hook. I like a fast retrieve at times. Other times, it's a cast and wait 10-15 seconds, then plop a few and rest again. It all depends on the fish and their level of activity.
Some of the weirdest home brew bugs produce the best action. I don't know why as they do not match any natural stuff in the water. But somehow, they do attract a strike when conventional wisdom fails???
What's your secrets to all this silly stuff we call fishin'?
Swez
After an hour of dinkers', (pan fish) it got dark and I finally managed a nice Brown after dark. I had heard one splashing in a tight cove and focused on it. (It was resting in the tree falls under a well secluded section of this river) One tight fit for casting huh?
I pitched a small popper at it for over 10 minutes and finally goaded it to a hook-up. After a 5 minute tussle in the dark, landed a nice speciman of ~26-28" and about 7-8 lbs. It was fat, girthy and did a few airials too.
It was catch and release here now, so I have to revive the trout and release it. It was pretty pooped out & laid low for some time. It finally caught a 2nd wind and moved on up stream. I had to leave as the river closed after 10:00 pm.
Frankly, I was a bit dissappointed as this one did not have the same fight as I recall in native Browns in the fall spawning runs.(Better than kissing the skunk, but not the power-house blaster I had hoped for) These are DNR reared trout. Finiky yes, powerful NO.
Oh well, it did give the ol #5 rig a good tussle. I used a 15/10/6 leader/tippet tonight. A good tug for sure, but that old Lamiglass handled things with no prob. "It is good to do battle with a finiky trout."
Does this story set your "Fishing Jones" a fire? Hope so...
Swez
Replies (6)
jamesp on 04/23/2007 07:34:22
Good job Swez. A 7-8 lb trout on a 5 wt. rod is good work when you can get it. Of course all the trout around here are landlocked so there are no steelhead anywhere close to me and browns that big are very rare. The occasional brood fish may get stocked or one of the catch and release trophy streams in N. Georgia, One of the few trophy managed creeks up near Dahlonaga Ga. allows people to keep a trophy. The min. size is 18" Brook, 22" for bows and browns. The few times I fished the creek, i never caught a "keeper". I wouldnt of kept one anyway. I have only caught 1 Brown bigger than 7-8 in my life and that was on the White River in Arkansas. I released him but have 2 Rainbows mounted that are a bit over 7lb. from there. The big Brown I caught there had apparently gone through the turbine from the lake into the river when it was young and had an S shaped or crooked spine but still fought well once he realized he was hooked. I have a few pics of him and he went over 10. Some of the cold lakes in N. Georgia are growing some big browns now. Yea, I could get fired up a bit...keep me informed and I can at least fish vicariously thru you. Good Job.
swez on 04/23/2007 10:49:02
Yes sir, I guess I'll just keep fishing and pass on the highlights as they come along.
It was a good tug of war, but this one did not test my rig or other fish fighting skills as much as some small and largemouth bass I have battled in years past. It might be more to do with the water temperatures too. The water temp is now low 50's and these fish are a tad lathargic from it. Once the water gets above 60 degrees, these fish are a bit more lively.
We'll see as future adventures are pending,
Swez
jamesp on 04/23/2007 11:45:18
Swez, how far do you have to travel to catch....or fish for Steelhead and these fish travel the St. Lawrence Seaway to come from the Atlantic? I have only fished for them in Oregon in the Siletz, Alsea, Rogue and Deschutes back in the late 80's.Also fished for Bluebacks( sea run Cutthroats)
swez on 04/23/2007 13:14:58
The place I went yesterday is only 30 minutes from home. These are DNR planted fish. (Rainbows/Browns) Some can survive in the deep lake that feeds this river, but the O2 content, food supply and water temperatures are not ideal for all year fishing.
In this location, there is a dam that blocks thier travels back to the deeper lake attached. As I understand it, many fish are migrating from the dam and points down stream now. However, the water temps are too low to make them really active feeders. I hear-tell some guys will catch them in the river and put them back in the lake. (No Kill season) However, many are taken out of season and kept.
This is the catch/release part of the season now. The catch/keep season comes in a week. After about 3 weeks into May, most are gone or cannot remain viable in the river due to low water, O2 levels, and water temps go too high. Yes, there is forage food enough to sustain them, but few survive the fishing pressures and high water temps.
However, both species are native to Michigan and a few hours driving NW to Lake Michigan or NE to Lake Huron can produce good results in the tributairies that feed back to either of these fresh water lakes.
Some hole up in the bigger rivers all year long in various places in MI. Some are smolts that were reared in DNR ponds. Many are free-range and spawn in the spring, fall or both. Am still researching the best places and times for natural river catches.
The Hex flies often come in Early-Mid-May and are a staple diet for many native trout. It's all triggered by water temps, spawning habits and the eco-systems we have in MI.
That's about all I can say for now.
Swez
PS The biggest Browns are usually bagged in the fall. Early spring runs of native Rainbow/Steelhead have already been in place since March. A few more weeks and these will eventually hole up in the rivers or head back out to the deep lakes until fall.
jamesp on 04/23/2007 14:35:31
Hexagenia, your Mayfly hatch occurs simultaniously with ours. The Pale Morning Dun is the top "match the Hatch" dry fly on the Chattahochie River from Atlanta northward. If none of them are coming off, I usually use something with more color, at least I can see it better.No glasses yet, but maybe soon...
swez on 04/23/2007 21:09:26
Same here and 100% correct. We use a different approach during heavy hatches too. When the Hexagenials are thick, we switch to other colors and patterns to allow the fish a look at just one odd-ball fly that might be tempting, instead of competeing with the zillions of Hex emerganants. After dark, we'll often shift to bead head wooly buggers and sub surface flies that bump near the bottom. Black is usually good as is purple and other dark patterns too.
When bassin, I often use miniture purple worms, helgrimites and other odd-ball home-brew plastics too. Poppers work well before dark and just after sun down, if the waters are calm and can see that ploppling little devil at the surface. These are the most fun as we can see the strike in action and then set the hook. I like a fast retrieve at times. Other times, it's a cast and wait 10-15 seconds, then plop a few and rest again. It all depends on the fish and their level of activity.
Some of the weirdest home brew bugs produce the best action. I don't know why as they do not match any natural stuff in the water. But somehow, they do attract a strike when conventional wisdom fails???
What's your secrets to all this silly stuff we call fishin'?
Swez
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