I hope you don't mind me asking but I don't know a lot about fly patterns.
Is that pattern listed in a book or is it a pattern that gets passed only
between friends?
Thank you,
Ray :-)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 5:43 PM
Subject: Re: Dry Falls
> I fished Lenice on Monday (may 14). Left my home in Leavenworth at 4.45am
> and was on water somewhere around 7.00am. It was cloudy , trying to
rain,with
> wind gusting very strongly. I was hopeful that if the wind died down there
> would be a good Callibaetis hatch. Conditions remained very difficult,
making
> it almost impossible to anchor my tube in deep water and fish the column
with
> midge patterns - my favourite form of 'below the surface' still water
> fishing. One has to watch the end of the line with the concentration of a
> hungry heron, and that is close to impossible when there is big wave
action.
> Wave action also gives the fly down below an unnatural movement, which is
not
> conducive to a fifty fish day. This can be mitigated in some degree by
> keeping the last third of the rod under the water which dampens the up and
> down movement of the fly to some degree. But then you cannot watch the
line
> and have to rely on the tactile sense only - again not conducive to fifty
> fish a day .............Anyway, I resigned myself to to finning close in
to
> shore and fishing scuds, mayfly nymphs and damsel nymphs around the
tulles.
> Action was very slow, two fish to hand by mid-day.
>
> I was in two minds to call it a day, but for some reason decided to hang
in
> there in the hopes of the wind dropping and the promise of a mayfly
hatch -
> exclusive of the wind, the weather was just right for one. There was bird
> action all over the lake but for the life of me I could not see what they
> were taking , nor could I see any rising pupae or floating shucks. At 67
the
> eyes are not what they used to be, but this was getting ridiculous !!
> However, at about 5.00pm the wind dropped and I saw one mayfly, not two or
> three or fifty but one, but it was enough to get the old carcass off the
> bank, into the tube and back into the fray. That was the mayfly hatch for
the
> day. Not a fish dimple to be seen in any direction - but by god, the wind
was
> down and I was going to rip fifty fishes lips or die in the attempt. I
> anchored off in in deep water (for Lenice) from 5.10 pm till 7.35 pm in
water
> which varied from 16' to 22'; I like to know at exactly what depth I am
> fishing when fishing the column; in a float tube I use a hand-held depth
> finder put out by MarCum Ent,Inc.in Minnesota. It is about the size of a
> standard flash light and is used primarily by ice fisherman. Cabela sells
> them under the name of 'Polar Vision' and they are a jewel of a tool. With
> this kind of sub-surface fishing I do not use a full sink line, but the
> slowest intermediate line sold by Airflo with a fast intermediate 8'
leader,
> then about 6' of 3 pound test tippet (sometimes 5 pound test) and, as I
> choose never to weight my flies for still water use, 1 lead shot crimped
> about 12" above the fly itself. Back to business......... I suceeded in
> losing the first six fish I hooked (this was becoming one hell of a day),
> until I realised I had a bad spool of tippet material. From then on I
never
> looked back, from the time I hooked the first fish till I quit at way
after
> seven it really was a fish a cast. Keep in mind it takes time for the
line
> and fly to sink and often longer to tweak it back up again. That evening
fish
> were breathing the fly in on the way down, on the bottom and also at all
> levels on the way back. I am sure that some of these fish were following
the
> fly up before taking it , if it was still a way down they would gently
suck
> it in, if close to the surface they would whack it. I used only one
pattern
> of fly all evening in two sizes, my fellow countryman (if he still claims
to
> be a Brit) Phil Rowley's Chromie in sizes 10 and 12. It is a remarkably
> effective fly. How many fish did I catch ? I truly do not know, I have
long
> ago quit the counting game. However, the rainbows ranged from 17" to 22"
with
> 2 small browns of about 10 to 12 inches.
>
> Moral of this story ? It pays to hang in there, if you have nothing
better
> to do.
>
> DAB
>
>
>
>
>
