Hitting the muddy water with big yellow

These last few weeks have seen the warm water fisheries just explode!  While waiting for July to roll around to toss dries up to hungry trout up in the mountains my local warm water playground has been keeping me quite busy. No boat launch so the pressure stays light and fish are generally quite cooperative.

Usually on the water by 5, rigged up with with my trusty warm water beater rod.  A 8' EagleClaw Featherlight 5/6 rod.  Its big, heavy, yellow, and chucks big bugs like a champ.

Not much going on in the main portion of the pond this time of day so up river I go.

After motoring up a mile the river gets a bit smaller.

I let the current slowly take me back down river at nice leisurely pace
Time to start get popping….

Cast, pop, pause, pop, pause, pop…..and then it pretty much looks like a toilet flushing where my popper used to be and its on!

Playing with poppers is fun, engaging and down right awesome when it gets crushed by a big fish.  I got a fair amount of fish doing it, but there is a better way…..with the sun still high, time to let loose the cougar!

Its in there somewhere….good thing I brought pliers…..and 20 pound test mono.

Nows its just after 8 and the suns going down, its been a good day but the craziest part has yet to come.  Time to motor back down the main portion of the water body for the grand finale.

I go ahead and drop anchor right in the middle and just as soon as the last bit of the suns rays leave the water just erupts with crappie everywhere.  Every cast in every direction results in a fish, and they are big!

All of them are 12+ inches and put a bend in a 6wt rod like you wouldn't believe.  From 8 till 9 I caught over 30 crappies, just nuts!   The finally tally was just over 70 fish in 4 hours, love this time of year!

Stalking the small water

On sunday morning I had it all planned, get up early and spend a good 6 + hours fishing the same spot from the week before that held all the nice rainbows.  Started off with the same fly and a little upstream of where I left off on the last trip.  On the first or second run I felt the line go tight!

But it never moved after, caught bottom on a stick. And thats the way it went for the next 4 hours, no fish, no strikes....just sticks and rocks.  After changing flies several times I left.  A bit dejected I felt, I mean just 3 days prior I had landed over 8 fish in 40 minutes.....and today...blanked!

However I still had 3 or so hours before I had to get going so I decided to hit a small stream on the way south.  Its my feel good home water stream.  A short time later I was streamside.

I tied on a size 12 humpy and a size 16 PT dropper and as usual the local residents came out to play.

It starts out pretty open with lots of room to cast, nice small pools and moss covered rocks.  This water is cold!

Lots of large and interesting fungus about.

And trout.

After awhile things get a bit congested.

Often times I am practically crawling up the middle stream hunched over.  Keeping that profile low and planning every cast.  Some times you win....

And other times no matter how hard you try your only reward will be fleeting dark shapes.  Its hard fishing, but very rewarding.

I also came upon several groves of lady slippers.  Kinda creepy, invasion of the body snatchers re-visited!

The unsinkable humpy doing what it does best.

Many of the best looking spots on this stream are simply un-fishable. I know they hold nice 6" + fish.  I scare them all the time trying to outsmart them!   At times I am temped to go ahead and move logs or snap away pesky fly catching branches but then I stop, and think.  I didn't come here JUST to catch fish, I came here to enjoy everything that nature offers.  Nature creates the most beautiful places without our help, humans can try but in the end its still man-made and not natural.  Who am I to say I can make it better just for the sake of catching a few more fish? 

Sometimes....the fish deserve to win.

This ones for all the woolly bugger lovers out there..

Today started like any other.  Wake up at 4 in the afternoon,  feed dogs, tame wild beard, get ready to pick up feral child at daycare :)  And then I noticed the phone was blinking, voice mail...

"Hey hon, don't worry about picking up the kiddo.  She went to her grandparents this morning instead, be home late"

FREEDOM!

Eat sandwich, throw stuff in car, gone in 10!

25 minutes later on the water and ready to rock.

Walk up to the first good looking run.  Sit down on the bank and tie on a big old size 8 conehead bugger.  Now I don't fish buggers much, but here they just work so well its hard not to.  Throw it out at a 45 angle upstream at the head of the run, lower rod tip and slowly strip in line while following the line downstream at the same time.  Strip, strip, strip.....tug....set the hook!

That put a nice bend the the Yomogi, what fun!

Walked on upstream hitting the bigger runs as I went, most held fish.

Someone must of been really hungry, sheesh.

40 minutes later and my time was almost up, one big giant run left to fish before heading back.   Sometimes it takes a few minutes to figure out the best spot to quarter your cast from.  From there I simply keeping stepping up stream a few feet at time until the waters all covered. After about the 10 cast as soon as my bugger hit the water the line went tight and it was hold on buddy!  Multiple jumps, down stream 20 or so feet and into the net.

The rod was bent into a complete U shape and I put the stones to it.  Fishing with 3x so no fear of breaking off, landed in less than minute, a few quick pics and back into the water.  It all happens so fast, wow what a great fight!

And then right after that, surprise! 

Never seen these in here before, ever.  Must of come up from the bigger river below.


Time to go!