Spring Break Trip: Part 2
After dinner my friend Tim and I taught our compatriots the in's and out's of the great game of Euchre. I hadn't played in far too long and winning felt quite satisfying. After I gloated a bit, (don't worry, we lost the next two nights. #karma) we called it a night and drifted off to dreaming of abundant midge and mayfly hatches...or at least I did.
It was cloudy and cool on the morning of Day 2 and although breakfast was fulfilling, I was hoping to fill my net with some trout as quickly as humanly possible. I shared an Evil Olive pattern with the 4th member of our crew, Chris. I told him to give it a shot in the faster water as I had done the day before and I once again headed upstream. Since it was too early for surface action, I wanted to nymph the water that was covered in midges and mayflies only 18 hours earlier.
The water there was slower than down below so I was not surprised to have less takes on the flashy olive pattern and more takes on my bottom fly. If you haven't heard of the "foam back emerger" then check it out. They can be tied in a variety of colors and sizes, but sizes 18-24 seem to do the trick. Here's how I tie them:
RECIPE:
A funny side note: Some Colorado folks call this fly the "Chocolate Thunder," which is how I was originally introduced to it. If you google "Chocolate Thunder Recipe," you get directions on how to make a delicious chocolate cake! If you want to check out different ways to tie this pattern, be sure to include "fly tying" into your search.
This fly works because to me it represents a midge and a Bwo emerger and strikes often come just as the fly starts to head toward the surface at the end of a drift. Also, it has been proven to fool selective trout on some heavily fished Colorado tailwaters.
So, overall the morning fishing was solid. I caught (and lost) some very nice fish on my version of the aforementioned foam back emerger. Here's the colorful mug of a rainbow from my morning fishing escapade:
After lunch we headed to a few spots that Tim knew, but were new to me. The first had some nice riffles which led into faster water below and up above was a nice, long, pool. The four of us were able to fish there, but it was a bit of a struggle. Nymphs were working, but the hatch was not just Bwo's. I came up with a phrase not too many years ago called, "The hatch within the hatch." This afternoon was a perfect example of this.
On some rivers there can be upwards of 10 different mayflies and midges hatching within the same day. That sounds daunting, but if you watch the bugs on the water and which ones the fish eat, that number can easily be narrowed down. What was interesting about this particular area during this particular part of the day was that most of the fish were not eating the bigger, size 18 Bwo's. They were eating something else. I watched the bigger Bwo's drift over feeding fish time and again, but most were ignored for something more appetizing.
Now, since hindsight is 20/20 my belief is that the fish coming to the surface were eating a bigger midge that Pat Dorsey refers to as the "Spring Midge." (I have a link to his blog at the bottom of this website.) These flies are BIG. Well, big as far as midges go. I was able to hook up with a few fish on dry flies, but it was definitely one of those times I never quite figured out what the majority of the fish were eating. Looks like I need to tie up some bigger midge dries. One great thing about this sport is that there is always something new to learn no matter where you're at in your fly fishing journey.
Yoda (yes, Yoda) famously said, "The courageous teacher; failure is." It's important to learn from our mistakes so we don't make them again and as cliché as that might sound, fly fisherman can continually polish bad habits. At times, I have found that I am extremely guilty of that.
Part 3 of our awesome trip is on the horizon. Thanks for reading.
Tight lines my friends.
It was cloudy and cool on the morning of Day 2 and although breakfast was fulfilling, I was hoping to fill my net with some trout as quickly as humanly possible. I shared an Evil Olive pattern with the 4th member of our crew, Chris. I told him to give it a shot in the faster water as I had done the day before and I once again headed upstream. Since it was too early for surface action, I wanted to nymph the water that was covered in midges and mayflies only 18 hours earlier.
The water there was slower than down below so I was not surprised to have less takes on the flashy olive pattern and more takes on my bottom fly. If you haven't heard of the "foam back emerger" then check it out. They can be tied in a variety of colors and sizes, but sizes 18-24 seem to do the trick. Here's how I tie them:
 |
| A handful of these little beauties |
Hook: Dai Riki #125 size 18-24 or an emerger hook you prefer
Thread: 6/0 Dark Brown Danville or any chocolate/rust color
Abdomen: Thread
Ribbing: Small or midge sized copper wire
Wing: White or translucent white craft foam
Thorax: Brown or rust dubbing - I like Australian opossumA funny side note: Some Colorado folks call this fly the "Chocolate Thunder," which is how I was originally introduced to it. If you google "Chocolate Thunder Recipe," you get directions on how to make a delicious chocolate cake! If you want to check out different ways to tie this pattern, be sure to include "fly tying" into your search.
This fly works because to me it represents a midge and a Bwo emerger and strikes often come just as the fly starts to head toward the surface at the end of a drift. Also, it has been proven to fool selective trout on some heavily fished Colorado tailwaters.
So, overall the morning fishing was solid. I caught (and lost) some very nice fish on my version of the aforementioned foam back emerger. Here's the colorful mug of a rainbow from my morning fishing escapade:
After lunch we headed to a few spots that Tim knew, but were new to me. The first had some nice riffles which led into faster water below and up above was a nice, long, pool. The four of us were able to fish there, but it was a bit of a struggle. Nymphs were working, but the hatch was not just Bwo's. I came up with a phrase not too many years ago called, "The hatch within the hatch." This afternoon was a perfect example of this.
On some rivers there can be upwards of 10 different mayflies and midges hatching within the same day. That sounds daunting, but if you watch the bugs on the water and which ones the fish eat, that number can easily be narrowed down. What was interesting about this particular area during this particular part of the day was that most of the fish were not eating the bigger, size 18 Bwo's. They were eating something else. I watched the bigger Bwo's drift over feeding fish time and again, but most were ignored for something more appetizing.
Now, since hindsight is 20/20 my belief is that the fish coming to the surface were eating a bigger midge that Pat Dorsey refers to as the "Spring Midge." (I have a link to his blog at the bottom of this website.) These flies are BIG. Well, big as far as midges go. I was able to hook up with a few fish on dry flies, but it was definitely one of those times I never quite figured out what the majority of the fish were eating. Looks like I need to tie up some bigger midge dries. One great thing about this sport is that there is always something new to learn no matter where you're at in your fly fishing journey.
Yoda (yes, Yoda) famously said, "The courageous teacher; failure is." It's important to learn from our mistakes so we don't make them again and as cliché as that might sound, fly fisherman can continually polish bad habits. At times, I have found that I am extremely guilty of that.
Part 3 of our awesome trip is on the horizon. Thanks for reading.
Tight lines my friends.
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