Well it's right around the corner and it was looking like it might turn out to be a good one. I drove by Lenore Monday and it had open water at the south and north end and looked real good. Several of the Pothole lakes are at this time ice free."But" that was before the weather forecast said we were going to get down into the teens or even single digits. That could push us out a few days, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
We have been able to get out a couple times in the last week and it has been real nice to see the blue skies and feel the sun on our faces.
We fished Roosevelt on Monday and it was slow going. I also got out to Rocky Ford on Thursday and had great fishing. It was a bit on the windy and cool side and just a few midges hatching. I choose to ignore the little buggers and fished a couple of the old stand byes for the Ford. The apricot supreme egg pattern was by far the best but the olive mini leech took fish as well.
I have started to book Back To The Wall ( Isaaks ) for the spring season and it is starting to book quickly so you better get on the phone and get a date. It should be a great season with some real monsters to be caught. There were several Rainbows in the 9-11 pound range caught last year. We had open water all winter and that bodes very well for the fishing this year and we will still have the big guys around. Thanks to the new owners are in order . They pumped water all winter to keep some of the water open. They are really trying hard to continue to make this one of the best trout fisheries anywhere in the world. There are some good possibility's this year and we are keeping our eyes on them. A stop at the store to chat with us about these fisheries might be in order. Stop in and pick up some flies . Take a look at your leader and tippet supplies while you are here. They are very likely on the low side .
There should be some great surprises for anglers this year in the Columbia Basin.
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Best Fishes
Darc
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Fly Tying Time
Hello All,
It is past time to start tying for spring. I for some reason have the bug to tye bugs. I tye a lot of flies thru the year (3000-5000) and still get caught up in spring tying. Its just a great way to start looking forward to the coming season. I start to make plans on where to I will fish and dream about places that I probably won't get to this year either. Yesterday it was Carp Flies and I swear the sun was out and it was 85 degrees the beer was cold and the fish were tailing.
Well it didn't last long but it was a nice trip down memory lane. Today it's chironomids. I have some new multi colored beads on the shelf and I thought those would look good on a midge pattern so I tyed up six of them and I think they are going to fish well. I also used scud back on them and it is so nice to work with. Add a nice fine red wire rib, a little peacock herl and some poly yarn gills and you have a sexy pupa that I bet will rock. 
Here is a little tip or two for fishing chironomids. When fishing with an indicator clip your forceps to the fly and lower them to the bottom so you know exactly what depth you are in. Then lift your line up a couple feet and attach your deep water indicator.You might want to take into account that there may be some weed growth so shorten up a bit if you think that is the case. Fishing lava patterns near the bottom will bring you more success. Pupa patterns might fish better at one depth than another so experiment.As the water warms up in late spring or summer, lakes develop a themocline and the fish are the most comfortable on that band of water. What ever that depth might be, so if you are slowly retrieving your pupa thru the water column and hit a fish, reel in your slack and strip the fish in being carefull not to let line come off the reel. When the fish has been landed you will know if you cast the lenth of line you have stripped in you will be at the same depth that the fish ate at. That depth very well may be at the themocline and if so there will be more fish at that level. I like to tie a little bit of tippit to my fly line to mark that depth or lenth of line.
Well it didn't last long but it was a nice trip down memory lane. Today it's chironomids. I have some new multi colored beads on the shelf and I thought those would look good on a midge pattern so I tyed up six of them and I think they are going to fish well. I also used scud back on them and it is so nice to work with. Add a nice fine red wire rib, a little peacock herl and some poly yarn gills and you have a sexy pupa that I bet will rock. Here is a little tip or two for fishing chironomids. When fishing with an indicator clip your forceps to the fly and lower them to the bottom so you know exactly what depth you are in. Then lift your line up a couple feet and attach your deep water indicator.You might want to take into account that there may be some weed growth so shorten up a bit if you think that is the case. Fishing lava patterns near the bottom will bring you more success. Pupa patterns might fish better at one depth than another so experiment.As the water warms up in late spring or summer, lakes develop a themocline and the fish are the most comfortable on that band of water. What ever that depth might be, so if you are slowly retrieving your pupa thru the water column and hit a fish, reel in your slack and strip the fish in being carefull not to let line come off the reel. When the fish has been landed you will know if you cast the lenth of line you have stripped in you will be at the same depth that the fish ate at. That depth very well may be at the themocline and if so there will be more fish at that level. I like to tie a little bit of tippit to my fly line to mark that depth or lenth of line. Remember shop online and no shipping with orders over $25.00
Friday, November 26, 2010
Winter Fishing
Well , this is the time of year when the weather can seperate the men from the boys. Earlier this week the temps were down to 15% below zero and the wind was blowing so the wind chill was somewhere south of that. I came down to the store hoping that someone going to Rocky Ford would come in so I could call him a D.A. Sure enough it happened and I thought, wow that used to be me. I'm now one of those guys that is perfectly happy being one of the boys.
However, I'm in the store today and it is cloudy and 27 degrees without a breath of wind and the BWO hatch is going nuts. It would be very nice to be out there catching nice trout on little dry flies the day after Thanksgiving. I have said it before and will say it again we are so lucky to have all the fantastic fishing we have. Back to Rocky Ford when I say nice trout I mean nice trout. A twenty inch fish won't even raise an eyebrow. Do you know how crazy that would sound to most fishers in the US as well as most other countries? I frequently hear people say oh why would I want to go out to Lenore and catch those old boots? Well folks, for those of you that don't know about Lake Lenore those old boots are 16 to 30 inch Cutthroats. And some would say why would I want to go fish a ditch in the middle of the desert? Well that ditch is a natural Spring Creek that grows huge Rainbow Trout. I'm not in the business of trying to change a few peoples minds about any of that. It just means there is more room for people that do want to fish. I'll just let those that don't care if they fish or not or people that are so spoiled they don't know how rare a 25 inch trout is go right on thinking that.
Right now our fishing possibilities are a little limited but not so much that you can't go out and have world class fishing.
You could go down to the Main Stem Columbia and have a great chance of hooking a Steelhead on a fly. Or you could head over to the Methow and hook several in one day. Yea several Steelhead in one day. It's not going to happen every time but it does happen. In January last year with 36 % water temps I had seven Steelhead up to Dry Flies. That folks is good fishing. Or you could go out to the Ford and get them on dries. I wonder if I could get some one to watch the store for me I think I need to go fishing.
Darc
However, I'm in the store today and it is cloudy and 27 degrees without a breath of wind and the BWO hatch is going nuts. It would be very nice to be out there catching nice trout on little dry flies the day after Thanksgiving. I have said it before and will say it again we are so lucky to have all the fantastic fishing we have. Back to Rocky Ford when I say nice trout I mean nice trout. A twenty inch fish won't even raise an eyebrow. Do you know how crazy that would sound to most fishers in the US as well as most other countries? I frequently hear people say oh why would I want to go out to Lenore and catch those old boots? Well folks, for those of you that don't know about Lake Lenore those old boots are 16 to 30 inch Cutthroats. And some would say why would I want to go fish a ditch in the middle of the desert? Well that ditch is a natural Spring Creek that grows huge Rainbow Trout. I'm not in the business of trying to change a few peoples minds about any of that. It just means there is more room for people that do want to fish. I'll just let those that don't care if they fish or not or people that are so spoiled they don't know how rare a 25 inch trout is go right on thinking that.
Right now our fishing possibilities are a little limited but not so much that you can't go out and have world class fishing.
You could go down to the Main Stem Columbia and have a great chance of hooking a Steelhead on a fly. Or you could head over to the Methow and hook several in one day. Yea several Steelhead in one day. It's not going to happen every time but it does happen. In January last year with 36 % water temps I had seven Steelhead up to Dry Flies. That folks is good fishing. Or you could go out to the Ford and get them on dries. I wonder if I could get some one to watch the store for me I think I need to go fishing.
Darc
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
What A Great Fishing Summer
This has been one of the coolest summers that I can remember. And the fishing has held up very well. Rocky Ford is fishing extremely well. This is the best time of the year to get them up on top. Grimes has been off the charts at times and we have had some great fishing. It is open untill the end of the month. The fishing in the Basin is going to get better and better as the water cools down. The Carp fishing is starting to wind down in some places but doing well in others. It has been a good season but a little on the short side with the cool water temps. We will start fishing Back To The Wall (Isaaks) Sept. 11 and it is expected to be very good. I still have some openings but call soon if you want to get in this fall. Biggest rainbow this spring was 31 1/2 inches with several in the 28 to 30 inch range. Fall is the best time for Browns and Tigers to show up
in any of the lakes that have them including BTTW. We should see some great fish. If you havn't heard the steelhead counts coming up the Columbia are better than last year, thats right BETTER than last year.
in any of the lakes that have them including BTTW. We should see some great fish. If you havn't heard the steelhead counts coming up the Columbia are better than last year, thats right BETTER than last year.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
July First With A High Temperture Of 72
Hello Fellow Anglers,
Thats right it is going to be in the low seventies for the next few days. What that means to us is continued good fishing.
Right now we have several good oportunities. Park Lake, Grimes Lake, Rocky Ford, Stan Coffin, Evergreen, and Banks come to mind.
In the lakes you will have the best fishing in the mornings and evenings but on the cooler days it should extend into mid day. The Bass and other warm water species on Banks, Stan Coffin and Evergreen are really getting going and it is a blast to get your small rod out and play with the Blue Gills that think they are three times bigger that they are.
We got to go up to Grimes and fish it on Monday the 28 th and had good fishing. There was a lot of floating aquatic growth that made the fishing some what difficult but that comes and goes. The next time we are up there it could be perfect you just never know. Bottom line is we caught enough fish to keep us busy.
Rock Ford is fishing great with a lot of different hatches going on. We are getting into the best dry fishing that we have here. There are very few people fishing it so you can have a lot of water to your self.
Carp fishing is rocking. If you have been wanting to get a guide and learn how to Carp fish this is the time to do it. I'm booking now! I had a client out on Monday and he hooked 10 and landed 5 before the clouds came in and ended our fishing. The biggest fish was about 16 pounds the smallest was about 10.
Thats right it is going to be in the low seventies for the next few days. What that means to us is continued good fishing.
Right now we have several good oportunities. Park Lake, Grimes Lake, Rocky Ford, Stan Coffin, Evergreen, and Banks come to mind.
In the lakes you will have the best fishing in the mornings and evenings but on the cooler days it should extend into mid day. The Bass and other warm water species on Banks, Stan Coffin and Evergreen are really getting going and it is a blast to get your small rod out and play with the Blue Gills that think they are three times bigger that they are.
We got to go up to Grimes and fish it on Monday the 28 th and had good fishing. There was a lot of floating aquatic growth that made the fishing some what difficult but that comes and goes. The next time we are up there it could be perfect you just never know. Bottom line is we caught enough fish to keep us busy.
Rock Ford is fishing great with a lot of different hatches going on. We are getting into the best dry fishing that we have here. There are very few people fishing it so you can have a lot of water to your self.
Carp fishing is rocking. If you have been wanting to get a guide and learn how to Carp fish this is the time to do it. I'm booking now! I had a client out on Monday and he hooked 10 and landed 5 before the clouds came in and ended our fishing. The biggest fish was about 16 pounds the smallest was about 10.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Summer Is Late Getting Here
We are having an extended spring here in the Columbia Basin and that means the lake fishing is holding up very well. There is a lot of opportunity out there for the fly fisher. Dry Falls is still fishing well and as we get into the next couple of weeks the fishing will be best in the morning and evening and on cloudy cool days the lakes will fish thru the day.
Grimes Lake is another one to hit. I have gotten lots of very good reports and it is on my hit list. It will fish thru the season ( June, July, August )Another sleeper that is off most peoples radar is Park Lake. In the morning and evening the fish are often on the top eating emergers.
Rocky Ford continues to be the consistant fishery that it always is. There are lots of different hatches right now and it is a blast to fish .
The Bass and Panfishing is also going very well. A good place to start would be Stan Coffin. It has Blue Gill, Crappie and Bass and is a lot of fun.
And last but not least is the Carp fishing. It is time to get out after them. We have been going since late March and had a little luck but last week end it rocked. I love Carp standing on there tails feeding. Its a wonderful time.
Grimes Lake is another one to hit. I have gotten lots of very good reports and it is on my hit list. It will fish thru the season ( June, July, August )Another sleeper that is off most peoples radar is Park Lake. In the morning and evening the fish are often on the top eating emergers.
Rocky Ford continues to be the consistant fishery that it always is. There are lots of different hatches right now and it is a blast to fish .
The Bass and Panfishing is also going very well. A good place to start would be Stan Coffin. It has Blue Gill, Crappie and Bass and is a lot of fun.
And last but not least is the Carp fishing. It is time to get out after them. We have been going since late March and had a little luck but last week end it rocked. I love Carp standing on there tails feeding. Its a wonderful time.
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