SOUL OF STREAMS: May 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

AIR BUGS!

Photo by F/V Gulf Ventur (other sample photos on his site just click on my link: Real trout Bum).

Air-filled fly body. I've been tying and fishing air-bugs for several years now. Great material to imitate large insects like stoneflies, cicada, grasshoppers, beetles and crickets.

Photo by Bushrat.>>>

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Marty Howard Photo of Golden Stone Nymph

Marty and his son seined this golden stone nymph out of one of our Utah waters. Thanks for sharing the photo Marty. You can visit Marty's web site at www.martyhoward.com

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Looking for and Fishing Adult Stoneflies

It's May! If the water conditions are right. It's time to start looking for large stonefly adults. It's been cold enough this spring to put this hatch back a little bit. I'll start to seriously look for these bugs around May 15th on until the end of the month. Hopefully, the water will cooperate and not be a raging torrent of spring run-off.

Even with high water, it is possible to catch trout holding in the shallow edge water and in back eddies and back wash bends.

Last year during some higher, faster water, I was fishing from a high bank, concrete retaining wall. I cast a Twisted Stonefly into the head of the run and watched a 18-inch brown chase the fly downstream for 10 feet before he caught up to it and grabbed it. The battle was on but I knew the trout would win and that I would lose a fly. There was no way I was going to play the fish up the side of the concrete. I did fight him for a few minutes and as I sensed he was getting tired of the situation, I quickly, with a swift jerk on the rod, snapped the fly off. The trout flipped around and headed for the depth of the run. I wished there would have been a way to get down to him for a proper catch and release, but the wall was just too high. I would have released this fish anyway, but I felt bad having to do a long distance release and have him swimming around for a while adorned with his new piercing.

Fremont Island of Great Salt lake

Our Scout group took a trip out to Fremont Island in the Great Salt lake. Everyone rode a barge style boat with camping gear for an overnighter, except for two brave souls who paddled a canoe playing the parts of Kit Carson and John C. Fremont, the Islands name sake. The canoe ride was suppose to be 3 miles but ended up more like 7. We didn't take into consideration that we had to paddle most of the length of the Island to get to the camping site.

As part of the adventure, we hiked to the very top of the Island were Kit Carson carved a 7 inch cross into the rock on the summit. It was neat to think we were viewing a piece of history. The cross was carved (scatched) into the rock September 9, 1843.

All Day Long

I love to fish the Logan River. The scenery in the canyon is beautiful: clean clear water, pine , maple, willow, river birch and aspen stand as the forground to backdrops of cliffs, majestic mountain peaks and billowing white clouds against a blue sky. To me it doesn't get much better, anywhere!

I prefer to seek out the cutthroat trout found high in the headwaters and meadow sections of the river. Ocassionally, I fish down lower where a few more brown trout can be found. I can spent all day in the area, catching cutthroat like the one pictured.

Air-filled Flies

I've been messing around with a material that allows for the creation of air-filled fly bodies. This stonefly adult is created with the material. I've used this pattern for several years now and have had good success. It's been used in Montana and Idaho on the Madison and Henry's Fork.

The material is nothing more than heat shrink tubing. I have a way to imprint on it, thus creating the neat patttern on the bottom of the fly.

The material is available in several colors and diameters. To date, I have created stoneflies, hoppers, cicada and beetle patterns. Fun stuff!

All content © Robert Williamson

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Chain Gang!