Well after a heartbraking day on Putah I was relieved to see that others shared my misfortune (except JT ). Fished all day on wednesday up the creek and back from #3 to #1 with #20 flashback pheasant tails and got nothing. Not even a nibble. Fished all day friday in all the same spots and struck out using pheasant tails and olive midges. Went out today from 8:00 to 5:00 with #20 natural pheasant tail and a yarn indicator. I fished all the pockets I could find letting my nymph drift naturally through eddies and along current seams. There didn't seem to be much actions in these areas, maybe JT is on to something with the slower pools, or maybe I'm just not doing it right! I did get bit drifting my nymph deep through one slow pool, and hooked one other fish in a climactic but hearbreaking end to my fishing week. I came upon some good looking pocket water and started roll casting to different pockets allowing my nymph to swing through the run before re-casting. On about the tenth cast as I was pulling my line up to cast again a big (like 18") trout shot out from a hole and creamed my fly on the surface. In the heat of the moment I didn't get a good hookset and lost the fish after a short tug of war. I'm still pretty new at this, so it killed me to end the day like that, but I was pretty stoked to finally hook into something at putah. Hope this helps you guys know what not to do! peace Charlie
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
I know that feeling Chuck. It is always a surprise to lift the line to cast and have a fish grab it at that moment. If you are like me, sometimes after endless casts and drifts, your mind sort of goes on autopilot and when you least expect it, BAM! But at least you hooked a nice one, and between you and JT, we know that there are still fish in the creek.
I've had quite a few fish take my fly unexpectedly. I remember once fishing with my cousin on the Stanislaus. It was his first time fly fishing, and I was showing him how to nymph with an indicator. I was trying to teach him how to mend to get a good drift, but I kept hanging up on the bottom. I was getting annoyed, and I started ripping the fly out of the water when the indicator would go under. On one of those savage hooksets, there was a little rainbow attached. It shot over my head and about 15 feet downstream. It's funny to think about now, but I wonder what the fish must have been thinking.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
). Fished all day on wednesday up the creek and back from #3 to #1 with #20 flashback pheasant tails and got nothing. Not even a nibble. Fished all day friday in all the same spots and struck out using pheasant tails and olive midges. Went out today from 8:00 to 5:00 with #20 natural pheasant tail and a yarn indicator. I fished all the pockets I could find letting my nymph drift naturally through eddies and along current seams. There didn't seem to be much actions in these areas, maybe JT is on to something with the slower pools, or maybe I'm just not doing it right! I did get bit drifting my nymph deep through one slow pool, and hooked one other fish in a climactic but hearbreaking end to my fishing week. I came upon some good looking pocket water and started roll casting to different pockets allowing my nymph to swing through the run before re-casting. On about the tenth cast as I was pulling my line up to cast again a big (like 18") trout shot out from a hole and creamed my fly on the surface. In the heat of the moment I didn't get a good hookset and lost the fish after a short tug of war. I'm still pretty new at this, so it killed me to end the day like that, but I was pretty stoked to finally hook into something at putah. Hope this helps you guys know what not to do!
