"Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded" Yogi Berra
We both agreed that it would be cold and windy. Bob left the Y Pool parking lot 10 minutes before me and he and the other owners of the 5 vehicles stopped before the Y Pool. My dream was that the windy forecast would be false and I would have some surface action at the Pool. I've had many good late winter days in this spot so that's were I went. I was the only one there at 9:30 am again.
Short Story - The wind was outrageous bringing the wind chill south of 20 degrees. Casting was a chore but I was able to get to the north side of the pool, getting out of the wind and having the late February sun in my face. Not too bad.
The second cast bent the bamboo and the bow came to the net via a plastic head scud. Another hit and was landed and two threw the hook.There are trout there. With all of that wind and cold I still saw a winter caddis dancing along the surface. I saw two rises. Hmm...
Went up the bubbler arm because fish hawk Lenny nailed some bows and brookies during the downpour on Wednesday. I so no brookies but got some bows. That was ok.
Swift regular BILL was arriving as I was leaving. He said that he almost didn't go out because of the wind and cold. He also showed me is hellgrammite pattern that has worked this winter on the upper Swift. So much for midges.
Saturday will be cool like today but the wind will be less. We may kiss 50 degrees on Sunday.
ALSO, Thank you for reading this blog. Viewers are up about 40% over last year. They have been up every year for years but the last 12 months have been outstanding. Thank YOU!!!!!
Spring is on the way!!! Go Fish!!
Ken
20 comments:
Ken, glad to hear you caught a couple despite the cold and wind. Thank you for this blog that is very educational and informative. I always appreciate your insight along with ideas of effective new flies to tie.
Regards, Sam
Ken,
Sounds like a fun day! Glad you enjoyed it and caught some fish. Thank you for sharing your adventures on the river with us. It's really fun to read blogs about local waters and you do a good job keeping your readers up to date on what's going on.
Keep well, and tight lines,
Will
Happy to read Ken, Thank you! I've gained tons of info and added new rivers to my repertoire since I started reading your blog.
Paul Fay
Sam, Will and Paul,
Thank you guys for the kind words. Once Spring hits we will be exploring some new waters and writing about it. I'll also be working with The Evening Sun Fly Shop and posting reports on rivers in that area. Also, I've uncovered some information about a "seasonal stream" that is a game changer. More on that later.
Ken
No. Thank you and all the great information fly patterns. And the Miller guide which has all one could ask for. Tight lines. And drag free drifts. We will meet up I am sure in the coming months when I return home
Yeah seriously thanks Ken for all the info you share its more than appreciated. Best blog around
Lenny
Lenny,
Thanks dude!!! Let me know when your group wants to have me do a presentation. All I need is a new-ish projector for a slide show. If no projector we can do a Q&A and that works good too. Let me know! I need to tell you of a river that I'm exploring!!!
Ken
Hats off to you, Ken! I can handle rain, sleet and cold (well, kind of) but wind is my personal enemy ...
Anyway, appreciate the report. I was on the Swift last Monday. Started at the Y and didn't touch a fish. Seems they were kind of lethargic and not really on the feed. Even the regulars I talked to weren't doing that hot. Then went below the Pipe and picked up a couple of smallish bows. All in all, tough fishing.
BTW, do you recall what color and size hellgrammites Bill was using.
Thanks!
Herm
Herm,
Bill's hellgrammite was about a size 10-12 on a 2 to 3x size hook. Dark body with a reddish brown undersized hackle. He said that the trout would not hit aggressively but would just barely mouth it. Who would of thought about this critter on the Y Pool!!!
Ken
On a cold rainy day, I can read this blog and transport myself to a bigger smile, and after a frustrating day on a waterway, I can come here and learn a bit more on how to find/hook up with a few! A pleasure.
Bill from Tully and Tin Cup,
Thanks guys!!
Ken
Thanks Ken!
That's a pretty big fly. I've only ever thrown anything that big (and that was a streamer) after stocking!
Herm
Herm,
The dry fly?? It's a Millers Bivisible size 12. Great rough water fly and works as an indicator.
Ken
Good for you getting out despite the wind. I managed an outing mid week. Nothing going at the Pipe or below, but managed to turn a couple of bows further upstream. Late winter tugs take effort.
I have to admire Bill's successful counter intuitive thinking. How many of us will add these to our arsenal?
Keep up the good work Ken. Always appreciate how you put your time in on the water, and still find time to blog some of your secrets with the rest of us. I anticipate reports of "new" water.
Spring is near.
Thank you Bob O!!
Ken
Ken,
I had some good interest from a stonefly nymph late today when I got a chance to get out. To be honest, I am not sure the size of the hook, but I would estimate it a #10. It was getting a little dark for me to tie on a small sub surface after I broke my small scud off on a branch, so I pulled this fly out being it was easier to tie on. It got some good action which surprised me.
Regards, Sam
Sam,
Look back over the comments above and you will see that Bill R. was getting them on a big ugly hellgrammite. My friend Lenny was using a size 12 scud and did well and you caught fish on a large stone. Guess they're looking for something bigger!!
This is a good exchange of information about local fly fishing that's not found anywhere else. Very good guys!!!
Ken
Ken, lots of small bows below the pipe this weekend. Looked to be around the same size as the ones I was seeing last fall, around 8". Are these stream born? They liked size 14 pheasant tails, wouldn't touch 16's or smaller.
Huge fan of the blog, as everyone else has stated above thanks for the hardwork.
Hearing about that hellgrammite on the post from Bill R. gave me the idea to try the stonefly, Ken. Most of the action came on it at the end of the drift. I wasn't even paying attention on one of the hits as I was repositioning my footing in the stream. The trout pretty much hooked itself as the stonefly was just hanging there in the water!
Best Regards, Sam
I was there on Sunday and it was a really slow day. Weather was decent though. I decided I wanted to explore and just watch for long stretches of time so I walked/fished from Caddy Lane to the Y Pool and I didn't see 1 fish being hooked by anybody! I had a hard time even finding fish but around 3pm with the pellets washing from the pipe all trout started to rise. They were not interested in anything else though. Finally, I saved the day landing the biggest bow I've landed in quite a while at the Y Pool. However, what I wanted to remind everybody is: barbless hooks and pliers. I lost my pliers somewhere during the day and I forgot to flatten the barb on the hook and well, it was really hard to get it off the fish's mouth and definitely took longer than I'd like to. Seems obvious but fish gets mishandled all the time and that might be one of the reasons, as I really struggled releasing that one.
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