T. Wiles
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Looks like an outstanding getaway. Those brookies are wearing some vivid colors and fin markings. I love how they can differ in coloration from stream to stream. Great photos.
Beautiful shots—great reflections.
There’s no other place like it…Silver Creek will definitely put your dry fly skills to the test. By the way, there are some HUGE browns lurking under those undercut banks 😉 .Travis
Did you notice them taking it by slashing sideways, Travis?
Nolichucky looks like a very cool place – is any of it wadable or floatable in a non-powered boat?Got several slashes by gar…I even had a few follow the fly into inches of water and make some nice splashes/wakes….it’s hard not to set the hook when they do that.
Zach, I could probably count the few times that I’ve fished the Nolichucky….it usually gets bypassed due to closer proximity of endless miles of the Forks and main trib Holston R’s nearby.
It’s a gorgeous rural river that starts out as a respectable whitewater destination in NC with several outfitter/rafting companies. Afterwards, it meanders through fertile valleys of farmland in the foothills of the Appalachian mtns just east of the Smokies , and it confluences with the French Broad into Douglas Reservoir. It is a WILD river, and it hides it’s larger fish with uncountable ledges and tumbling rapids. You usually have to catch numerous “schoolies” under 14″ to get big one, but I’ve known locals to get a few over 7lbs.
Best navigated by raft, but my canoe worked now, during the lower water season.My brother has sworn to me that fluoro doesn’t hold up like regular tippet—but I disagree:
Key things that I see–which make a huge difference for me:
Don’t let the stuff get too hot—-NEVER leave it in a hot car.
If it gets dunked, take the elastics off all the spools and let them dry by a fan.Tim, I’ve run into the same things on larger, stacked,fibered streamers. Especially synthetics like EP fibers or tinsels for beefed-up Puglisi’s and flash flies:
A few things I’ve found:
1. A wider gap, shorter shank hook with mono loop for long-fibered streamers works well.
2. Sliding flash tubing (like Flex Cord or Mylar) over a bundle body of hair or zonker strip can add a good symmetry to this style of fly. Then I can add eyes and epoxy, and these usually swim right on.
Like these:
3. When using a longer shanked hook, try filling in the body with Estaz between stacked fiber layers—this gives a fuller profile with fewer top and bottom layers to tie in.
Mostly like Carter said,
I often go overboard on my larger streamers when I’m imagining the attack of the gnarliest predator in the water. Frequently, I have to trim the fly on the water to correct for overbulking.
Travis
Cameron, I feel for ya. S. Carolina would be tough scouting for the right kind of rivers—but I’m sure there are other gems down your way.
Mike,
Nice work in the blog photos. It really looks like you’ve got some great diversity in the waters you fish, and the species you’ve been catching. It’s great that you get to share your memories on the water with your family and girlfriend. Now it’s time to get creative with all this hot weather.It was John’s Hyde that we were drifting in when we found the pods of fish–he’s the dude in the cowboy hat. His bug, which we named the “Psychedelic Cicada,” really called the fish up from moving water with it’s bubble trail when it twitched on a popper retrieve. This fly got us into the fish and caught some of our biggest. The Butterscotch Estaz body gave the fly some nice sparkle in the sunlight.
We’ll hit another river soon John.
Sure thing Zach…I’ll try to give it my best shot, but it’s only my attempt at a copy…not my creation.
Key ingredients are the right kind of foam (which has not yet revealed itself), and plenty of Zap a Gap (which was evident on the bugs he gave us).
Rusty got one, and so did my friend John….I just made some modified copies, so sorry..I don’t have any for pics.
Thanks guys.
It is a great cicada, Zach, I agree. The fisherman who gave it to us really matched the size and profile of the bugs. He had been fishing there the previous weeks and we met him by chance on a stretch of river bank. I’m not quite sure of the foam used for the body—but in my attempts to duplicate it–two stacked black bug bodies worked, or trimmed & creased 3mm black foam worked. He used quite a bit of Zap a Gap on the thread ties. The lower profile fooled spookier, more weary fish that were sipping. “Fish the Splat!” was his advise, as he said to fish it dead drifted when you spotted risers on flat water.
Our bomber-style flashier bugs were the ticket in choppy water, where aggressive twitches and bubble trails would lure up violent strikes.
3 letters
CDC.When I fished the Ranch and late evenings at Wood Road 16 ;), lower profile, emerger type CDC flies could work wonders. I also tied cripples and found great success when my higher profile hackled and/or hair dries were getting refusals.
Take samples home, get creative, and use long leaders and Frog’s Fanny and see what happens.Also, might want to pick the brains of some of the guys at Mike Lawson’s shop or Renee Harrop’s place. Plenty of books on those waters as well.
Good days on those waters will get you plenty of fights into your backing and moments you won’t forget.Travis
Eric, there are not enough waking hours in a full season to adequately fish the waters that will surround you.
Here are my suggestions based on the hatches:
If wading in:
Henry’s Fork—-lower stetches of the Ranch if you want your skills tested—-Wood Road 16 fishing the braided riffles and spotting bows off the bluffs.
If PMDs are thick, go below Ashton and enjoy the swarms of bugs on flat wade in water with little competition.Madison: wade in anywhere access allows you, but expect crowds and drift boat hatches.
Hebgen gulpers–may be a little early for ’em…and you need a boat. Gotta get there early and wait for the Spinner fall by late morning. Tons of fun, but it’s a waiting game.
Henry’s Lake: Gotta have a boat, and some big Scuds and leech patterns—-but the fish aren’t hard to find, 20+ inch fish are the norm, and 10+ lb cut bows are abundant.
Park: You’ll be tempted to fish the waters on the West side due to Proximity—but take the drive and go further to the Yellowstone R. or Slough, Lamar, etc.
Have fun, and expect the dilemma of too many options.
Travis
Ahhh Spool Alley. I remember it like yesterday. I used to drive up from Idaho and camp out by the dam and fish like a mad man in 2001. Fishing that far sandy bluff bank is Awesome. There are some mammoth browns lurking in those undercuts. I had one bust off my streamer using 1X in a 5 second battle that left me dumbfounded.
Nice photos and thanks for sharing
Travis
