The word for the weekend on the AR was COLD!!! Both the weather and the fishing! I made it out saturday with a friend from back home hoping to get him on a steelhead. We didn't get out till noon because he had to drive up from Palo Alto but I figured it wouldn't matter because the bite has been better during afternoons anyways. Well either way it was a tough day. We fished hard with glo bugs, princes, and 3D shafers under an indicator from noon until dusk with only one solid hookup. A dark buck that looked to be around 6lbs slammed my glo bug at the end of the drift and before I could get a good hookset proceeded to somersault clear out of the water four or five times. I remember thinking "man I hope that hook holds", and then POP! What do you know, the whole rig comes sailing into my face! I only saw one other guy land a fish while we were there and talked to a guy who hadn't hooked up all day so the concensus was S L O W. We battled the wind and rain for as long as we could and finally relented, going home fishless. I got out today at 6am and met JT at the hatchery. I swung black and olive leeches through sunrise while JT nymphed. Not a nibble for either of us. I switched to a shafer 3D and a glo bug at around 9:30 and started working the nymph. Just as JT ran off to help one of the redd pirates land a fish and test out his new net I hooked up a big dark buck on the end of the drift AGAIN! This time my cast was nearly in motion so the hook was set firmly and the angry 27+ male transmitted this fact instantly through my 7wt rod. He made one big leap so I could get a full view of him and then dove deep. Everything seemed fine until the line just went limp. I reeled in to see that my 2x tippet had snapped. I gotta remember to check for frays and re-tie every once in a while! JT had a quick hook up as well but wasn't hooked solid. The water was clear, the sun was bright, and the wind chill made it FREEZING. Wherever the fish were, they were not cooperating. On the other hand the snaggers were having a field day on all the fresh spawners that came in with the storms. JT and I watched one guy chase a fish around in figure 8's trying to cast in front of it as it ran away. It is pretty frustrating when you work hard all day for a legitimate hook up and you have to watch guys snag fish of their beds the whole time. At least it gives us something else to whine about besides how cold our feet are!! Oh well, hopefully it will pick up by wednesday with the more consistent weather. Next fish I hook I'm definitely landing!!! Chuck
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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
Today was freaking COLD! I checked the winds online when I got home, and there were 20 mph winds with 30 mph gusts. That's why it was so hard to get a drift. Oh well, maybe next time the weather and the fish will cooperate.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
Thanks for the report. I was thinking about heading out this afternoon but the wind looked miserable. Decided to stay home, guess that wasn't a bad call. Chuck, I did the same thing you did twice last week. Hooked a fish solid and pop, off it went. Dragging through those rocks really nicks up your line. I've been cutting off and changing my tippet about once an hour to hopefully not break off another fish. Even though all those guys were snagging fish, its a good sign that there are new fish in the system. If they snag enough of them it puts the fish downstream and gives us a chance at them! I saw one fish last week with honest to god 4 flies in its back and tail.
chuck lets hope we have some better weather for weds and friday. still debating on where to go on friday. the AR or putah. i am thinking the AR, i am gonna need to get the skunk of a new rod and new line. not a good combo when fishing is already slow out there. hey chuck hit me up tomorrow with a list of what i will need to make the secret weapon for steelie, you know my streamer i was using. just shoot me a pm. that way we got everything to make a few on tuesday night, and maybe add our own lil special touch.
cant wait till weds, well cant wait till tomorrow morning when i get my new rod and a sink leader, then ofcourse weds to give it a try. oh i cant wait.
there is definitly some new fish in the system, especially if you consider the fish that i caught. i think it should be gettin better for a little while longer. it may be slow, but i imagine the big wild fish will be moving in now. when me and chuck first started hooking it was more hatchery than wild, now its more wild than hatchery, and the day that i caught that fresh of all fresh steelhead all 3 landed were wild. i think that is a great sign.
lets hope for great fishing on weds.
-- Edited by brian clemens at 18:47, 2008-02-04
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
No kidding! The wind was bad. Nice to finally meet you face to face Chuck....I actually hooked a really nice chrome after I talked to you and JT. Looked to be around 24 to 26 inches. Had it about a foot from beaching when it came unbuttoned. Pretty damn cool. Hope to see you guys up there again.
I am thinking of heading up to the American this week since Putah was really muddy yesterday. Hopefully it will clear up in the next few days. Am I correct that the American is barbless? The regs seem to vary for different stretches of the river and I wanted to be sure. Thanks.
There are two sets of regs. From the fish hatchery downstream it is barbless. Down stream from Nimbus dam to the Hazel ave bridge you may use hooks with a barb. I fished last Friday downstream of the hatchery and the game warden checked my hook with a cotton ball for a barb.
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God does not subtract from your life the hours you spend fishing. Â Â Herbert Hoover.
Flygirl, That's awesome that you got into a nice fish. What did you get it on?
Timmosazz, After I heard about the cotton ball test, I tested my flies with a cotton ball. You seriously have to file them to get them to pass. Pinching the barbs down just doesn't cut it. I'm going to have to make sure I only buy barbless hooks from now on. It's too much work to file down the barbs on all of my flies.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
J.T. You can get away with pinching but you are right. I was a little shakey when the warden pulled out the cotton ball. I am now shopping for a file and barbless hooks. They are kind of hard to find. I read a post about a week ago about the cotton ball test so when I tied these flys up I spent extra time pinching the barbs and it payed off. But as I believe you said a few days ago when pinching barbs in the vice you can break the hook, so why not just start with a barbless hook. Do you have any good leads where to look. It seems tiemco dosent make them in all sizes and styles.
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God does not subtract from your life the hours you spend fishing. Â Â Herbert Hoover.
Both the weather and the fishing! I made it out saturday with a friend from back home hoping to get him on a steelhead. We didn't get out till noon because he had to drive up from Palo Alto but I figured it wouldn't matter because the bite has been better during afternoons anyways. Well either way it was a tough day. We fished hard with glo bugs, princes, and 3D shafers under an indicator from noon until dusk with only one solid hookup. A dark buck that looked to be around 6lbs slammed my glo bug at the end of the drift and before I could get a good hookset proceeded to somersault clear out of the water four or five times. I remember thinking "man I hope that hook holds", and then POP! What do you know, the whole rig comes sailing into my face! I only saw one other guy land a fish while we were there and talked to a guy who hadn't hooked up all day so the concensus was S L O W. We battled the wind and rain for as long as we could and finally relented, going home fishless. I got out today at 6am and met JT at the hatchery. I swung black and olive leeches through sunrise while JT nymphed. Not a nibble for either of us. I switched to a shafer 3D and a glo bug at around 9:30 and started working the nymph. Just as JT ran off to help one of the redd pirates land a fish and test out his new net I hooked up a big dark buck on the end of the drift AGAIN! This time my cast was nearly in motion so the hook was set firmly and the angry 27+ male transmitted this fact instantly through my 7wt rod. He made one big leap so I could get a full view of him and then dove deep. Everything seemed fine until the line just went limp. I reeled in to see that my 2x tippet had snapped. 
I gotta remember to check for frays and re-tie every once in a while! JT had a quick hook up as well but wasn't hooked solid. The water was clear, the sun was bright, and the wind chill made it FREEZING. Wherever the fish were, they were not cooperating. On the other hand the snaggers were having a field day on all the fresh spawners that came in with the storms. JT and I watched one guy chase a fish around in figure 8's trying to cast in front of it as it ran away. It is pretty frustrating when you work hard all day for a legitimate hook up and you have to watch guys snag fish of their beds the whole time. At least it gives us something else to whine about besides how cold our feet are!! Oh well, hopefully it will pick up by wednesday with the more consistent weather. Next fish I hook I'm definitely landing!!!
