Today was one of those days where the fishing was so good that you shun all mortal needs until your body just can’t take it anymore. And all of a sudden, it finally hits you: you’re starving, dehydrated, and really (really) have to go to the bathroom.
I headed to a section of Boulder Creek about three and a half miles up from Boulder Falls that has a lot of nice pools and pocket water. I figured this would be good choice since the flows were down a bit and I was driving past a lot of dead water.
I started catching fish right away, but there was something odd. For a split second, I wondered if I had somehow subconsciously program myself to go microfishing because literally every fish I was catching was about three to five inches. I’m used to catching fish more like seven or eight inches on Boulder Creek. But nope. The fish were more like this:
Of course, I wasn’t complaining, I just remember the average browns being a little bigger. Anyway, it soon became moot because as I moved downstream, the fish seemed to get a little bigger
When I finally did hit the wall, I decided I wasn’t going to last long if I didn’t eat and get some water but I marked a really good looking pool to come back to after.
Unfortunately, by the time I got back, a very loud and obnoxious family had claimed it as their swimming hole so I got as far away as I could and continued fishing (and catching fish).
But, by noon, a bunch of climbers moved in and starting blasting music. I hate when people ruin others’ experience in the outdoors by blaring their music (and it’s always bad music too). So, figuring I already had a great day, decided to quit while I was ahead and head home.
The fish were extremely cooperative today, taking anything I threw at them. The two patterns I used the most were the Ishigaki Kebari (with olive grizzly hackle) and the Japanese Lantern but honestly, probably any pattern would have worked.
I caught a few fish on a dead drift but the presentation that proved to be most effective was the downstream twitch. I lost a lot of fish on this method, but it also landed the most.
I used my Oni tenkara rod and the new Tenkara USA 2.5 orange level line–a combo which performed flawlessly despite there being a bit of a breeze.
I’m glad to have had such a wonderful day. I really needed a break from the cubicle. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be getting out this weekend too, but I’m not expecting a repeat of today. I’ll just be glad to get out.
Nice. Glad you were able to get out there. Sorry I couldn’t join you today. 4 o’clock and I feel I have barely been able to breath!
No worries Daniel. Now that we live closer, I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities.
great stuff.i
also: nature’s calling vs. nature’s calling. know the feeling.
Other people and their kids, dogs, and backwoods friends can be SO inconsiderate of an angler and the environment! One time 2yrs ago I was fishing a nice quiet stream in Roby Creek, ID. Summer, been there for 2hrs. When all of a sudden i hear the sounds of a LOUD diesel pickup truck, with blaring music! They were “trailer trash” Idahoans with many kids and very loud. The guy said “hey, whats up man? and i said “just enjoying a nice QUIET time of fishing and he said, Im sure you dont mind sharing the river.” They then proceeded to start playing about 5′ from where i was! Dog and all! I gave them the “evil eye” but they ignored me. So, i packed up, went to my car, saw their vehicle (only other one around) and remembered i had a valve stem remover in my car for just such occasions! Proceeded to remove 2 tire stems and toss them in the brush and drove off! 2 tires, one spare. HA, take that you SOB!!!!!!
Tim, you are now officially my new hero!
Have you ever noticed that in traffic the car blaring the music so loud that everyone within 100′ has to hear it always, ALWAYS plays the shittiest music?
Timmy said “… remembered i had a valve stem remover in my car for just such occasions!”
Vengeance is so important to you that you keep a valve stem remover in your car? Good grief! Please don’t represent me as an outdoorsman. Rude behavior is annoying, but it doesn’t warrant vandalism. Also, it may make you feel better, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Those people probably have no idea why you did that. Instead, they now think that quiet fisherman are vandals…
Jason Klass said “Tim, you are now officially my new hero!”
Jason, I enjoy your blog, but condoning that behavior is just plain wrong!
Hi Scott, I’m not condoning it. It’s like cheering during the Office Space copier scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giuI0e-wqIc. At one time or another, we’ve all wanted to take a baseball bat to our copier, fax machine, or computer. But we would never actually do it. Instead, we relieve our frustrations by living vicariously through those who do. That was the spirit of my comment. Nothing more. It was really just tongue in cheek.
Jason—I’d be interested in your ‘downstream twitch’—a downstream cast, then twitch a bit; a 3/4 downstream cast and then a twitch and swing, or all of the above+—just a little more detail. Thanks for everything you do. ClydeO(Savannah,GA)
Hi Clyde,
I usually don’t make multiple casts like that. I typically cast perpendicular (or even further upstream if I need to get the fly deeper), let the fly dead drift a little to let the fly sink, then pulse the rods as it drifts downstream. I vary the rate until I find one that works. And then when it gets to the very end of the drift I sometimes hold the fly in place and twitch it a few more times. Does that explain it better? I need to make a better video showing it.
“. . . many kids . . .” Are you serious! Do you have any idea of the potential danger you put that family in on their ride home?! Cliched, but two wrongs don’t ever make it right. I’ll stop my rant here and apologize for it, but the potential seriousness in so many ways of that act I just couldn’t leave alone. ClydeO
Jason:
Your example is a made-up event from a movie. Timmy’s example is a real-life event that harmed someone. Giving him a “right on” is definitely condoning that action. Believe me, I’ve wanted to take a hammer to our copier here in the office more than once, but I haven’t done it, and if someone that worked for me did so, they’d be looking for a new employer in short order. Like Clyde, I just couldn’t leave Timmy’s comment alone. I’ve been on this earth for a long enough time to know that I have to deal with rude or idiotic people from time to time, and pulling valve stems is not even in the remotest corner of possible actions for me. My parents taught me better than that.
Depending on the situation, I would have either talked with the people (they may not be fisherman and don’t understand how their noise and motion affects me, but may be open to constructive criticism) or simply moved on (some people simply don’t care).
But, hey, maybe I’m in the minority here…
Scott
It does help and thank you. Right after I sent off the twitch request I came across your “twitch video”. As I visualize this, I gather one must have near direct contact with the fly with little or no line or much leader for that matter on the water so as to halt and twitch the fly at drift’s end. I guess if you had line on the water one would just let the fly swing across, twitching all the way. At drift’s end and diretly down stream on the ‘dangle’, one could continue more of the same. All kinds of permutations. One other request, Jason: I would enjoy just a quick briefing as you begin to fish, of rod length, leader length and material(mono, Fluo, furled), and tippet length with ?X….assuming it’s not classified info! Thanks again.
Hi Clyde,
You’re right about the direct contact. One reason I like fishing this way is that you’re almost always in direct contact with the fly so it’s easy to feel a strike when you can’t see the fish or fly. When blind fishing and dead drifting, it’s been proven that several fish can take and promptly spit out your fly without you even noticing. I like the direct connection so maybe that’s why I prefect this presentation.
As for tackle, I almost always fish a 13 ft. rod. Line length will be dictated by the stream but I like either a 13′, 16′ or 18′ line and never really use more than 3′ of tippet. I only carry 5X tippet since that’s a good all around choice for trout and a good insurance policy against a broken rod (tippet will break before the rod). And I really prefer fluorocarbon level lines since I can easily adjust the length and the cut through the wind better than furled lines (though furled lines turn over very nicely and make a great delivery for dry flies). In regards to level line size, I think I’m still figuring that out. Over the last few years, I really came to favor a #4, but yesterday, I fished a #2.5 all day and had no problem with the wind (which was kind of surprising to me). So my advice is to get a few sizes of level lines and trying them out to see how you like them. Every rod will have a “sweet spot” when it comes to line diameter.
These are just my preferences so I’m not sure how useful it will be to you. You really need to just experiment and find out what works best for you.
The downstream twitch is a killer method and my most productive. I am curious about the 2.5 line. I am assuming that the rod has a lot to do with it.
I get a lot of hits after I dead drift my fly and then start to bring it up to make another cast, giving the fly that “twitching” action.
Jason, I enjoyed the article and video…thanks. The last time out and flyfishing I was casting to a 16″ rainbow when 6 kayaks ran over top of him and he vanished for life. One of the kayakers asked me how the fishing was and my hair stood straight up. Oh well I guess the kayakers need to enjoy the outdoors as well as the fishermen but sometimes it is frustrating. I now need to hunt for yet another more remote trout fishing spot but we are limited in Kentucky…Steve