"Let's go fishing Teams of guides and experienced fly anglers methodically fished similar stretches of each river on four three-day trips. In 12 days, 157 brown trout were caught on the Ugly river, 51 on the Owen. The fish represented 43 percent of the Ugly River's estimated population of brown and 11 percent of the Owen's population. Fish in both rivers averaged about 3.8 pounds. Both the number of trout see and hooked declined on successive days of each of the three-day trips on the Ugly, presumable because fishing pressure pushed the browns tight into cover. Researches allowed two to four weeks to elapse between each three-day fishing trip, and noted that trout sightings and catches returned to high level on the first day of each trip. In other words, fish responded to angling immediately, but the effects on trout behavior disappeared after two weeks. On the more pressured Owen River, the number of fish see and hooked were much lower on the first day and did not change during successive days of each trip. Also, the trout in the Ugly river were less likely to be spooked, more likely to be caught on the first cast, and overall required fewer presentations. Fish in the Owen that did not spook were more likely to remain at their feeding station while anglers cast to them."
Rick,
