Well, I didn't kill it, but got some good numbers.
Last few times out have been pretty slow, but like MX-19, I decided to redicate myself to technique, quit being lazy, and really focus on fooling the fish.
Somehow, that paid off.
I fished five ways.
Dry dropper (no luck, but man did I have some nice drifts),
Indicator nymphing, pretty slow, but I hooked a few nice fish that got off immediately (read long drift and slow reaction time)
Streamer: several nice grabs, and 2 to hand (smallish)
Tight line nymphing: 10 or 12 fish to hand, with a couple meaty 13 inchers thrown in for good measure.
Dry Fly: very windy, so not many bugs, but I got several fish to hand (all small), and missed a large fish that showed me his shoulders and disappeared. I tell you, when the sun is setting and a large fish rolls, I love that flash of color.
Anyway, here are a few pics just for kicks. I love the coloration and meatiness of the feisty little native footballs like the one in the pic.
Hey JL, good report..did you notice how hard the little guys are fighting now... been hitting the creek as well .have not been to #5 for a few weeks..been fishing a lot of the 2 to 4 ft waters up and down the creek....Its been hit and miss...all of the little splits and runs are fishing well..small bugs and almost no weight...wont be doing much for a couple weeks now that the little ones here...what an awsome feeling... mx19
I'm no streamer expert by any stretch, but here's what I do:
I tie the fly on with a surgeon's loop to give it more action. Then I roll cast down and across from 15 to 45 degrees at varying lengths, shorter to longer. I do a couple up stream mends to help the streamer sink, then I tighten up and let it swing. I'll let it hang straight down stream from me for 3-5 seconds, I get a take here once in a while. More often, I get a take as I strip the fly in.
I do 6 to 12 inch retrieves, alternating a lot from slow slow to fast, pause, fast, fast fast fast, pause, etc. Most times, I get a take right after I stop stripping and the current starts pulling the line...
Toughest part is line management and roll casting for distance.
Do you know if it's worthwhile fishing streamers with a floating line (I don't have any sinking tips). I've tried doing this by adding a lot of weight, seems to get down deep enough, though it's kind of clunky and a pain in the ass.
Also, what kind of streamers are you using on Putah, if you don't mind parting with your secrets :)
Where on the creek were you?? I have been there once so I a little familiarity with the paved parking spots and the area up by the dam but that's it. Where were you?? I may go up saturday or sunday nite.
I've not tried to use floating with weight... by the time you get all that line out there, the floating line seems to overpower the weight.
On smaller streams, this can work OK - i'd go with a longer leader (5-7 feet) if I was using a lot of weight with a floating line, so at least your fly would get down.
Crystal buggers, olive buggers, and black buggers are all I've used.
If you don't mind slinging lots of wieght you can use a floating line streamer fishing. I don't have sink tip line on my 4wt and if the flow is not too strong it works fine although casting can be awkward.
