Fish Swami Blog

SF Boise River Genetic Study

Fish Swami has adopted a fish for the South Fork of the Boise River 2008 genetic study. The donated money is being used to offset the cost of genetic testing, which is being done to understand the origins of the rainbow trout in the South Fork fishery. This weekend, anglers are floating the river below Anderson Ranch Dam, catching fish, and clipping fins for the genetic study.

To read more about the genetic study and conservation issues regarding the South Fork Boise River, visit southforkboise.org. You can donate to the conservancy project by clicking on the Support button.

A picture of the FishSwami.com fish will be posted when it becomes available.

Spawning Trout and Redds

In the spring, rainbow and cutthroat trout begin their annual spawning process. In rivers and streams where trout are naturally reproducing, it’s important to avoid disturbing spawning fish during this time. These trout are expending most of their energy on spawning. Angling for spawning fish adds undo stress. Additionally, extra care should be taken to avoid damaging trout spawning areas known as "redds". Trout deposit their eggs in a clean gravel bed where they are left to hatch in four to seven weeks. Wading through a redd can crush trout eggs or the trout fry that remain in the gravel for weeks after they hatch. By not fishing to spawning fish or disturbing their redds, anglers can help ensure strong future trout populations. The following tips will help you learn how to identify redds, spawning fish, and the locations where spawning fish build redds in a river.

What are Redds

• Redds are the nests of spawning fish.

How to Identify Redds

• Clean oval patches of small to medium-sized gravel typically 2 to 3 feet wide.
• Gravel is lighter-colored than surrounding gravel.
• Small depressions and mounds in the gravel indicate nest sites and eggs.

Where Are Redds Located?

• Riffles: 1 to 3 feet in depth with ample current to provide oxygen to the eggs.
• Gravel Bars: gravel bars allow eggs to sit among and below small rocks with clean water flowing over them.

How to Identify Spawning Fish

• Fish hug to a site and refuse to move even if disturbed.
• Large numbers of fish are concentrated in shallow water over a gravel bottom.
• Fish are darker-colored than normal. Their bellies are dark instead of a light, silvery color.
• Fish will fight sluggishly because they’re expending most of their energy on spawning.

What Can I Do?

• Avoid fishing, walking, wading, and mooring boats in shallow gravel bars near islands.
• Don’t cast to spawning fish.
• Politely help inform other anglers about trout spawning behaviors.

River Midge Fishing Tactics - Part 2

This blog is the second of two articles written on fishing river midge hatches during the winter and spring. The first article, focusing on the midge lifecycle and where to find midge-feeding fish, can be found here.

Midge Pattern Setup, Presentations, and Techniques

I almost always use two flies when fishing midge patterns. The patterns are usually small and the trout are less willing to move to feed, so fishing multiple flies allows you to fish two current lanes, two water depths, or two insect stages at once. These methods will need to be adapted if fishing regulations prevent you from fishing multiple flies simultaneously.

Fishing an Adult and an Emerger

Pools and Back Eddies

When fishing a pool or back eddy where trout are sitting near the surface, fishing a tandem rig of an adult pattern and an emerging pattern can be deadly. The emerging pattern is sometimes invisible on the water’s surface due to broken water or high surface glare, so the adult pattern works double duty as both an adult midge and a strike indicator. Fish the combination dead drift in the current, or let it sit motionless along the edge of a pool when trout are cruising and feeding. If you see a rise near your adult, wait briefly to see if your adult disappears. If it does, set the hook!

I often fish the Griffith’s Gnat as my adult pattern. It is a good floating fly, even in small sizes, and represents a cluster of midges on the water’s surface. For a midge emerger, I recommend Scott Sanchez’s Parachute Midge Emerger or a CDC Loop Tuft Emerger. Both patterns hang vertically in the water, yet are quite visible to the angler because of the tuft that sits above the water’s surface. The CDC Loop Tuft Emerger is especially good in slightly broken water or swirling back eddies. The CDC is very buoyant and can bring the pattern back to the surface if it is swamped by a wavelet or pulled under by the tippet. I highly recommend using a product like Frog’s Fanny desiccant to dry out the CDC tuft after catching a fish, or after the fly has started to sink.

To assemble the rig, first attach the dry fly to your 5x or smaller tippet. Then, attach an 18” to 24” strand of 5x or smaller tippet to the bend of the dry fly hook using an improved clinch knot. Attach the emerger pattern to the end of this tippet.

Fishing an Adult and a Shallow Nymph

Pools, Back Eddies, and Shallow Riffles

Fishing an adult pattern with a midge nymph pattern as a dropper is the most effective way I’ve found to fish to active trout feeding on midges. It is also one of the most exciting. The adult pattern catches the occasional fish, but more often than not the midge nymph will be the top producer. When fishing this rig, cast the flies ahead of rising trout or fish feeding in a back eddy or shallow riffle. Watch the dry fly intently – it will often disappear when the flies drift over a feeding trout. When it happens, set the hook!

With this tactic, trout are often partially or wholly visible to the angler during the entire presentation. In slower water, trout have time to take in your nymph pattern, taste it, and spit it back out without your dry fly ever moving. As your skills progress with this technique, begin setting the hook when you see your targeted trout’s mouth open, or you see the fish move to the side a few inches. These activities are signs that the fish has just taken your nymph. Quickly and fluidly set the hook; if the fish isn’t on, false cast to the side and re-present your patterns to the fish. Catching a trout based solely on seeing it react to your fly, but never seeing an indication from your strike indicator or dry fly, is as good as it gets for me in fly fishing.

Even when a pod of trout are feeding actively on the surface, they are usually very receptive to a sunken midge pupa pattern. I attach a tag of 5x or 6x tippet to the bend of the dry fly hook, then attach the midge nymph to end of the tag. The water depth, fish depth and water current speed dictate the length of the tippet tag. If trout are holding just under the surface in a pool, I will place the dropper 6” to 12” from the adult. If trout are 1’ to 2’ deep in the pool, or are sitting in a shallow back eddy, I will use a dropper length of 12” to 24”. Occasionally, if the fish are suspended in a slow, deep riffle, I will use a dropper of up to 36”. Anything deeper than that and I will switch tactics since it’s unlikely that the adult midge pattern will be of any use.

My favorite midge larva/pupa pattern is the zebra midge. It is as simple a pattern as any, consisting of a bead head, thread body, and fine wire ribbing. On my local rivers, the predominant color of midge is black or dark olive, so I fish a black zebra midge at least 75% of the time. It is very successful.

An alternative way to fish a shallow midge larva or pupa pattern is to not use a dry fly at all, instead fishing one sunken fly and using a pinch-on float or strike putty on the leader to control the fly depth and determine strikes. It is easier to add a tiny splitshot to the tippet with this method to help sink the nymph, since the float will not sink with the added weight.

Fishing Two Shallow Midge Nymphs

Pools, Back Eddies, and Riffles

When fish aren’t feeding at the surface or just underneath it, fishing a tandem midge nymph rig is an effective way to cover deeper water and catch active fish. This is an effective technique for covering riffles where fish can’t be spotted, fishing to spotted fish that are sitting deep in a back eddy or pool, or blindly nymphing likely fish-holding water. One of the benefits of this method of fishing is being able to vary pattern size and color to find a trout’s preference.

When rigging for this setup, I attach the first fly to the tippet, then attach a tag end of tippet to the eye of the first fly. I attach a second midge nymph 18” to 24” from the first fly. A pinch-on float attached to the leader above the first fly acts as both a strike indicator and a water depth regulator. I vary the location of the float based on the water depth, fish depth, and water current speed. When trout are actively feeding on midge pupa, I find that trout don’t necessarily hold to the bottom of the river, so fishing the flies at or near the bottom isn’t the best bet. I try to suspend the flies in the water column. If the current is fast enough, I’ll add small splitshot to the leader 6” to 8” above the first fly. If I’m snagging the bottom or the indicator keeps twitching because the nymphs are bouncing along the bottom, I’ll move the float closer to the first fly to keep the nymphs suspended.

I use zebra midges and disco zebra midgelings for most of my tandem midge nymphing. The disco zebra midgeling is more of an attractor midge pattern compared to the more-realistic zebra midge, and it can be deadly. I have fished zebra midges to spotted, actively-feeding fish before that have snubbed multiple quality drifts. After changing flies to a disco zebra midgeling, the trout have moved a foot-plus out of their feeding lanes to aggressively take the pattern! It doesn’t work all the time, but it’s a pattern I wouldn’t go fishing without. Black and red are my standard colors for the pattern, but surprisingly a light blue disco zebra midgeling has proven very effective on multiple occasions.

Deep Nymphing

Deep Back Eddies, Faster Riffles

Deep nymphing with a midge nymph can be a useful fishing tactic. It is not one of my favorite tactics to employ when midge fishing simply because fish cannot be spotted and fished to individually. However, it can be more effective than the other tactics early or late in the day or when midges aren’t hatching or active. For rivers with good stonefly populations, the large stonefly nymphs will be a trout staple during the winter and spring months when mayfly and caddis nymphs are either still eggs or microscopic in size. Try fishing a small zebra midge or disco zebra midgeling as a dropper 12” to 18” off a large stonefly nymph.

Midge Fishing Tips and Tricks

Adult midge patterns don’t always float all that well. Nymph patterns used as a dropper off the adult can sink the adult, and swirling microcurrents in pools and back eddies can swamp the adult by pulling the leader under. I often attach a pinch-on float a couple feet up the leader from the adult. The float acts as an indicator for spotting your tiny dry fly as it floats in foam or riffles, and also keeps the leader from sinking and pulling the adult under.

When trout are rising under foam mats, two problems present significant obstacles to catching fish: presenting a fly that the fish can see, and presenting a fly that the angler can see. I often fish midge emerger patterns in these situations, like the parachute midge emerger or CDC loop-tuft emerger. Because these patterns ride vertically in the water, they will hang down below the surface of the water and foam, making an easy target to fish. One key is to cast your fly into breaks in the foam – if the fly lands on top of the foam, it will likely not be visible at all to the trout. Do not cast until you can present your fly on a patch of open water. The second obstacle is that once you’ve cast, it’s nearly impossible to see your fly amid all of the foam and floating debris. I solve this by adding a small ball of strike putty a short distance up from the emerger pattern. The strike putty sticks out nicely against the mess, and provides a strike indicator if the fish takes the emerger without me seeing it.

Midge Patterns

I use the following patterns with regular success on my local tailwaters and freestone streams that feature good midge hatches in the winter and spring months. Modify the pattern colors to match local hatches. The light blue Disco Zebra Midgeling is a surprisingly effective attractor pattern at times. Tying instructions for the Disco Zebra Midgeling can be found here.

River Midge Fishing Tactics - Part 1

This blog is the first of two articles written on fishing river midge hatches during the winter and spring. The second article, focusing on midge patterns, setup, and fishing techniques can be found here.

When I first started winter fly fishing on rivers, I had a preconceived notion that the rivers lacked winter hatches, so any fishing would have to be done with nymphs or streamers presented down deep to lethargic trout. The thought of insects hatching and trout actively feeding at the surface seemed like a distant memory. Surely no self-respecting insect would hatch when it was 20 degrees outside and the wind was howling. Snowy river banks, iced-up rod eyelets, numb fingers and frozen feet were the name of the game now.

I was surprised when I was introduced to midges and winter midge fishing on rivers for trout. In the middle of winter, trout would be rising to tiny bugs on the surface, even when the wind was ripping across the surface. I found that once good holding spots for trout were located, they could consistently be found feeding subsurface on midge pupa and rising to midge adults on a daily basis. On days when the sun was out, the temperature was in the 30s, and the wind was dormant, fishing could be very good indeed.

The spring season only seemed to amplify the good things from the winter: fish were more active due to warmer water temperature; the midge hatches were stronger; and the warmer air temperature made it a little easier to be outside all day. All I needed were successful tactics for catching these active trout.

Midge Lifecycle in Rivers

The first step in successful midge fishing is understanding basic entomology regarding the insect. Midges in rivers and lakes belong to the family Chironomidae and are also known as “Chironomids,” especially to stillwater anglers. The adults look like an adult mosquito, but lack the mosquito’s proboscis; thus, midges cannot bite. Midges undergo a complete metamorphosis, meaning they grow from an egg, to a larva, to a pupa, and finally to an adult.

Midge larvae are worm-like in appearance with no visible legs. While the slender, segmented larvae can be nearly any color, common colors are red, black, olive, and gray. The larvae are bottom-dwelling insects, often either living in tubes they build in silt and mud or living in silk-lined cases they attach to the river bottom. Midge larvae are important to trout (and subsequently anglers) because of what is known as behavioral drift. On a daily basis, the larvae abandon their protective cases and drift with the river’s currents to a new location to find food. It is during this time that they are vulnerable to trout. For midge larvae, behavioral drift is highest at dawn and dusk.

Midge pupae retain the slender, segmented abdomen of their larval stage, but have large thoraxes and white gills at both their head and their bottom. They are fully-formed adult midges inside of their pupal shucks. Once ready to hatch, the midge pupae slowly swim and float to the water’s surface, and are subject to predation the entire journey. The common pupae colors are similar to the common larvae colors: red, black, olive, and gray.

Once at the surface, midge pupae struggle to break through the water’s rubbery meniscus. The surface tension traps the pupae momentarily. Once through, the adults hatch onto the water’s surface. During a hatch, trout key in on this stage of the emerging midge because of its vulnerability.

The adult midge has two wings, long legs, and a long, slender abdomen. Adults can form mating clusters on the water’s surface.

Finding Fish

In the winter, river flows are typically low and slow. Trout congregate in areas where they can minimize expended energy, find safety from predators, and still opportunistically feed. Two ideal places that meet these requirements are pools and deep back eddies. Shallow riffles will also hold trout; the broken water surface affords trout protection and the currents supply trout with food. With each of these water types, the lower water flows allow (and sometimes require) sight fishing to individual fish. Stealthy approaches and presentations may be necessary to successfully fool trout under these conditions.

Pools

Pools will likely hold the majority of trout in the winter time. The slow, deep water keeps the lethargic trout safe. A slight current through the pool can act as a conveyor belt of food to the trout, allowing them to feed while expending minimal energy. When trout are feeding on emerging midges and midge adults, they can hold very close to the surface, even in full sun.

Back Eddies

Back eddies are places along the river bank where the current flows back upstream along the bank. Trout will sit close to the bank and actually face downstream into the current. The back eddy will collect midge adults, crippled midges, or emerging midges on the surface; trout will sip these casually or swim side to side eating midge larvae and pupae in the water column. Not all back eddies will hold trout, however. If the back eddy is shallow, it needs to be connected to a deeper main channel to provide trout with an escape route should a predator appear. Optimal back eddies are those that are at least 2 feet deep and have a deep trough towards the middle of the river for the trout to retreat to.

Foam

With both pools and back eddies, a layer of foam floating on the water can provide trout with an added sense of security from aerial attackers. If you find a pool with foam collecting on top, watch the pool and wait for breaks or shifts in the foam to reveal any feeding trout sitting just under the water’s surface. The foam will also capture midge adults and emerging midges, affording trout an easy, inescapable meal. Look for little dimples or trout noses poking through the foam as a sign of feeding trout.

Shallow Riffles

Shallow, slow riffles offer trout an excellent feeding location for ascending midge pupae and emerging midge adults. The rippled water surface allows trout to sit in surprisingly shallow water while remaining relatively hidden. Optimum shallow riffles are those that feed into a deeper pool or run, or those that have a deeper main channel where trout can flee to when scared. When feeding, trout will not necessarily hold to the bottom of the river in these riffles because the current is not that strong. To spot fish, look to likely areas and stare at the river bottom for some time. Use polarized glasses to reduce the surface glare, focus on the bottom of the river, and wait for the active trout’s movements to reveal the fish’s location. The white of an open mouth, a dark silhouette parallel to the water current, or the silver flash of the fish’s side are all signs of a fish.

In Part 2: Midge Fishing Tactics, Tips, and Patterns

Hand Tying Fly Leaders

The fly leader is the connection between your fly rod-and-line, and the fly. On a typical 40 foot cast the leader represents 25% of the distance between you and the fish. Having the right leader can help increase your fishing success. Tying your own leaders will help you cast your fly farther and with more accuracy, resulting in catching more fish!

Many people like to use "store-bought" leaders with a smooth continuous taper. Unfortunately these leaders aren't as effective at transmitting the energy from the fly line to the fly and the result is often casts that don’t turn over the fly very well. A properly constructed leader can be matched to the weight of your fly rod and will help turn over big flies such as grasshoppers as well as little tiny flies such as PMDs and midges. Hand tied leaders are also easier to repair and add new tippet. I find that I can use the same leader all year with a few repairs during the season. I also like nymphing with the hand-tied leader; snugging the strike indicator up to a knot, and putting split shot above a knot so it doesn’t slip.

Leaders are constructed of 3 sections: the butt, taper and tippet. The butt section should be made from stiff monofilament in order to transfer energy well. The butt section is 60% of the total length. The tippet is the section that presents the fly to the fish. It should be supple for good presentation. The taper is the section between the butt and the tippet, and it should be short. Whenever possible, do not connect monofilament pieces differing in diameter of more than 2/100ths of an inch (.02") as they will not transfer energy well and the knots are not as strong. Also, larger differences can cause a hinging effect when you cast. The diameter of the butt section of the leader should match the fly line weight (the butt section should be about 2/3rds the diameter of the fly line). Most leaders you buy in the store only match a 5 or 6 weight line. They don’t work well on a lighter line or a heavier line. A 3wt line should have a butt section of .018-.020; a 4wt .019-.021; a 5wt .020-.022; a 6wt .021-.023; a 7wt .022-.024; a 8wt. .023-.026 and a 9 wt .024-.027. For example the butt section of both the Orvis "SuperStrong" and Rio "Classic Hand Tied" 9’ 5x leader is .021. This works well for a 5wt, but not well for a 3wt.

The blood or barrel knot is typically used for the butt and taper sections. It takes some practice to tie well, but it is good because the line comes out evenly on each side of the knot. One tip for tying the blood knot is to use 3 wraps with heavier mono in the butt section and 4-5 wraps in the taper. The double surgeons knot is used for the tippet sections as it has greater strength. If you are tying 2 different brands of materials together (including fluorocarbon) use a triple surgeons knot for extra slip protection. And always wet the knots before drawing them tight to ensure the knots are tight and don’t heat up and weaken as they are tightened. This is especially important for fluorocarbon!! Pull the knots very-tight (you may want to wear work-gloves) and then trim the knots close. If you are concerned about the knots catching moss, you can put a thin coat of Loon KnotSense over them to help smooth them out.

There are 2 popular options for attaching the leader to the fly line. The first is to attach a section of butt material to the fly line using a nail knot. Then whenever a new leader is needed you attach it to the butt material using a blood knot. This way you don’t have to keep cutting pieces of fly line, and you don’t have to tie a nail knot out on the river! The second option is to use a loop-to-loop connection. Some fly lines have a loop on them. You can also tie a loop in the end of the piece of butt section that is attached to the fly line. Keep the loops small and use a perfection loop as it ties in a straight line (keep the loops small so they go through the guides easily). There are some braided loops you can buy and slip over the end of the fly line (but I don’t like them). Some people think the loops cause a hinging effect. I’m sure they aren’t as efficient as a straight knot, but they are convenient when you want to change to a new leader. One thing to keep in mind with the butt section attached to your fly line is to make sure that it is the right diameter and a stiff material. I’ve had fly shops put on a butt section that is too wimpy for my 8wt line and put on a butt section that is way too big on my 3wt line.

Tips to get the most out of your fly leader:

1. Make sure to match the butt size of the leader to you fly line. A 3wt line should have a butt section of .018-.020; a 4wt .019-.021; a 5wt .020-.022; a 6wt .021-.023; a 7wt .022-.024; a 8wt. .023-.026 and a 9 wt .024-.027.
2. Make sure to match your tippet size to the fly size. Don’t try to turn over a #4 steelhead fly with 4x tippet! Here’s a general rule of thumb for fly sizes. Keep in mind that if you weight your flies you may need to use a heavier tippet.
   

   1x -- #2 - #8	2x -- #4 - # 10
   3x -- #8 - #14	4x -- #12 - #16
   5x -- #14 - #18	6x -- #16 - #22

3. Watch for wind knots in your leader. A wind knot reduces the breaking strength of your leader by 50%!
4. Replace the tippet section after landing a large fish. Fine tippets get stretched out and abraded during the fight and will break much easier.
5. If fish are refusing your fly, try reducing the tippet size.
6. If the fly isn’t turning over then try reducing the tippet length and/or tippet size.
7. If the tippet is breaking too easily then try moistening the knots more as you pull them tight. You also might consider replacing your spool of tippet material. I recommend replacing your 4x-8x tippet material every year or two as it looses strength. I like to write the purchase date on the spool to make sure it doesn’t get too old on me. Heavier leader spools don’t need to be replaced as often.
8. Practice tying knots at home so you can tie a good, quick knot on the river.

Below are 4 formulas for leaders. The first is a general one for trout. It is about 10 feet and tapers to 4X, which is good for fly sizes 12 to 16. If you want to tie on a 18 or 20 you should add some 5X tippet. When doing this I like to cut back the 4x section to be 8 to 12 inches or so, and then add 18-24 inches of the 5X. The second leader is a 6X leader for a 3 or 4 weight line and is good for fishing smaller flies. The third leader is a stouter leader that is good for throwing hoppers and stoneflies. (If you want you can also cut back the general trout leader and add some 2X tippet since you know the taper!). The fourth leader is a steelhead leader which is good at turning over big flies and in windy conditions. The trout leader formulas are out of the Dennison Leader Making Kit and are considered the "Orvis" leader formula. The Steelhead leader formula is a Kauffman formula out of a Scott Richmond book on fishing the Deschutes river. Note that sometimes the tippet sizes you can find don’t match the sizes in the leader formulas. For example, some leaders call for the leader to start with a .021 butt section but Maxima Clear isn’t available in .021. So use the .022 instead. For more leader formulas, and more info on tying leaders, try the LeaderCalc spreadsheet available at http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/leadercalc/.

For the butt and taper sections I like to use Maxima Chameleon or Maxima Clear. They are stiff and tough. You can use Maxima Ultragreen if you like a slightly limper leader. For the tippet I like Rio PowerFlex mono. It is limp and strong. Orvis Super Strong is also good. A typical store-bought leader is about four dollars. A spool of Maxima leader material typically runs around $2.75. Tippet material runs about $3.75 a spool. Landing "The Big One"… PRICELESS!

General Trout Leader: 10’ 4X for 5/6 weight line.

Material	Leader Diameter	Section Length	Strength
Clear	.022"	36”	30lb
Clear	.020"	16”	25lb
Clear	.017"	12”	20lb
Clear	.015"	6”	15lb
Clear	.012"	6”	10lb
Rio	.010" 1X	6”	13lb
Rio	.008" 3X	12”	8.2lb
Rio	.007" 4X	24”	6.4lb

Light line leader: 6X for 3/4 weight line.

Material	Leader Diameter	Section Length	Strength
Clear	.020"	29”	30lb
Clear	.017"	19”	25lb
Clear	.015"	12”	20lb
Clear	.012"	10”	15lb
Rio	.010" 1X	6”	13lb
Rio	.008" 3X	6”	8.2lb
Rio	.007" 4X	6”	6.4lb
Rio	.006" 5X	8”	5.0lb
Rio	.006" 6X	22”	3.4lb

Hopper Leader: 2X for 5/6 weight line.

Material	Leader Diameter	Section Length	Strength
Clear	.022"	36”	30lb
Clear	.020"	16”	25lb
Clear	.017"	12”	20lb
Clear	.015"	6”	15lb
Clear	.012"	6”	10lb
Rio	.010" 1X	8”	13lb
Rio	.009" 2X	20”	10lb

Steelhead leader for 8/9/10 weight line.

Material	Leader Diameter	Section Length	Strength
Clear	.024"	28”	40lb
Clear	.022"	22”	30lb
Clear	.020"	8”	25lb
Clear	.017"	8”	20lb
Clear	.015"	8”	15lb
Ultragreen	.013"	8”	12lb
Ultragreen	.012"	30”	10lb

General Trout Leader: 10’ 4X for 5/6 line.

Assemble from butt section to tippet. Then add optional perfection loop if desired.

Puget Sound Fishing at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Indeed.

Thanksgiving weekend 2007 not only afforded me a few days to visit Mom in Washington state on the shores of Puget Sound, but also allowed for some time spent fly fishing for SRCs (Sea Run Cutthroats) and chum salmon in the cold, clear, saltwater of the Sound. Being from Idaho I don't get a chance to fish saltwater or salmon too often, so I flew out to Washington not only looking forward to spending the holiday with family, but also in anticipation of a new fishing experience and the challenge of coaxing some saltwater species into my net.

Fortunately I had come across Jon Aqui's Fishing Blog earlier in the year and had followed along with his fly fishing exploits on the Sound over the months leading up to Thanksgiving. Once in Washington I contacted Jon, asking him if he had any tips for a newbie to the area like myself. He graciously responded with info that only a local experienced angler could provide.

Day 1 began on the shores of Narrows Park just prior to sunrise. I flogged about with a pink streamer for an hour or so as a pack of seals cruised by 100 yards out from shore and the sun rose over Mt. Rainier. It was one of those times where you are grateful just to be on the water. As I walked along the shore wondering about my choice of fly and if there were even any fish along this stretch of water, I was approached by the only other fisherman on the beach who had arrived just shortly after I. We got to talking and it turned out that he (Paul C.) was acquainted with Jon. Paul confirmed that we were indeed in a good fishing spot and that my pink streamer was a solid choice, but there just wasn't much action that morning. He was also kind enough to provide the saltwater rookie with a couple of his Clouser patterns. We talked for awhile as his Golden Retriever swam in the water and ran around the rocky beach, and then both decided to move on to other areas. I don't know where Paul headed off to but I got in my car and drove to Kopachuck Park.

It was windy on Kopachuck beach but the sky was mostly clear and the sun was shining through the trees. Maybe half a mile or so off the beach is a small island where the state record SRC had been caught. This might be a good place. I switched from my streamer to "Paul's Clouser #1" and waded into the water. On my second retrieve I felt a tug on the line and landed my first ever SRC shortly thereafter. At just under 12" the young cutt was not spectacular but was a memorable fish nonetheless. You never forget your first time, right? Several more casts yielded 3 more SRCs, although 2 of them got off before being landed. I fished for another half hour without any luck and decided I was cold and hungry, so it was back to Mom's for hot coffee and lunch.

The morning of day 2 was spent along the Purdy Spit. I casted about for maybe 1/2 hour at low tide before I noticed the chum salmon jumping and rolling across the bay. As I gathered up my things and prepared to drive to the salmon side of the bay I realized that I had left my waders back at Mom's. Ugh. Okay, there are other options. I decided to drive over to Minter Creek and see if any salmon had begun moving up the creek yet. I arrived to find plenty of chums in the creek and nearly as many fishermen lining the banks. Rather than join the fray I just watched for awhile from a bridge up above. Now Minter Creek is only about 10 feet wide and a couple feet deep, and the "fishing" that I saw consisted mostly of snagging salmon and dragging them onto the shore. I watched the carnage for a few minutes along with another gentleman who sarcastically quipped "These are some real sportsmen" as he turned to leave. So that was it for the rather disappointing morning of Day 2. But the evening of Day 2 was yet to come.

After dinner it was back up to the Purdy Spit, this time with waders in tow. The tide was in and one could see the occasional splash of a salmon as one gazed down the shoreline. Encouraged that there were still chums in the area I made my way down to where the action was and, after stopping to chat for a bit with another local, began casting about with "Paul's Clouser #2". After an hour or so of casting to various depths and varied retrieve speeds I finally felt a tug, followed immediately by a violent pull. Within 2 seconds a chum had taken the line to the backing as he jumped and sped off into the sunset and deeper water. As I struggled to haul him back to the shore my exhiliration turned to disappointment as it became obvious that he wasn't fair hooked - he was instead snagged just in front of the dorsal fin. I finally got him in the net, removed the hook from his backside and returned him to the water. The salmon had become quite active by this point, and as a full moon took over for the now-absent sun the serenity of a windless night on the Sound was disturbed only by the salmon which now roiled the water all around me. Within half an hour "Clouser #2" had hooked salmon #2. This time the hook set and ensuing struggle felt right and resulted in a fair hooked 32" chum.

That seemed like a pretty good way to end both the day and my inaugural Puget Sound fishing experience. I look forward to fishing here again when I come back for another visit.

Fly of the Year For 2007

The 2007 year was the second consecutive year that I have recorded all of my fishing trips into Fish Swami. One of the benefits of keeping a fishing log for all of my outings is being able to view catch statistics for previous years. Fish Swami has a very powerful statistical analysis tool that lets you query your fishing log for almost any statistic you would like to know. I used that tool to compile the following table for my top 10 fish-producing flies for 2007.

Number Caught	Pattern
68	CDC Biot Thorax Dun
61	Zebra Midge
50	Pheasant Tail BH
49	Disco Zebra Midgeling
40	CDC Parachute
35	Elk Hair Caddis
29	Halfback
27	X-Caddis
26	Trigger Nymph (Mercer)
24	Parachute Midge Emerger

I must make an immediate disclaimer: my fish catch numbers are influenced by a few important factors: I fish for rainbow and brown trout almost exclusively; I fish tailwater rivers the majority of the time; and I live in the Pacific Northwest. If any of these factors were different for 2007, my list of top 10 flies would change significantly. The fact that my top 10 list is dominated by mayfly and chironomid/midge patterns underscores the types of waters I fish and the species of fish I target.

CDC Biot Thorax Dun

The top pattern for me in 2007 was a CDC (from the French term cul-de-canard, meaning “duck butt”) derivation of a classic mayfly adult pattern, the Thorax Dun. I had not fished the CDC Biot Thorax Dun pattern much previous to 2007, catching only 3 fish on it the prior year. The difference in catch rates between the two years can be mainly attributed to my developing skills in matching mayfly hatches. These skills are in turn directly tied to me fishing more on tailwater rivers with good hatches and selective rainbow and brown trout, versus years past when I fished freestone rivers with poor hatches and less selective cutthroat trout. Because of the pattern’s visibility and good floatation in faster water, I often used the Thorax Dun as my point fly. From the bend of the hook, I attached related mayfly patterns like a CDC Parachute for a flush-floating adult or cripple, a Halfback for a shallow emerging nymph, or a Trigger Nymph for a deeper emerging nymph. Doing this allowed me to fish multiple stages of a mayfly hatch at once. I could trigger various fish that were feeding on different mayfly stages without having to retie on a new fly each time.

Pattern Usage Basis

Using Fish Swami’s statistical analysis tool once more, I am able to break down the fish catch numbers based on colors of the CDC Biot Thorax Dun that I used.

Number Caught	Pattern	Pattern Color
10	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	Olive
38	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	Pale Yellow
8	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	Pink
12	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	Yellow

I focused on three different mayfly hatches in 2007: Pale Morning Duns (PMDs) throughout the summer and early fall, Pink Alberts in the early fall, and Blue-Winged Olives in the fall and early winter. Most of my success came with the pale yellow or yellow Thorax Duns, which is due to the longer duration PMD hatch I fished during the summer. To validate this statement, I can perform another query to determine how many fish I caught each month on the CDC Biot Thorax Dun.

Number Caught	Pattern	Month
29	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	June
14	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	July
4	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	August
16	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	September
1	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	October
4	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	November

Indeed, 47 of the 68 fish caught on the Thorax Dun were caught during the summer months of June, July, and August, when PMDs are most prevalent.

Fish Species

I can also break down the number of fish caught on the CDC Biot Thorax Dun according to fish species.

Number Caught	Fish Species
50	Brown Trout
18	Rainbow Trout

Normally selective brown trout found the Thorax Dun to be an effective mayfly adult imitation.

Time of Day

To show the power of Fish Swami’s statistical analysis tool, I have run several more queries. The following table shows me what time of day I caught fish using the CDC Biot Thorax Dun.

Number Caught	Time of Day
68	2:52 PM to 9:11 PM

It seems that I only used the pattern in the afternoon and evening, which corresponded to most of the mayfly hatches I fished during the summer.

I can also run a query to determine what the skies were like when I caught fish on the Thorax Dun:

Number Caught	Skies - Morning	Skies - Afternoon	Skies - Evening
2	null	null	null
9	null	null	Sunny
21	null	Sunny	Sunny
8	null	Mostly Cloudy	Cloudy
10	null	Cloudy	Mostly Cloudy
13	null	Cloudy	Cloudy
1	Cloudy	Cloudy	Mostly Cloudy
4	Cloudy	Cloudy	Cloudy

The results of this query are a bit harder to understand initially. In summary, I caught 30 fish on the pattern when the day was Sunny and I caught 36 fish on the pattern when the day was cloudy. Interestingly, the numbers are pretty even for my sample set – the Thorax Dun worked well in both sunny and cloudy conditions.

Next, I can run a query to determine what wind conditions were like:

Number Caught	Wind - Morning	Wind - Afternoon	Wind - Evening
2	null	null	null
2	null	null	None
3	null	null	None, Very Light - <5 knots
4	null	null	None, Light - 5 to 10 knots
10	null	None, Very Light - <5 knots	None
3	null	Light - 5 to 10 knots	Very Light - <5 knots, Light - 5 to 10 knots
13	null	Light - 5 to 10 knots, Medium - 10 to 15 knots	None, Very Light - <5 knots
13	null	Light - 5 to 10 knots, Medium - 10 to 15 knots	Light - 5 to 10 knots
3	null	Medium - 10 to 15 knots	Light - 5 to 10 knots
2	null	Medium - 10 to 15 knots, Heavy - 15+ knots	Light - 5 to 10 knots
8	null	Medium - 10 to 15 knots, Heavy - 15+ knots	Light - 5 to 10 knots, Medium - 10 to 15 knots
1	None	None, Very Light - <5 knots	None
3	Very Light - <5 knots	Very Light - <5 knots	Very Light - <5 knots
1	Very Light - <5 knots	Light - 5 to 10 knots, Medium - 10 to 15 knots	Medium - 10 to 15 knots

This query needs significant consolidation to glean out the important information. If I group the information into four categories based on overall wind activity for the day, I get:

None-Very Light: 23
Light or less: 3
Medium or less: 32
Heavy or less: 10

The pattern seemed to fish well in very light wind or medium wind. It’s harder to make a solid statement about this, since often on the days where the wind blew medium or heavy speeds, the wind was gusty and there were periods of calm where fish rose consistently to adults. This can be seen by the number of rows where both “Light” and “Medium” values were checked for wind speeds during the same day segment. It’s likely I caught more fish on the surface during the “light” periods versus the “medium” periods.

2007 Vs. 2006

It is interesting to compare my top 10 flies from 2007 with 2006:

2007		2006
Number Caught	Pattern	Number Caught	Pattern
68	CDC Biot Thorax Dun	95	Pheasant Tail BH
61	Zebra Midge	75	Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
50	Pheasant Tail BH	44	Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear BH
49	Disco Zebra Midgeling	42	Foamy
40	CDC Parachute	42	Stimulator
35	Elk Hair Caddis	35	Pheasant Tail
29	Halfback	27	Green Rockworm
27	X-Caddis	21	Clear Wing Spinner
26	Trigger Nymph (Mercer)	20	Copper John
24	Parachute Midge Emerger	19	Elk Hair Caddis

While 2007 was dominated with mayfly adult and midge larvae/pupae patterns, 2006 was the year of the nymph. The Pheasant Tail and Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear patterns comprised 4 of my top 10 patterns. The Pheasant Tail alone contributed to 21% of my catch totals for 2006. It was a different story in 2007. The CDC Biot Thorax Dun only constituted 9% of my catch totals, and I caught double-digit numbers of fish on 22 different patterns.

Conclusion

The 2007 year was tremendous for me in being able to fish often and somewhat consistently throughout the months of the year. One major benefit of fishing the same waters throughout the course of a year is being able to watch how the seasons unfold, how hatches come and go, and how fish react to their environment. Documenting my outings in Fish Swami has helped me develop a more accurate feel for the varying conditions that affect angling success on my local waters. In time, my personal logs will tell a story of how I developed as an angler, and how I enjoyed the times I was able to spend outdoors. For now, I can at least use my fishing logs to count how many fish I caught on a CDC Biot Thorax Dun.

Spotting Steelhead

As winter turns to spring, steelhead resume migrating to their spawning grounds. River freshettes (where the water rises) and warmer water temperatures draw fish upstream and into smaller tributary streams. As steelhead get closer to their spawning grounds it becomes easier to spot them, both because of the smaller size of the river, and because they move into more predictable locations. Sight fishing for steelhead is an exciting experience. Instead of blindly fishing mile after mile of water you can actually see your quarry and how it reacts to your fly. Chances of success are greatly improved when you know the fish are present, and you can direct your cast to them. Team fishing, where one partner spots from a vantage point while the second partner fishes will help you hook-up. However, spotting steelhead takes practice and some stealth. Here are some tips on locating migrating steelhead in the river.

Sunlight

It is easiest to spot fish when the sun is out on the water and behind you. Find river banks where the sun is at your back. If possible, cross the river to get the sun behind you. Overhead sun is also good. Cloudy or no-sun situation makes it much more difficult to spot steelhead, unless you know exactly where to look. I like to cup my hands on each side of my eyes as side-shields while I look for fish--to keep out all light. Focus your viewing on the bottom of the river. Wait for windows of visibility to drift over the spot you are looking at. Make sure you are wearing polarized sunglasses--if you don't have them--THEN GO BUY SOME!! Attempting to spot steelhead without polarized glasses is very difficult. Photo-chromatic sunglasses, such as the copper Action Optics, are a good choice. These sunglasses are lightly tinted in low light conditions, such as are present in the morning/evening, and get darker in brighter daylight.

Structure

One of the keys to spotting steelhead in the spring is to identify the bottom gravel and structure where they like to hold. Once you find good holding locations, you will continue to find fish there--so keep good track of the spots where you find fish. Remember that in the spring steelhead are looking for spawning gravel. They will stop and hold at many different spots with spawning gravel, as they travel upstream. This is actually the key item in what makes it possible to spot steelhead in the spring. Spawning gravel is golf-ball or smaller sized gravel that is in one to four feet of water. It is typically located out of the main flow-- often near the shoreline. One thing I look for is gravel that has been "rubbed clean" by fish. This happens as the females rub their sides on the gravel. I don't know if they are building a redd, loosening their eggs, or just going through the early motions of spawning. But it creates a very distinctive change in gravel coloration that is a flashing neon sign that steelhead have been there. You may also spot fish in holding water, such as in front or behind a boulder. Steelhead prefer to swim upstream along the river shore, so boulders along the edge that breakup the river flow are a good place to look, so are tail-outs just above a rapid. Fish will rest in these areas after swimming up through the rapid. Spots above deep holding-water will fish well first thing in the morning, and again in the evening. Migrating steelhead will hold in the deeper water and then move out when the light is low on the water. Some spots that fish well in the mid-day will not fish well in the early morning because they aren't adjacent to holding water. Keep this in mind when you choose your first morning fishing spot.

Fish Shapes

Don't look specifically for fish--but instead look for fishy-looking shapes. Watch for dark shapes, two to three feet long, which are parallel to the current. In the spring two or three steelhead will often travel together, so be looking for a pair of steelhead. Sometimes they will be side by side, but often the males will be holding just to the side and below the female. If a second male is present he will be holding below the female. You may see these males swim back and forth, jockeying for position with the female. Look for "fish parts", and not the whole fish. Some of the key shapes to look for are the fish's tail, the fish's head, the lateral red stripe, or the fish's red gill plate. Look for movement, such as the fish's tail moving slightly in the current, or the flash of a female rubbing on the bottom gravel. Movement can be a key, as it will catch your eye. If there is bright sun out, look for shadows in the river and then find what is casting the shadow. Sometimes you can see the fish shadow easier than the actual fish.

Stalking Fish

Once you've found a fish you have to be careful not to spook it. The fish are wary, and are often easily spooked because they are exposed to predators when in shallow water. Fish may spook if you cast your fly line over them-- shadows make them very nervous. Don't walk up to them from the side or from the front. If you are nymphing, stay behind them and to the side. If you are swinging your fly to them, be careful not to get too close, and stay as low as you can. If you do spook the fish you are casting to--don't give up! There are usually other fish holding very near, sometimes right below them in deeper water. Take a few minutes and look around, and even if you don't see more fish, make a few casts below the area where you spotted the first fish anyway. If you spot multiple fish then try and cast to the male first. The female will stay put while you hook and fight the male. But when you hook the female the male will follow her, and you will then have less chance of catching him.

Be Responsible

Casting to visible steelhead is an exciting way to fish. But don't forget that these fish are preparing to spawn, or later in the season, are spawning. Be a responsible angler¡ªwade carefully and avoid walking through gravel that has been rubbed clean. Play and release the fish quickly, being especially careful with wild fish. Some anglers disapprove of fishing for steelhead as they near time to spawn. You may choose to fish to just the males (which are darker colored), or fish the water below the gravel spawning areas.

Fall Fishing

Fall is an amazing time to be outdoors - the oppressive heat from summer is gone, the hillsides turn gold and crimson in radiant splendor as trees present their annual parting gifts, and fishing picks up as fall hatches commence and fish gorge before the winter. Fishing isn't always great, however, but luckily when it's not, nature affords a multitude of opportunities to take photographs or simply relax and enjoy the season's diminishing warmth. The photographs that follow are from my autumn adventures thusfar. Enjoy.

Fall colors brighten the edges of the South Fork Boise River.

South Fork Boise River rainbow trout.

Unknown species fry in a shallow pool connected to the Boise River; foam collecting with leaves along shore.

Snow can chill a nice fall day in a hurry.

Fishing a PMD Hatch

On many rivers, Pale Morning Duns (PMDs) are a relief to both anglers and fish alike. In the West, the hatch of the medium-sized mayfly can occur both in numbers and duration during the summer months. After a winter and spring of fishing miniscule midge patterns or trying to time sporadic drake emergences, PMDs can ease anglers and fish into a fairly consistent daily schedule of hatch and spinner fall. This allows an angler to spend time not only on honing patterns for each stage of the Pale Morning Dun's lifecycle, but also on focusing on specific water types to fish certain patterns.

PMD nymphs inhabit riffles, runs, and flats of rivers. As they mature, nymphs develop dark wing pads. Despite being feeble swimmers, they are generally not available to trout until a few hours before their emergence. Once ready to hatch, the nymphs slowly rise to the water’s surface, buoyed by internal gases and their wriggling swimming motion. The water’s meniscus traps the mayfly nymphs temporarily. Their thorax then splits, allowing the duns to climb through the hole to perch atop the rubbery water surface while their wings dry for flight. Weather conditions and wind affect how long the PMD duns ride the surface before flying to streamside vegetation. The duns normally molt into true mayfly adults, or spinners, within 24 hours. Once they molt, male Pale Morning Dun spinners form mating swarms over riffles to attract female partners. This usually occurs during windless periods in either the morning or evening. Mating occurs in-flight, and once completed the male PMD adults fall spent to the water’s surface while the females lay their eggs by dipping their abdomen into the water’s surface.

To maximize the angler’s results when fishing a Pale Morning Dun hatch, he or she must know the general time periods during the day that the hatch occurs. The PMD hatch can be quite regular, and trout will quickly pick up the daily schedule of when the hatch and its associated stages occur. The nymphs become restless a few hours before emergence and subsequently become increasingly available to trout in the drift. It is at this time that an impressionist nymph fished deep will start taking fish. An appropriately-sized Bead Head Pheasant Tail works well during this time.

As the mayfly hatch builds up steam, a substantial number of nymphs will be in the middle of the water column at any given time. A prime location to fish during this period is shallow- to medium-depth riffles. Often, fish will become quite active and can be spotted moving vertically and laterally to intercept drifting nymphs. A very effective fly at this time is Mike Mercer’s PMD Trigger Nymph. The fly features a ball of sparkly yellow dubbing on top its thorax to imitate a PMD nymph that has started its emergence sub-surface. As the hatch progresses, trout will begin to focus in on this aspect; it is a highly effective triggering characteristic.

Once the hatch is underway and an abundant number of duns are riding the surface, trout will shift their focus to include taking duns off the surface. Several important factors determine how selective trout become with respect to feeding on mayfly adults. If it is a windy day the PMD duns will skate across the surface, leaving tiny wakes. From a trout’s perspective this is unnatural, and the trout will feed on subsurface nymphs at a higher percentage. If it is a cool, cloudy day, it will take longer for the PMD duns’ wings to dry and ready for flight; thus, they will ride the surface for longer periods of time and trout will key more selectively on the duns than the emerging nymphs.

One of the most visually-stimulating methods for fishing the Pale Morning Dun hatch during the early emergence period may not be what you think. While fishing dry flies to spotted trout can be considered the pinnacle of trout fly fishing, trout may rise for only a short time during the hatch. And if it’s windy, trout may not rise at all. But the PMD nymphs will almost surely be active, and fishing nymph patterns to active trout in shallow riffles can be just as enthralling.

A favorite tactic of mine is to find shallow riffles where the sun allows good visibility into the water. Without casting, I watch the riffles where I expect trout to be, and more often than not, within a short time I see the silvery flashes of a fish rising up to take a suspended nymph. A nymph pattern tied as a shallow dropper off an adult PMD pattern can prove to be deadly. I usually fish Mercer’s PMD trigger nymph as the dropper 18-30 inches off a CDC Thorax adult. The nymph isn’t heavy enough to sink the adult pattern for short to medium-length drifts, and the yellow ball triggers plenty of strikes.

The visually-stimulating part of this method of fishing is seeing the trout move in the water column to take the nymph. A feel can be developed that drastically increases hook-ups. The dry fly acts as an indicator, but it also lets the angler know the general vicinity of the nymph. If the dry fly dips under for any reason, set the hook because a fish may have taken the nymph. But just as importantly, if any flash or fish movement is seen under the dry fly, set the hook because a fish more than likely just ate the nymph. I have caught countless fish on the nymph dropper with this method where I never saw the dry fly move, but I did see a fish move in the water underneath it. I have also had plenty of instances where I saw a fish move underneath my dry fly but I did not set the hook. An instant later, the dry fly dipped under, accompanied by a late hook set and a very brief battle with a barely-hooked fish.

A good place to fish during the main part of a PMD emergence is the tail of a long run or pool, where the water shallows and concentrates nymphs in the water column. Fish will stack up in this area to feed not only on the drifting duns but also the drowned adults, emerging nymphs, and cripples. A recommended tactic for this time is to use an adult PMD pattern such as a CDC Thorax Dun or a Parachute, and tie a dropper 12-18 inches to a Halfback pattern tied with yellow Antron dubbing for the front half of the fly. The yellow dubbing acts as a triggering characteristic for the fly, similar to the yellow dubbing ball on the PMD Trigger Nymph. The Halfback is a buoyant pattern that can be fished in the surface film or within the top few inches of the surface. Fishing the adult/emerger combination allows the angler to fish multiple stages of the hatch at once. During a heavy hatch, individual fish will key in on certain stages of emergence; fishing with this combination will catch more fish with fewer fly changes.

The PMD spinner fall can happen in the morning, the evening, or both. During this time, fish will rise but with a different rise form than the one seen when fish are taking duns off the surface. Instead of hearing an audible gulp sound and seeing the trout’s nose poke above the surface, only a surface swirl will be seen, or only the trout’s dorsal fin will break the surface. It is important to distinguish between the rise form of the trout for mayfly duns and mayfly spinners, as trout will key in on one stage or the other. The water type where fish are rising will also help isolate which stage fish are feeding on. Typically, trout will feed on spinners in the back eddies of riffles, the edges along broken banks, and flats. A good fly for this type of water is Gary LaFontaine’s Clear Wing Spinner.

The aforementioned tactics will help anglers decide on where to fish during each stage of the Pale Morning Dun’s emergence. During the early emergence period when the mayfly nymphs are becoming active in the water column, try fishing nymphs in shallow riffles to visible, active trout. Once the hatch is underway, try moving up to the head of riffles where the upstream pool or run concentrates nymphs in the water column. Here, use an adult PMD pattern with a buoyant nymph dropper. Don’t be surprised if you catch more fish on the dropper than the adult, despite all of the rises you see. In the evening or morning when PMD spinners are mating and dropping to the water’s surface, fish a flush-floating spinner fly in calmer water for sipping trout. Most importantly, enjoy fishing the Pale Morning Dun hatch in its impressive size and duration, and practice catch and release.

Fish Swami Presents: Fish Videos

Fish Swami is proud to introduce its newest section of the site - Fish Videos. It can be intriguing and entertaining to watch fish when they are active, and one can learn lessons when fishing by spending more time watching fish before he or she actually wets a line. Odds can be tilted in the angler’s favor by discerning if a fish is feeding, how it is taking its food, whether it seems curious or if it is simply lethargically biding its time until the next major hatch to feed. My goal is to take videos of fish in varying situations, sometimes showing a lesson to help the angler succeed and sometimes simply to enjoy watching fish interact with their environment.

Fish Swami's Fish Videos

Exploring a New Mountain Lake

Mountain lakes hold intrigue. They're often protected by long drives down dusty, washboard-surfaced dirt roads that recall memories of bouncing on your dad's knee as a child. They're also protected by long hikes carrying heavy packs that bite into your shoulders, making you wonder why you didn't spend the weekend at home enjoying the air conditioning. But it's that euphoric feeling of giddiness felt once the mountain lake materializes out of forest and trail that lightens the pack, soothes the shoulders, and sends you scurrying to ready your fishing gear.

Fortunately, Idaho has plenty of sub-alpine mountain lakes to explore.

Unfortunately, not all of those sub-alpine mountain lakes that should hold fish do hold fish.

Various inlet seepages support wildflowers galore.

I ventured east into Idaho's White Cloud range this past weekend to visit a new mountain lake that I had scrutinized regarding location, elevation, topography, and fish stocking history in hopes of finding some large cutthroat trout cruising the lake's perimeter. Upon hiking to the lake, good quantities of scuds, cased caddisfly larva, and large dragonfly nymphs were found cruising the shallows with nary a trout to be wary of. While it's possible all of the trout in the lake were holding deep, it's unlikely. No rises or cruising trout were spotted over the course of two days, even in optimum mountain lake viewing conditions (no wind in the evening or morning).

What the lake lacked in fish in made up for in scenery. Several inlet streams seeped out of barren rock, forming mossy beds that provided a lush base for a bonanza of wildflowers. A pair of loons patroled the lake while several spotted sandpipers strutted and bobbed about the shoreline. While the trip netted no trout, it did provide a beautiful backdrop to spend a weekend.

Spotted sandpipers and Douglas squirrels provided the background music.

Two years ago a large wildfire burned the valley floor. Ten thousand feet up, the mountain lake perimeter is still lush and green.

Two Weeks In Alaska

I never thought I would think this, but some aspects of fishing in Alaska make me appreciate what Idaho has to offer. Sure, Idaho doesn't boast chinook salmon that top the century mark, or silver salmon that make flyfishermen's arms ache, but it does offer fish that actually feed on bugs and the luxury of seclusion even on its more well-known waters. Both of these points became readily apparent in my recent two-week excursion to Alaska.

I travelled to Alaska with a friend in hopes of getting into at least a few salmon, but expecting more to get into substantial numbers of trout. The surprise of the trip happened during the first couple days while we were visiting Lake Clark in the Lake Clark National Forest, when we discovered northern pike on a fly rod.

The third day at Lake Clark we rented an aluminum boat with an outboard for the day and planned on trolling for lake trout in the morning with our fly rods, followed by searching for northern pike in the afternoon. My flyfishing trolling setup needs some refinement as I was only able to land one lake trout. In the afternoon, we motored up a slow-moving tributary of Lake Clark and beached the boat on a grassy island that just screamed "bear country." As my friend got off the boat he spooked three northern pike sitting close to shore - a good sign. We spent the next couple hours patrolling the grassy shoreline of the river island stalking shallow northern pike. Once spotted, a cast and retrieve with a large streamer drew pants-peeing strikes as the fish would suddently dart four to five feet to devour the fly. Nothing is quite like seeing a voracious fish lie motionless, watching your fly undulate through the water until something snaps in its primitive brain and it slashes through the water in a heart-stopping instantaneous attack, making a grown man scream in simultaneous horror and amazement. Nothing, that is, except when the 24" pike you're reeling in is viciously assailed by a 30"+ pike that's decided to try to eat your pike. Sideways.

After Lake Clark, my friend and I rented a car in the city of Kenai. Amusingly, the Budget rent-a-car lady reminded us that there was a $300 deposit for the car and that if it smelled like fish when we returned it, the deposit would not be refunded. When we returned it in four days, it did not smell like fish. I think a fish smell might have actually been better, as we had just spent four days sleeping in the car with all of our smelly waders, socks, shorts, fishing vests, and everything else. A $5 can of Febreze was probably our best investment of the trip.

We spent the four days with the Budget car investigating the Kenai River, Russian River, and various lakes along the stretch from Soldotna up to Cooper Landing. One of the days was spent on a guided trip down the middle section of the Kenai River fishing for big rainbows. My friend landed several brutes just over 20" while I landed the big fish of the float at 24". We also spent a few days fishing the lower stretches of the Russian River, just above the confluence with the Kenai River. The amount of people fishing for sockeyes was incredible and at times frustrating. My friend and I started to figure the river out a bit, stalking fish close to the bank that would normally be overlooked by other anglers. We caught several nice rainbows and had a few very nice sockeye on.

The second week of our trip was spent based out of Homer, Alaska. We were able to get in a chartered trip in Cook Inlet for halibut, even catching a few on a fly rod.

The Anchor River became our main focus because of the proximity to Homer, the clarity of the water, and the very large chinook salmon that inhabited it. I spent many hours fishing until midnight or later thanks to the northern latitude, and only caught one chinook and one pink salmon on the Anchor. They were both great fish but its frustrating when you can see the large fish in the water, snubbing every perfect drift you put by their nose. The surprising element of the river was that we never got into any decent Dolly Varden or rainbow trout fishing. Talking to a local angler, he mentioned the dollies had not made their way into the river from the ocean yet.

The trip was a fantastic experience overall. The following are my better pictures from the trip.

Lake Clark is beautiful, but it rained the entire time we were there.

Lake Clark glaciers viewed from the plane.

Me (left) and my friend (right) with nice lake trout.

Alaska panorama

Northern pike were the big surprise of our Alaskan adventure.

The Kenai and Russian Rivers.

Alaska's main inhabitants - bald eagles and bears.

Fun with underwater bubbles.

Pink salmon carcasses are wicked.

The Anchor River and a fresh pink salmon.

Fly fishing for halibut - who knew?! Also, the big glacier across the bay from Homer, AK.

North to Alaska

"Don't get eaten by a bear."

Thanks for the advice, I'm not sure I would have known not to get eaten if I hadn't read that. That's the kind of blatantly obvious advice you get that makes you shake your head. Advice similar to: "Don't burn yourself!" when you're putting a piece of wood on the fire.

But it's that sound advice that rings in my head as I prepare for a two week adventure to the United State's largest state. As I've perused web sites for Alaskan fishing adventures featuring galleries upon galleries of fish porn, I've also come across plenty of galleries of bears. Brown bears, black bears, grizzly bears, big bears, bear cubs, and bear farms. While my anticipation for the trip is ready to bubble over, the constant threat of becoming dessert after a salmon main course keeps me somewhat subdued.

The past several weeks have been filled with tying flies: Glo-Bugs, Glue-Eggs, Egg Sucking Leeches, Flesh Flies, and Alaskabous. I have never visited Alaska nor have I fished for salmon (or the egg-feeding trout and Dolly Varden they attract), so the entire experience will be new. I've based all of my preparation on various books I've picked up, guide recommendations, forums, and other Internet resources.

To start the trip I will be visiting the Lake Clark National Forest, staying at a lodge in Port Alsworth. Afterwards I'll fly back to Anchorage and spend the following week and a half on the Kenai Peninsula. I'm tentatively planning to spend a day or two on the Kenai Canoe Trails, followed by a couple days in the Upper Russian River area fishing for sockeyes and trout, then finish up the first week with a guided float trip down the Upper Kenai River for world-class rainbow trout fishing. The second week is still unplanned but hopes to include a deep-sea charter or two to fish for halibut and salmon.

Finally, months of research, planning, and fly tying will get put to the test in just over 24 hours. If things go according to the master plan in my head, I'll have plenty of trophy trout, char, grayling, and salmon photos to share on my return as wells as a few stories regarding close encounters and spectacular sightings.

And let's hope I don't get eaten by a bear.

Disco Zebra Midgeling

The Disco Zebra Midgeling is a pattern derived from combining the Disco Midge pattern with Mike Mercer's successful Zebra Midgeling pattern. Mercer's pattern is based off of the ubiquitous Zebra Midge, which is about as simple as a pattern can get: a thread base, wire ribbing, and a metal bead head. Mercer modified the Zebra Midge by adding triggering characteristics to the fly to help entice reluctant trout to feed. In my fishing and tying of Mercer's pattern, I've found that I like to make two modifications to the pattern, especially for smaller sizes, that results in the Disco Zebra Midgeling.

The Disco Zebra Midgeling has proven to be an effective pattern drifted off a dry fly like a small caddis or Griffith's Gnat, as well as drifted deep as a dropper off a bigger nymph. For me, a red version of the fly has worked well on clear freestone streams as a dropper off a small dry. In multiple instances I've seen fish move more than one foot off their feeding lane to take the nymph. On a tailwater river with excellent midge populations, I've used both small black and light-blue Disco Zebra Midgelings drifted off the bottom and taken very good numbers of trout. The fly has out-produced standard nymph patterns many times for me, and is now a go-to fly in my box.

One of the changes Mercer made to the original Zebra Midge is he wrapped the fly body in clear tubing. I feel this makes the fly body too thick for most small midge patterns (#18 and smaller). Mercer also likes the use of ostrich herl for the fly collar behind the head; again, while this works for larger flies, the herl feels too large to me to be used on smaller patterns.

The Disco Midge is a similarly simple pattern to the Zebra Midge, but instead of the thread body it uses flashabou to make a thin, colored, reflective body. I like the use of flashabou on the Disco Midge and substituted flashabou for the body of the Zebra Midgeling. The other change I like to do on Mercer's pattern is to use peacock herl instead of ostrich herl for the fly's collar. While it doesn't have the same movement as the ostrich herl, the peacock herl fits the fly's profile better while also adding some irresistable iridescence.

The following are the fly tying instructions for the Disco Zebra Midgeling.

Materials

Hook:	Tiemco 2487, #16-#22
Thread:	Uni 8/0
Tail:	Angel Hair - Polar Ice
Body:	Flashabou (black, red, olive, lt blue are most common)
Ribbing:	Ultra Wire X-Small silver wire
Wing:	Pearl Krystal Flash
Collar:	Peacock Herl
Head:	Bead (black bead for black, olive, lt blue bodies; copper bead for red flies)

Tying Instructions

1. Place the bead onto the hook, then attach the thread behind the bead.

2. Tie in a small clump of Angel Hair for the tail. Remember, a little goes a long ways. Trim the tail to be quite short, as shown.