planters

mikella · Member

planters

dtp916 · Senior Member

I've heard the "Sheep Creek Special" is also known as the pellet fly....

Doesn't really look like a pellet, but I think its funny.

Nohackle · Senior Member

Many, many years ago I was visiting my brother in Washington, D.C..� I decided to take a day and go up to see the LeTort and the Yellow Breeches near Carlisle, PA.� When I was fishing the "fish for fun" (planted) area of the Yellow Breeches, I found out from some locals that one of the popular flies was called a Honeybug.� It was basically a white chenille fly made to look like a dough ball.� Evidently, the planted fish were used to feeding on pellets that looked like dough balls.� Thus, as crazy as it sounds, your question is not that far from reality.�

SK60 · Senior Member

I have heard that tossing gravel will bring the plants to the top on still waters-mimics pellets hitting the water (seriously). On Lake Amador, I've also read that a hard downpour can bring the cutbows to the surface looking for their old food source.

mikella · Member

planters------considering their background & lack of knowledge of aquatic insects, is it an ego-trip using hand-tied $2.00 flies to fool them ? it seems like a cruel joke to target mutant fishlike things with anything other than power bait. seriously, why try to catch fish with something they have never seen or eaten ? will there be pellet-fishing boards in the future ? ralph cutter didn't cover this in 'fishfood'. are fisheries other than 'native' just practice? kinda like carney row, the little plastic yellow fish kids 'catch'. where is the sport headed?

SK60 · Senior Member

Planted fish either learn to eat natural stuff or they die. They are "designed " to be taken within 2 weeks of release, primarily on bait. They can be taken on flies almost immediately after release-they learn pretty quickly that pellets aren't the only edible things in the water; if they holdover (make it through the season) they can survive for years.

Flying Dutchman · Senior Member

SK60 wrote:

I have heard that tossing gravel will bring the plants to the top on still waters-mimics pellets hitting the water (seriously). On Lake Amador, I've also read that a hard downpour can bring the cutbows to the surface looking for their old food source.

That did happen to me at Amador a few years back--the light drizzle turned into a hard downpour.� The surface boiled, fishing was outstanding!

�

windknots · Senior Member

With the planters you can agitate them into hitting by adding some "life" to a nymph and pulling it around. They're used to racing their buddies to get the pellet first, I've done this many times, it wouldn't likely work on a fish that's more dialed in to what real food looks like, but you can often get a couple of planters in a pod to perk up and give chase to something that bears no resemblance to natural food just because they want to beat their buddy to it. Just put on any fly that's about the size of a pellet, fish it natural first, then dance it around or strip it in until you trigger one to strike, it's a great way to give newbies some confidence in those little thingies you tie on the skinny end of their line.

brian clemens · Senior Member

they will do that chasing to woolybuggers even a few days after they planted them. black and brown woolybuggers are killers on planters as well as spinnerflys. yes i said spinner flys. the have a silver or gold blade up top and a fly tail nestled in a small treble hook with a single hook stinger. talk about killers. those are my go to flys for catching planters. especially on putah.

shon42073 · Senior Member

That's absolutly true flying dutchman, tossing a handful of gravel will attract planters. I've done it. But that was before my flyfishing days, Actuallt handfulls of corn work best but i heard it can kill the trout because they have trouble digesting it. Would never bother doing such a thing now though.

Flying Dutchman · Senior Member

Corn!!! Funny you mention that--A colleague, totally new to fishing, wanted to take his son camping and fishing up at Pinecrest a few weeks back. I showed him some basic "heathen" rigs, knots, etc. Man, I even gave him a few clear bobbers from yesteryear and a couple chewed on prince nymphs. He returned to work with a big smile on his face--I proudly thought to myself, "He's going to thank me for the flies..." Nope, his brother-in-law showed him how to fish with you might guess...CORN!!!

Well, he knows not to now.

shon42073 · Senior Member

Carp love corn too, Chum a spot for a few days and you'll catch quit a few of them.

mikella · Member

-- Edited by mikella at 18:51, 2008-07-09

mikella · Member

-- Edited by mikella at 15:16, 2008-07-10

JL · Senior Member

Brian (ZZ Top :) )�is spot on.

You want to catch a ton of fish (all planters)?� Look up the plant dates, sit on the end of the gravel bar at cold creek, and cast down and across.� The campers fishing on the bank on the other side will look at you enviously as you drag planter after planter out of the creek with your wolly bugger, and get bummed when you release them.

JL

mikella · Member

while i hope to get to the point that targeting planters is distastful, i'm not there yet. where can i find the planter release schedule ?

AbelBoy · Senior Member

mikella wrote:

while i hope to get to the point that targeting planters is distastful, i'm not there yet. where can i find the planter release schedule ?

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/FishPlanting/index.asp

mikella · Member

thanks abelboy- using that address i can get to the dfg site but , the 'regions' won't open. any ideas??

AbelBoy · Senior Member

mikella wrote:

thanks abelboy- using that address i can get to the dfg site but , the 'regions' won't open. any ideas??

I noticed that earlier.� I'm sure DFG is updating it.

AbelBoy