The day started as the previous few have. On the water around 8:45am, early enough to ensure I got a front row seat to any and all mid-day bug activity but not so early as to have me shivering stream-side. This spring has been exceptional but it still gets chilly overnight and in the early morning hours, for now I’ll leave the 6am arrival time for another month or so, then the window of opportunity widens to match the longer summer hours.

My goal was to hike up past a stretch I’ve fished (not many but a few) and get into a tighter valley, out of the open cow pasture where the wind could have it’s way with me and into an uncharted area for me, I was looking forward to the natural challenges of an un-improved stretch of forested trout stream. Today also signified the arrival of a much needed piece of gear that I am frankly reluctant to quickly adopt, a new camera. The work horse that I have used since day one with the Winona Fly Factory has been the Sony Cyber-Shot camera that I permanently borrowed from Liz in the beginning of my trout fishing career. Since that time it has performed beyond every expectation one could have for a camera like this, it’s a general point and shoot digital camera that I have grown to depend on. As of late though the lens has been sticking as I turn the camera on and off, it has also been having a hard time focusing on smaller things like bugs and flies, this is unacceptable and has been causing me some frustration. Not to mention the dust stuck inside the housing and lens that is becoming more noticeable. Liz noticed and decided that my birthday present should replace the old camera, I’d been looking at the Panasonic Lumix as not only a replacement but a serious upgrade. Giving up old dependable isn’t easy, despite the Lumix’s 12.1 mega-pixel rating over the 6.0 from the Cyber-Shot I just couldn’t blindly accept it would do what I needed it to. So I’ve been giving it a run for it’s money. Read the rest of this entry »

The night before plans were hatched (interesting I used that particular term). I was set to arrive at 8:45am and with a short hike in Wendy B. and I would be staring at trout water by 9:15am. An initial water temp was taken at the first riffle crossing made, a cool 50 degrees. Rocks were picked and I set up a two fly nymph rig, BWO nymphs were present in higher concentrations so the WD-40 was employed. Before I could drift the rig more than a handful of times through the first spot we arrived at it became clear that nymphs were not going to be needed today.

I had some initial concerns that the stretch of water we chose to tackle today might not have much of a Grey Caddis hatch, those concerns quickly faded. Splashy rises were coming from smaller trout under 10inches within the first hour we were on the water. By 10:30am the stream was coming alive, Caddis were coming and they just kept coming. The larger trout could be spotted just by watching the rises, they were consistently at the head of each pool or run, often holding to one side of the seam in the slightly slower water. They do this to maximize the calorie intake from all those tasty Caddis flies but also to minimize the calories they burn by expelling less energy avoiding the faster current. Wendy B. and I sat on the first run we came to taking back to back Brown trout as we worked our way up to those larger fish at the head of the run. This was shaping up to be a once a year day.

The Grey Caddis just kept coming and by 11:30am they could be seen swarming near rocky structures, near downed trees and any vegetation hanging near the stream. Note: we observed a higher strike rate when we put our flies near structure which in turn had larger concentrations of Caddis swarming near. 90% of the trout I took were taken on a #16 CDC and Elk pattern that I tied rather sparse, it worked wonders. I wish I had tried a hackled pattern to see what if any effect it might have had, skittering a Caddis dry is still a bit of a mystery. We fished, with smiles on our faces in the sun. Glorious, tight lines, back to back, for the next couple of hours.

No count of fish was kept, it would have been a pain to do so. Even pictures kind of slimmed to a minimum, for a while we could do no wrong, just keep the fly in the water and out of the weeds behind you and it was going to get attacked, period. Wendy exhibited more restraint at times and I got over excited forcing me to spend some (but not too much) time picking my fly from the weeds. I fooled around with pull on my CDC and Elk pattern by casting it into slack water, crossing the current with my fly line and waiting for my line to tighten thus pulling the fly, as long as the fly stayed on the surface it was slammed every time after moving only a few inches. I found this particularly effective in certain spots where a traditional upstream approach wasn’t available. Keep this in mind when dealing with Caddis, a traditional drift will work but sometimes not nearly as well, these fish become keyed on that quick moving, darting fly and sometimes they don’t want to see your fly just sitting there. Caddis are not mayflies and they behave in extremely different manners.

We couldn’t argue with rising trout, water temps were pushed to the far reaches of my mind and I didn’t flip another rock for the rest of the day. We moved to each run exhibiting rising fish, worked each until one of us took the largest fish willing to show it’s face, they showed and we won. Wendy managed two really nice fish while standing in a riffle casting downstream to slack water, the marauders. He pulled each upstream through the riffle with the 2wt., that rod puts up for sure man. We progressed upstream and the adult Caddis numbers diminished, we could have continued on but not with dry flies, we chose to split, double back and fish the first few runs for a limit of 10inch fish for the grill.

By this point it was approaching 1:30pm and the adults were everywhere but rising behaviour seemed to drop off a cliff by 2:30pm. We each managed a few fish each before the dry fly drew no responses. To round out the day I chose to swing a streamer to trout with very full bellies, very few struck at my fly, perhaps something to take into consideration. At 3:15pm we made the trek out and by 4pm I was on my way home, what a seriously kick ass day. Minimal wind, nothing but dry flies. I mean I used only two flies all day and landed more fish in a few hours than I had any other day I’ve been fishing for trout. To my surprise the CDC and Elk pattern lasted for a long time (maybe I’m getting better at tying) and even after it came loose from the shank of the hook it still managed one last trout before it had to be retired, got my hook back though, a marvelous end to a dry fly. How often does that happen, to retire a dry fly after so many fish rather than busting it off on a trout, or loosing it to a tree? Hasn’t happened many times for me yet but there are many years of this in my future so I’m sure I’ll see it happen again. Thanks Wendy for another good run.

Other Notes and Observations:

• I wonder if we wouldn’t have taken more fish early if we had tried pupa patterns.
• #14 through a #20 adults were seen, so start large and work smaller and darker if the fish hesitate.
• Seriously considering a voice recorder for notes from now on, wish I had one this day.

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Haven’t been able to get out much as of late but I have been running out to a local spot day after day to check on the Grey Caddis, looking for the start on this particular stream. I saw the 1st leaping trout on the 8th of April and at that time noticed very active trout holding low and eating everything, darting, turning, clearly eating pupating caddis flies. The pupa roll deep in the stream (especially in slower water as in this case) for a time before filling an air bubble that helps propel the pupa to the surface. It is at this point that the trout rushing to catch this pupa on its way to the surface will often leap completely out of the water. On April 8th the trout were holding low eating pupa deep, on the 11th when I arrived at 2pm the hatch had already been going for a bit, a few smaller trout were feeding on the surface but the important thing I took away was that the hatch in this spot is growing and has a week or more before it is over. Most of the larger fish were eating the pupating caddis deep in the water, only the smaller trout would rise for the sporadic adult. The Barr’s Graphic Caddis (#14-16) and X-Wing Style Caddisflies (#14-16) were working well for me.

I picked up the few I needed to make me smile and tried to get a few images of the adults but few were around. I moved downstream and found a few more but nothing compared to what I witnessed last year. Note: Stop into the Driftless Angler and pick up a tube of Dry Magic Fly Flotant! This stuff is awesome, a SMALL amount rubbed togather turns into a powder of sorts and keeps your fly floating high without gunking it up. Mat and his guides recommended it the last time I was in Viroqua and although it is a bit on the pricey side I feel it will be well worth the extra funds.  It was excellent to toss dry flies for a change and with the earlier caddis I find they are larger (#14/16) taking the smaller trout was a breeze, fun too. As this hatch wears on the flies will get smaller in size moving to a #16 then #18 and maybe down to a #20. Getting an adult to sit still on my measuring tape wasn’t going to happen, I’ll have to gather some specimens to get more information. Time will be made for this, hopefully soon.

I took off around 3:45pm and drove to a second spot to see what was going on, I wanted to check up on a bigger fish that I know lives around these parts. I flipped rocks right away and noticed a huge variety of bugs; cranefly larva, Baetis nymphs, Ephemerella nymphs, Macaffertium nymphs, diptera larva of all kinds, Stone Fly nymphs all amongst all the usual caddis larva. I have spotted Macaffertium nymphs on several streams in larger quantities than I’ve seen in the time I’ve been trout fishing (which isn’t that long). I need to learn more about the cycles that bug populations go through and how some years will have much larger numbers of certain bugs and others won’t, I’m sure there are many factors that go into understanding bug populations, something to look up when I have a bit more free time.

I fished a smaller Olive Bead Head Bugger and picked up only one trout on the second stream. I saw more white suckers than trout and unfortunately I saw three otters and a beaver dam that is really turning the stream into a sludgefest. Don’t get me wrong I like all the wildlife and believe they have a right to some of the fish just as myself and others do, I just know I witnessed this place in better shape last year with regards to brown trout population. No large fish were seen and only a mess of suckers and a few pockets of smaller trout less than 10 inches were found. As it grew closer to dinner time I took off. Second Note: Deer and Wood Ticks are about BIG time. Check yourself, and your dog. Get out and go fishing, it’s good for you. Catch and Keep Opener is this Saturday April, 17th.

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As I mentioned before this 2nd material is available in Winona, MN as well as any other city that has a decent hardware store. It’s cheap, at $4.98 a bottle it has the potential to make a few hundred flies. The part I left out of the last post is that this material has the potential to make some of the best terrestrial flies ever. Why, you ask?? Because if enough is used, this material can make an un-sinkable fly. Yea, I said it and it requires NO flotant. Check the video below if you need proof.

So now the wait is over, the material is Gorilla Glue. It has it’s downsides but once I saw the potential for some pretty amazing results I felt it necessary to run out to my local Menard’s to pick up my bottle. I was given a tip regarding this video (thanks Mister_Bubble), I watched it and learned a bit. I learned much more after I got it home. Taking a small drop of water with maybe twice the amount of glue, mixed with a toothpick a gel is formed which expands and dries white in the span of a few minutes. It cures harder in approx. 30 minutes and is ready for coloring with markers 24hrs later. I will note right away that the time frame for this product can be varied, you can mold the tacky glue after a few minutes but you risk ruining the shape if you try to alter it too soon. I will also say that the information I am listing is how I have figured out to use this product with decent results, yours may vary. I choose to let it cure for 24hrs before applying the marker because I am not rushed and I prep a space to dry and cure these flies, something to think about before you jump in.

The 1st two imitations I tried were a plain jane ant pattern and a version of a bug I’ve got to think Driftless Trout take readily, the “Asian Beetle” a.k.a. Harmonia axyridis. These non-native’s were introduced to our region as a way to control soybean aphids, they now run rampant and cause maybe more harm than good. A #18 Standard Shank 2x Nymph Hook with a body of peacock herl and a few turns of black or brown hackle (trimmed short on the top) forms the base for this fly. The bug in the video was tied with the Mustad R70 and is un-sinkable. The ant patterns however DO sink and despite my efforts to use a 1X fine dry fly hook they still sank, now that is a #18. I think a larger fly would float, it depends on how much of the glue you get cured on the hook. Also, there may be something to how much water is mixed with the glue resulting in a number of air bubbles that are trapped which ultimately float the fly, something for me to think about and work on. All of the beetle patterns I tied float as if they were made of cork and I tried some thick shanked hooks. If one could create a small mold and line it with maybe Vaseline or a non-stick agent you might be able to make some cool Popper bodies, the video kind of hints at that.

One last attribute that needs to be addressed before I give my nod of approval to this material: durability, once cured this stuff is 100% waterproof and it’s freakin’ glue so it gets and holds hard. You can however press your fingernail into the finished product and it will dent a bit, this lends me to believe that after several trout teeth these might get a little beat up but no more than say traditional close cell foam terrestrial patterns. Also, the markers have really held their own and don’t seem to be affected by the water as of yet. So for those of you adventurous enough to give this a go I think it has the potential to create trout crushing terrestrials. If you decide playing with this glue isn’t for you, keep it and fix your kitchen cabinets or something else with it, at least it isn’t that bag of crap from the craft store that will be moved from one stash spot to the next until you accept it has no use on a hook.

Other Notes:

• Make sure you purchase the correct Gorilla Glue Product (Quick Cure, Dries White)
• Use wax paper, its disposable and keeps the messy stuff in a small area.
• I use a bodkin to apply the mixed product, SMALL amounts needed to make #18 flies.
• Use the bodkin to tease the glue to help shape it, wipe it off every time.
• Blow on it to flatten it or push it early in the drying process.
• Use a feather stem inserted into the hook eye to move from your vise and hold the fly after initial drying but before curing.
• Do not touch the glue until after it has set up or you run the risk of having the glue stick and pull like taffy from the hook.
• Wait until the glue won’t adhere to your fingers before trying to shape, be sure not to wait until it hardens if you plan to shape it.
• As with most things Fly Fishing or Tying, Patience is your best friend.

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Living in Winona, MN my options for tying materials are limited. I can stop at Gander Mt. when I am in Rochester but I don’t like to and I typically end up ordering most of my materials (especially hooks) from the Internet. When I can find materials in town they are typically of the craft variety and as most of us know craft materials can be great but they can also be a complete waste of your time and funds. I believe this 1st material is something most can find and is worth stocking up on. A late night need for an upholstery needle prompted a trip to of all places…Walmart. Walking down the craft isle Liz spots…stretch tubing? Clear stretchy plastic in two diameters, a thinner .5mm and a thicker .8mm in lengths of 50 feet a roll. Whoa… Oh, the kicker? Only $1.73 a roll, are you kidding me? I should point out that this product is not hollow like traditional stretch tubing but I think it has it’s applications. If you don’t want to run to Walmart to get your hands on this stuff, I’ve found it on the Internet at several places. Looks like it might be found in craft stores as well. I suggest using a stronger thread when using the .8mm stuff. In the next few days I’ll be posting a second material, available in town, cheap, and…you’ll just have to check back sooner than later. Peace

-the w.f.f.

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Day 2 started a bit later, on stream at 8:30am. Fished a short stretch with coffee near by, once again looking for something larger, I know they live here. Once again the SMB was readied and after a few casts I had a timid strike and a thought occurred to me. Wendy B. had recently put a few of my flies on some fish with success but he noted that the amount of flash in the collar might be a bit much and after trimming about half of the amount out he was finding the fish more willing to smack it. I considered it and then busted out my scissors to trim off a fair amount from one of mine. Back in the drink a bit later and I was into a 14in Brown that faught hard.

A criticism that I’ve had as of late is that I need to get the fish on my drag rather than stripping my line in. The rod tip combined with a smooth drag will keep constant tension on the hook, without it a good run/shake may dislodge the hook. This may have been the reason a few of the fish I could have landed the day prior were able to smile at me as they hit the road down to the trouty hole. I worked on my line management to get the trout on my drag as quickly as possible, a short bit later…trout in hand. So nice. Read the rest of this entry »

Stream-side at close to 6:30am. Trying to see a brute of a Brown and this time of the year is one of the better to make that happen. As the water temps steady and stay just a bit warmer the trout become more and more active. I rigged a #6 Sprinkle Me Baby and hopped holes with a buddy of mine in search of a larger trout. The third drift of the morning I watched a Brown pushing 18-20 inches follow my fly practically to my feet before snubbing it, turning never to be seen again. Unfortunately this was to be a routine occurrence through the course of the day resulting in some frustration as the day wore on. When the trout did strike a combination of issues resulted in lost opportunity after lost opportunity. The trout were biting but very lightly which prompted more than a few poor hook sets. I managed to hook into a few nicer fish but a few seconds after the strike I was staring at a limp line, shake, shake, rattle and roll. I was left empty handed. We fished upstream until we ran out of water, at this point there was just enough time to hit a second spot before priorities had to be dealt with.

The second stream is a favorite of mine and I know it well, knew where the fish were. The rocks said BWO’s, a few scattered rises were seen but water temps at noon were pushing 55 degrees, past the point for the B-Dub. I stuck with the streamer to continue my day of lost trout, stupid at this point. I should have opted for nymphs but instead I was determined to be a stubborn ass and three fish over 16inches later I was still empty handed. I should have swapped to nymphs earlier but never quite got there. I left empty handed, first time this year…

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