That'a about the size of one of the steehead that I caught on the American this year!!!! It was another whopper. Somehow it managed to move the strike indicator when it hit . . . don't ask me how?
Reminds me of the smallest fish I ever caught on a fly which was surprisingly a Dolly Varden in Alaska. We stopped at a lake on Kodiak where we thought we had seen fish rising and sure enough they were there, but the tiniest fish I have ever encountered.
We went though our entire dry fly boxes to find something small enough to set the hook and then even then we had to anticipate and guess. It was comical, but we still joke about that day.
We were made fun of when we set out by some others in our group (we were there to fish for Silvers) and when we came back we made them all jealous before revealing the sizes.
Reminds me of the smallest fish I ever caught on a fly which was surprisingly a Dolly Varden in Alaska. We stopped at a lake on Kodiak where we thought we had seen fish rising and sure enough they were there, but the tiniest fish I have ever encountered.
We went though our entire dry fly boxes to find something small enough to set the hook and then even then we had to anticipate and guess. It was comical, but we still joke about that day.
We were made fun of when we set out by some others in our group (we were there to fish for Silvers) and when we came back we made them all jealous before revealing the sizes.
Eric
Smallest fish I ever caught on a fly by the mouth with a hook was just under an inch. I was casting a dry fly on the mississippi trying to catch smallmouth during a unbelievable hatch and was getting these tiny little hits but nothing when I set the hook. There was no visability so I couldn't tell what was rising, and thought perhaps little teeny perch. Put on a size 18 and pulled out a tiny little fish less than the width of a pencil and less than an inch long. Size 18 fly was half his size. Honest to god this is the truth. Your little guy could have eaten a whole mess of my little guys and not gotten full. Wish I had my camera.
That little guy nearly took a flying lesson on my backcast. It was the smallest fish of the day. Here is an average fish on the Upper Sac. Every time I try to take a picture of a big fish they flop away. Good luck up there JL. Get up early and stay late for the risers. Nymph deep or do something else like riding your dirt bike during the day.
You are right on in suggesting blowing off the mid-day heat. Unless you are high-sticking it, it is usually DEAD. We usually wake up early, fish until late morning, then catch a nap and head back out for the evening.
Well, I fished the upper sac three nights in a row (Fri/Sat/Sun) and on Sunday fished from 1:00 PM till dark.
Second night was OK.
First and last nights were electric; a virtual free rise. So many fish rising, you didn't know where to cast, and so many bugs, you didn't know what to throw. But, each night I managed to hook plenty of fish. Average size was SMALL though... never quite seen so many small fish on the upper sac. Or should I say, so few big fish. I usually get 2-3 16 inch plus fish, but i only caught that many in all the time I fished.
Goldens were out in force Fri and Sunday night, and no where to be seen saturday night.
Flies of the day were tan E/C caddis, size 14 and a size 18 baetis comparadun at dark. Course, skating a stimulator was always good for fish coming out of the water and landing on their heads trying to eat it. Biggest fish were caught at dark and behind big rocks at dusk.
Best nymphs were green fox poopah followed by black micro may and poxy back golden stone.
I fished the upper McCloud above Fowlers on saturday. It was overcast and showers till about 4 in the afternoon. Fish were rising all day. Most were 8 to 10 inches except for this little guy.
