Fly of the Week #5

This week, I've decided to upload a few images. I'm still playing around with the camera settings to get the best image quality possible. Unfortunately, I haven't quite got it figured out yet.

As always, you can click on the images to get a higher resolution version.

"Brown Mess #1 Soft Hackle" - Size 14

Golden stone dubbing with Hungarian Partridge (died brown) for the hackle. Brown thread holding it all together.

"Blue and Yellow Soft Hackle" - Size 14

Creme colored thread on the head ties down the partridge hackle. Yellow thread on the body holds both yellow and blue embroidery floss. The body has a light coating of "Hard as Nails" to give it some shine.

"Blue Soft Hackle" - Size 12

This one is simply thread and hackle. The unwaxed thread was not taken back very far to keep it minimal. Next time, I'd like to use even less hackle.

A slow down in fly fishing trips.

I had hope that I would get a chance to fish the Lower Stanislaus before the closure on October 31st. It just wasn't in the cards. Work has been busier than expected and my usual weekday trips aren't possible and weekends are currently too busy with everything I couldn't do during the week.

Cherry Creek - August 14th, 2007

When this current project ends, my wife and I are expecting a baby, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out to a river. Needless to say, actual fly fishing will be temporarily set aside. I'll still continue with posts as I can always find time to tie flies or write about something other than river trips.

Basically, it comes down to the near future being more fly tying and technique posts rather than actual trip reports.

Why soft hackle wet flies?

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a big fan of Soft Hackles and to a lesser degree, regular winged wets. They're so easy to fish and are very productive at any time of day, in any weather, and at all depths from just under the surface to down deep.

If you read around the net, these flies can be called any number of things. Spiders, flymphs, soft hackles, and more. I'm not sure I always know the distinction, although some literature say that spiders are tied more sparsely. Whatever the case, they are all soft hackles to me.

For those of you new to SHs, you can just cast these out across the stream and let them "swing" in the current. You don't have to be perfect with a dead drift (although dead drifting a soft hackle upstream is a killer) and you'll still catch a ton of trout. Not to mention, when swinging, there is no mistaking when a fish is on!

Main Tuolumne - August 14th, 2007

Another trick I like to use is that in tight situations, I'll let the fly "swim" below me, directly downstream. I'll use the rod to put it beside boulders, under trees, along seams. Wherever you know fish are hanging out. Alternate lifts with short drifts. I've even caught fish while my fly was just dangling downstream as I was doing something else (digging out a camera, getting a drink of water, etc), not even trying to catch anything. In a small creek, this is a great way to go since trees make it hard to get a good cast in.

Soft hackles can be fished directly upstream, up and across, across, down and across, downstream, or all of the above. Dead drift, swing, or even pulled through the water, I don't think there is a wrong way to fish them. I've caught plenty of trout during the hottest part of the day deep down, or just below the surface when you may be tempted to put a dry on.

Lastly, I'd just like to say that I often rig together 3 flies at once. This gives you a great way to see what is working for that particular day. The heaviest fly goes on the tail, a medium sized soft hackle in the middle, and the front gets either a winged wet or another soft. If you don't know what fish are interested in, this gives you an excellent way to find out - quick!

I really think that the hackle, no matter how sparse it may be, gives extra life to any fly. I occasionally still fish nymphs or even tie one here or there, but I really think that putting the hackle on just makes it more interesting to the fish. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. As soon as someone interviews a trout to find out for sure, let me know!

Here are some great links to some sites with soft hackle/wet fly/spider/flymph info:

http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/flymphs/
http://www.jackgartside.com/step_soft_hackle_flies.htm
http://tinyurl.com/35jqrp
http://flyfisherman.com/softhackles/

Summer / Fall Wrap Up

This has been a great summer of fly fishing. I became a little lazy and skipped the reports on quite a few outings. I tried to go at least three times a month, sometimes I'd go to the same place two or three times and it didn't warrant a new report, or I just plain skipped it entirely.

In a nutshell, my favorite spot has to be Tulloch Dam Rd and Two-Mile Bar of the lower Stan. You just can't beat the huge numbers of wild trout and limited crowds. Next Spring, I'd like to try Beaver Creek through Big Trees Park (enjoyed Beaver Creek but access was difficult where I went) and possibly the North Fork of the Stan while I'm there. The Merced river had good fishing spots and would be a nice place to visit again. Or perhaps Cherry Creek just for the fact that it was a 20+ fish day and there was plenty of river I didn't explore. Can't forget the main fork of the Tuolumne. Although I was skunked there, I want to try again.

However, I have a feeling that I'd like to try some new spots altogether next Spring. Not to say my fishing is done for the year. This winter, I'll try to shove in a few days at Putah Creek to see what it is like.

Fly of the Week #4

In honor of Halloween, I tied this orange themed soft hackle.. Unfortunately, the picture quality doesn't really reflect the coloring of the fly.

"Trick or Treat Soft Hackle" - Size 12

This guy is tied on a size 12 long hook. The three orange beads were bought at a craft store (bead making supplies). They are pretty light and won't add much weight. Orange thread keeps it all together.

Fly of the Week #3

I really like this one. It definitely has a buggy look. This guy actually has two sections of soft hackle making it look really messy. The first is in front of the thorax, the second behind.

"Rats Nest Soft Hackle"- Size 14

I'm using brown thread with golden stone dubbing at the thorax. If you haven't figured it out by now, soft hackles are my favorite flies to fish (and tie).

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus #3 and #4

This has been a great place to fish. The proximity from where I live, combined with a large population of wild trout is hard to pass up. During these two trips, I've explored more at both Tulloch and Two-Mile bar while investigating new spots along the road.

After studying the Google satellite maps, I tried some different access points to the river along Tulloch Dam Rd. The problem is, there is a canal that runs the length of the river between the road and the river. Although there is a foot bridge at Tulloch access, I'm unaware of any others. If you live on the edge, I guess you could scale some cliffs where the canal goes underground, but otherwise it is not possible to pass. I'm still trying to find an access point that doesn't cross private property. I really want to get to the river between Tulloch and Two-Mile.

Since I cannot cross the canal, except at the footbridge. I walked along side the river side of the canal - both directions as far as you can go. The upstream side dead ends at the dam, the downstream side dead ends when the canal goes underground. Between those stretches, I've pretty much been there except at the steepest sections that would require a rope to get down.

The last time I went, the water level was much higher. So high in fact, that I could no longer cross the river safely at Tulloch access. I was looking at the sat maps, and there is a possibility if I can cross the river and follow the canal on that side, I may be able to access further downstream. I'm still not sure and won't be sure until next spring when the water level lowers again.

Speaking of high water, the river looked completely different the last time I went. All the good spots that worked so well last time were either unaccessible or there just weren't fish in there because the river was moving so fast. They all moved to slower spots. I found one area off Tulloch that had 25+ inch rainbows, but I was only able to catch the 15-17 inchers that were in there with them.

Trip #3 was my best chance to explore (#4 had the high water level) and I found some really good ones that I somehow missed the other times. One of them at Two-Mile was very productive and perfect holding water. I was looking forward to fishing it again on trip #4, but it was impossible to access during the high water. Funny thing was, I missed this area on trip #1 and #2. There are so many hidden little sections as the river splits and goes around several islands.

Two-Mile Bar is also filled with Salmon now (both #3 and #4 trips). These huge fish are amazing to watch. They rocket through the water so fast. It is quite a sight to behold. Below the spawning areas, I tried some egg patterns with no luck. Soft hackles, particularly hare's ears, march browns, or pheasant tails were very productive in sizes 12-16.

Fish count: More than 20
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Fly of the Week #2

This one is a little messy looking with the stray fibers on the head. You'll probably see that a lot in my flies. I actually think these strands help give them a more buggy look and probably more attractive to fish. Of course, we'll never really know.

"Yellow Canary Soft Hackle" - Size 14

The thread is yellow with yellow embroidery floss making up the body. Hungarian partridge makes the soft hackle.

Fly of the Week #1

I'm going to start a weekly post called "Fly of the Week". Simply put, a photo of a fly I tied and maybe something about it.

I just recently started tying flies. I played around with a few here and there over the years, but never took it seriously. There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to buy the proper equipment and start. First, I was tired of losing my flies after a snag and going through the trouble of buying online or paying three plus dollars at the shop. Second reason was that as I fished longer here in California, I started seeing what was working and wanted to mix and match some of those flies with my own ideas. And I guess thirdly, it is pretty cool to fish the flies that you make.

I'm still learning, but I'm getting better with each one. Hopefully you'll see an improvement as time goes on.

"Dry Hackled Soft Hackle (Bead Head)" - Size 14

It is weighted with a bead head to get it deeper and tied on a size 14 hook. If you look carefully, you can see dry fly hackle tied right behind the bead, and soft hackle partridge feathers (died brown) in front. Creme thread for the body and black for the head.

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus #2

I enjoyed Two Mile bar and Tulloch access so much last time, I wanted to do it again. My experience was similar to last time. I just spent more time exploring and finding more nooks and crannies. This time, I went upstream of Tulloch access, which I didn't do last time. More good spots. You can't go wrong anywhere around here. Two-mile bar was productive as well.

Fish count: around 10
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Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus

I pass Knight's Ferry on the way to most of my fishing spots in the Sierras. Little did I know how good the fishing was in this area. I'm glad that I gave it a try. Cutting about 1/3rd of my drive time down and discovering a great trout river in the process was certainly worth it.

This part of the Stanislaus is barbless hooks and catch/release only. The river is wild trout/steelhead and as far as I know, it is never stocked. Don't worry, this river is FILLED with big fish.

My day started at sun up off Tulloch Dam Rd. After a quick trip to the water, I soon realized that the river temp is much colder than most of the higher altitude streams I was familiar with. This is due to river being fed from deep within the lake above. A pleasant surprise. Cold water means happy fish.

After only a few minutes of being in the water I caught a 14 inch rainbow off of a size 12 Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear Soft Hackle in about 3 feet of fast water. He was followed by several smaller fish in the same spot. I moved downstream to some deeper water where I could plainly see some pretty large fish about 12 feet down. Some of them looked to be well over 25 inches. However, I was not able to fool any of them. I tied on various weighted nymphs to get the food down to their level, they were just too smart.

After trying that deeper water, I kept going downstream. There is a shallow section with lots of riffles that held dozens of 10 inch rainbows. I didn't stick around for long because I was interested in exploring. Not far down from that point the river goes around a larger boulder section in the middle of the river. I sent flies over the fast dropoff to see if any fish were waiting for tasty morsels to come over the edge. I caught a couple of rainbows here as well. They were in the 12 inch area.

As you go further downstream from this point, it gets harder to be in the river. It gets deep and fast with steep rock/cliffs on both sides of the river. You need to exit the water and follow a trail on the south side of the river. Before you know it, you are 20-50 feet above the river and must find an access point down. In these deep pools, there are big fish as well. Again, some looked to be over 25 inches. I had no luck here. I tried to go even further downstream afterwards but couldn't find an easy way. It was very rugged.

By this time, it was 1:30pm and I was interested in trying two-mile bar, a few miles down the highway.


Two-Mile Bar
After parking the car and walking the 1/2 mile or so down an easy to follow trail to the river, I walked upstream another 1/2 mile or so. I found what I thought was a human trail to the river, but found out it must of been made by animals or else a human just hadn't been there in a while (very narrow and overgrown with thick sticker bushes). I found the river anyway and walked out into chest deep swift water. I managed to cross the river and walk back downstream.

This whole are is great fishing. I found some narrow slots and stopped for a while to try various soft hackles. There was a nice seam of fast water next very slow water that looked like a good holding spot. After dancing the fly directly downstream for about 30 seconds, I hooked a large and strong rainbow. Because of the positioning and his strength/current, I couldn't pull him upstream to me without breaking the line. So, I jumped into deeper water and crossed the river. I'm surprised I didn't get swept away. I guess the adrenaline kept my feet planted. I found an eddie in the middle of the stream and was able to bring the fish to hand. He was 23 or 24 inches. One of the bigger rainbows I've ever caught. Beautiful markings. I gently removed the hook and let him go.

I walked a good mile downstream on the north side of the river stopping anywhere that looked fishy. They were more than happy to take various soft hackles. Around 5:30pm, I decided to head back to the car and try Knight's Ferry. This is another 5 or so mile car ride downstream.


Knight's Ferry
After parking in the recreation area lot, I asked some locals where the covered bridge was. I had heard that upstream of the bridge is a good place to try. If I had just looked a little harder, I would of seen the bridge. I guess I somehow missed it. After walking past it and upstream another 1/4 or 1/2 mile is a fishing spot with lots of boulders and some water funneling through. Most of this area is flat water, but this was one of the few fast sections. Personally, I thought it was a waste of time. Not exactly a good spot to fly fish. At least, not my idea of a good spot. The water was deep, and I imagine there were some big fish down there. Clamoring to rocks to try and roll a cast out into this water wasn't something I was into. I decided to pack up and go home.

Fish count: More than 14
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Trip Report: Meramac River (Missouri)

Went home to visit my folks back in St. Louis. While there, I decided to take my flyrod to the Meramec River, a place that I used to frequent while living there.

This water is a "red ribbon" trout stream that is just full of big fat browns. Unfortunately, the only day I could go, there happened to be a pounding storm. Not only was the rain intense, there was a pretty good electrical storm too. It probably wasn't wise to stand in the middle of a river with a 9 foot stick in my hand while lightning was flashing all over the place. However, I felt somewhat comfortable that the strikes were a few miles off.

Those of you familiar with the area, I parked in the area known as "Suicide Hill" and walked down to the river. It was a very steep and slippery slope that was somewhat treacherous in retrospect. Next time, I'll definitely take "Cardiac Hill" instead. Although, it may not be so bad while raining. It was literally a river on its own. Very slippery.

The fishing was good. At least at first. After only a few minutes I hooked a 24+ inch brown that charged down river after realizing his food fought back. After palming the reel, I slowed him down and eventually got him to my feet. He spun like a tornado and broke the fly off. I was disappointed I didn't get him to my hand, but still excited about the "almost". He was very strong and healthy.

I caught another 20-22 inch brown and a few smaller rainbows not long after. The rain stopped by noon and so did the bites. And unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch the 30+ inch trophies that are all over these waters. I can remember living here and practically never catching anything but brown trout. Quite the opposite here in California.

Despite the scary weather, it was a good time. Something I enjoy about this area is that the rivers are generally much easier to wade then back here in California. The floor is generally crushed gravel that is easy to walk on and not just a bunch of hard to navigate boulders. Also, since the water is always so cold (spring fed), you can find large fish in 1-3 feet of water.

I fished wet flies of various sizes and colors. The best was a soft hackled pheasant tail size 14. I wasn't patient enough to experiment too much, it was hard to tie them on during the rain.

Fish count: Under 5
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Trip Report: South Fork Tuolumne

I arrived at the Rainbow Pools rec area around 6:30am. The fishing was nice for a few hours until the crowds showed up. It was a hot day and there were a lot of people swimming in the area. Made fishing a little difficult.

I wandered as far upstream as I could safely go. This was the only way to get away from the people. There were some decent sized rainbows, probably 18 inch or slightly larger in the deeper pools. One pool was around 12 feet deep and you could see more than a dozen trout actively eating. Sorry I can't be more specific. I simply don't know how to accurately describe it. It was no more than 1/2 mile upstream from the parking lot.

I was able to catch a half dozen or so fish, the largest was around 15 inches. Again, it was an assortment of wet flies that got the most interest. Soft hackle hare's ear are always good producers.

Fish count: Under 10
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Trip Report: Tuolumne and Cherry Creek

Yesterday was another 12 hour fly fishing marathon, this time it started out on the Main Fork of the Tuolumne and ended up on Cherry Creek.

After arriving at the Tuolumne around 7:15am, I suited up and walked the path for approximately 3/4 mile to find a spot that looked good to enter the river. I strongly urge everyone to use barbless hooks whenever you go fishing, however here, it is mandatory. This is a wild trout section of the river and you must also release all fish, which is something else I urge everyone to do wherever you go.

After wading out into the river, my first thought was, "Where are all the fish?" I didn't see any. Normally, I can spot them pretty quickly, but I didn't see a one. I'm sure they were there, it was just odd not seeing anything. To make it worse, I got absolutely ZERO bites, let alone a fish caught. I stayed for approximately three hours trying every fishy spot I could find. I wandered approximately 1/2 to 3/4 miles upstream in my attempt. Wet flies, nymphs, streamers, you named it, were tried with no results. I fished deep pools, shallow riffles, every fishy pocket I came across. Nothing.


Cherry Creek
I wandered back to my car feeling defeated. After a sandwich, I decided it was time to move on. After going further down Cherry Lake Road I came upon Cherry Creek. I had never been here before, so I first checked out the section downstream of the power station. The water was CRANKING! I don't know what the flow was, but it was deep and fast. Not something I felt like getting into since I enjoy wading. I was really surprised by the volume of water and wasn't about to get in.

Back in my car, I drove upstream to the Cherry Creek Rd bridge over Cherry Creek. I got out and looked. Didn't see any fish, but what can you expect, the bridge is probably 100 feet over the water. I snaked my way down the dirt trail that was rather steep and unstable -- eventually finding the water with a decent but very manageable flow. Again, I didn't see any fish. I knew they had to be in there, so I walked upstream and started fishing anything that looked like it could hold trout.

I found this area with rushing water dumping into a deep pool with large boulders underneath. There were fish in here, I could finally see them. They had no interest in anything I presented. I tried all sorts of sizes and colors of wet flies. Finally, in desperation, I threw a black wolly bugger and suddenly they were on the chase. This ended up being key and I realized that the color of the day was BLACK!

The bugger was too big, so I downsized to a size 12 Black Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear that had a gold bead head. I dead drifted the thing to about a depth of 3-4 feet. I scrambled around and used a combination of high sticking or just short up and across casts without any indicators. I caught a few 10 inchers in that pool. I wiggled my way around and stood at the head of the pool right over the plunging water and high sticked that nymph down there. After some drifting, I played it in and out of boulders and fishy areas. A few were caught that way too.





After the fishing slowed down, I moved on and did a variety of casts in different places. Shallow water, deep pools, whatever looked good. My black hares ear was getting gnarled from the fish taking it so often. I only had one, so I looked for other black flies. Next was a darkish Prince Nymph size 14. I caught 1 or 2 on that. But it seemed slow, I'm convinced it was because there was too much white on it.

I moved to a dark (almost black) Adams Wet Fly and used dead drifting and swinging methods to catch more fish. It produced well. Finally, after a pit stop at the car to refuel on liquid and food, I made one last trip to the downstream side of the bridge. I decided to put together a 3 fly rig together. The anchor was that beat up black hares ear (I dont normally use a nymph in a 3-rig, but since it was working earlier I thought it was a good idea), the middle fly was that dark Adams wet fly. The top fly was a light cahill dry (it was late in the day and some surface activity was starting up). All 3 flies were getting bites. However, the middle fly (adams) caught all the fish.

All in all, this was one of my most productive days of fishing -- ever. Even with that stinker of a morning on the Tuolumne, I did nicely on Cherry Creek. These fish were hungry. The largest fish were 15-17 inches. Besides those two, most of them were in the 9-11 inch area. With a few really small (5 inch) guys thrown in.

Fish count: More than 22 (lost count)
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Trip Report: Stanislaus (Beardsley)

I met up with someone to fish downstream of the Beardsley Afterbay on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus. I caught a few small fish, but couldn't get the bigger fish interest. They were certainly there and they were eating. Unfortunately, they were eating a midge hatch and I didn't have flies small enough to take advantage.

All in all, it is a nice place to throw a line. The river is plenty wide in areas and although I didn't venture too far downriver, there are a lot of pockets holding decent sized trout. I wouldn't call it my favorite or definitely most productive place I've fished, but I'll probably go back someday.


South Fork of the Stanislaus
After being somewhat frustrated by the lack of caught fish downriver of the Afterbay, I stopped in Strawberry to try this fork of the Stanislaus. I ventured upstream of the bridge and ended up catching a bunch of smaller trout (9-12 inches). What little size they were, they made up for it in numbers. The ego booster was needed!

It was getting dark and I made the mistake of staying out too long without a flashlight. At around 9pm, I was struggling to get through the brush, stream, and trees to my car. I'm really lucky I made it without getting hurt. I did slip off a boulder and had that split second of terror wondering what was going to happen. Luckily, I only landed on my back end and was able to get up without anything being broken. It was pitch black by the time I reached my vehicle.

Learned my lesson, I now carry a flashlight whenever I fish.

Fish count: More than 14
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