Post by Petey on Mar 12, 2007 9:26:18 GMT -5
Was able to sneak away for a few hours yesterday. For some reason in my family people feel the need to turn a birthday into a weekend long ordeal. Luckily my wife needed a break and was wanting stay home, relax and get in some good sleep. So I took this as an opportunity to hit the water before finishing off the weekend going out to eat dinner with family members.
I saw that TVA was running water at all of my favorite tailwaters till noon or a little after. So with my time schedule I hit the door around 10:00 am and decided to go check on the Middle Prong. The Middle Prong is right 45 minutes from my house. Of course it never works out that way. I always have to make at least one stop by a certain little outfitter that seems to draw me in like a bug to a bug zapper. Also I was looking to ditch a Townsend cop after he felt the need to do two U turns to get in behind me and try to tail me through town. They were everywhere yesterday, writing tickets left and right. I saw two cars pulled over just as I came through the pass.
I finally arrived to my destination and was in the river by 11:30. I got in the water just below the second bridge. The fishing started off a little slow but picked up as the day went on. I fished mainly a double nymph rig for most of the afternoon. Dredging the bottom and getting as deep as I could. I encountered some risers in some of the longer pools but as soon as you laid a line on the water, all action would stop. There were tons of bugs coming off. Some small black caddis were all over the surface, literally thousands of them would concentrate over the slow deep pools. They were about a size 18 or smaller. I also saw what I am guessing were quill gordons in a size 14 and some black stone fly's as well, size 12 and smaller. I wasn't able to get my hands on any of them. I tried though. Just about went swimming going after one. If anybody were watching me they would have thought I was some crazed man thrashing about in the water with my arms flailing in the air.
I took my time and fished for nearly 4 hours covering a little more than a half mile of water. I landed roughly a dozen bows. My best fish being about 10". Missed quite few as well. The last hour I strictly fished a dry fly. Went to a AuSable Wolf and picked up a couple more. It was tough bringing them off the bottom, but was able to coax a few.
I got a water temp. of 52, +/- a degree. The water clear as gin and was pretty skinny because of the lack of rain this winter. It made some stretches of water easy to spook.
All in all the day it was a good afternoon to get out and do a little solo trout hunting. Spring is in the air, it is just right around the corner.
Petey
I saw that TVA was running water at all of my favorite tailwaters till noon or a little after. So with my time schedule I hit the door around 10:00 am and decided to go check on the Middle Prong. The Middle Prong is right 45 minutes from my house. Of course it never works out that way. I always have to make at least one stop by a certain little outfitter that seems to draw me in like a bug to a bug zapper. Also I was looking to ditch a Townsend cop after he felt the need to do two U turns to get in behind me and try to tail me through town. They were everywhere yesterday, writing tickets left and right. I saw two cars pulled over just as I came through the pass.
I finally arrived to my destination and was in the river by 11:30. I got in the water just below the second bridge. The fishing started off a little slow but picked up as the day went on. I fished mainly a double nymph rig for most of the afternoon. Dredging the bottom and getting as deep as I could. I encountered some risers in some of the longer pools but as soon as you laid a line on the water, all action would stop. There were tons of bugs coming off. Some small black caddis were all over the surface, literally thousands of them would concentrate over the slow deep pools. They were about a size 18 or smaller. I also saw what I am guessing were quill gordons in a size 14 and some black stone fly's as well, size 12 and smaller. I wasn't able to get my hands on any of them. I tried though. Just about went swimming going after one. If anybody were watching me they would have thought I was some crazed man thrashing about in the water with my arms flailing in the air.
I took my time and fished for nearly 4 hours covering a little more than a half mile of water. I landed roughly a dozen bows. My best fish being about 10". Missed quite few as well. The last hour I strictly fished a dry fly. Went to a AuSable Wolf and picked up a couple more. It was tough bringing them off the bottom, but was able to coax a few.
I got a water temp. of 52, +/- a degree. The water clear as gin and was pretty skinny because of the lack of rain this winter. It made some stretches of water easy to spook.
All in all the day it was a good afternoon to get out and do a little solo trout hunting. Spring is in the air, it is just right around the corner.
Petey
.. Lots of them though.. Did see some Needle flies about..
- any truth to it?