Newbie, Stockies and things I learned

R

reelinron

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Jun 4, 2016
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OK, Last week I went to a stocked SEPA stream with my 10' nymphing rod, some flies I tied this winter and a great teacher. (Nymph Wristed) I got the hang of Czek Nymphing and caught 6 or 7 stockies. Went to another SEPA stream solo this morning that had been stocked last week. Caught 9 stockies today. Caught most last week on a bugger that was my anchor fly, but did not get any on a smaller basic nymph pattern dropper. Today, it was all about the dropper. Caught some on the same basic nymph pattern, but caught most on a #20 midge. The place I fished today was not exactly Czek water so I had to improvise and fish a longer cast. Things I learned:

1) A little instruction goes a long way in learning a knew technique.

2) Hits were harder than I expected in the swift water with weight.

3) Hits were quite easy to see with the sighter in the bright sun.

4) Rigging while standing in a stream is tricky.

5) I need a net when using a 10' rod!

6) Love to see the flash when setting the hook!

Cheers!
Ron
 
Fun when things come together. You can not over emphasize how far a little instruction goes to make you a better fisherman. Congratulations
 
completely agree with your net comment....I fish a 10' 4 wt czech nymphing rod as one of my sticks & it's near impossible to land a fish when wading in deeper water without a net...
 
6-9 stockies is a good day of fishing! If you are near a wild trout stream, try that out too. You might find that some techniques and flies work better on wild trout and some don't. One thing to remember is that what works today might not work tomorrow, season to season, or stream to stream. That's what makes this sport interesting. It's a lifelong learning experience.

You are right that 10' rods are tough to land fish. I find it easiest to play them out some, then once the fish is at the surface you can "water ski" them in. I don't know if that the official term "water ski" but you probably know what I mean. If you have enough space from tree cover, get your rod arm high and behind you and the fish with come closer for you to net it.

 
You da man, RR!
 
I’m also from sepa and fish a 10 foot 4 wt. was out on a local stream this past Thursday and Friday and did very well on stockies mostly browns but also a few rainbows. I noted two insects hatching on the surface: a blue winged olive and a greenish yellow bodied caddis fly. Both about a 14.
Some other things to note about stock trout.
- if you find one, you have likely found a dozen. They do tend to stick together.
- if you see an occasional rise, don’t spend a lot of time drifting dry flies over that fish. There are likely a dozen more feeding under the surface. Rather, head to the top of the pool and fish a pair of small wet flies or soft hackles quartering or across and downstream. Fish dead drift with an occasional twitch and gentle lift. This works on wild fish too.
 
Well done!! I really struggle to catch stocked trout. I know fellas that do well on both stocked and wild, I am sure not one of them.
 
Reeliron, if you are into the Czech nymphing / euro styles, I highly suggest you get ahold of “modern nymphing” and “modern nymphing elevated” (you can get them on Vimeo) if you haven’t yet. Also George Daniels book “dynamic nymphing”

They are very well done and very informative. My nymph game is leaps and bounds better than before watching / reading the above.
 
Also a quick tip on landing fish with a long rod (I frequently use an 11’ 4 wt)...

Try and fight the fish so it is upstream of you - when it tires, position it directly upstream of you, lift it to the surface, and let the current carry it down and into your net. It’s much easier and more efficient than trying to kneel and reach, or over stress your rod with an extreme backwards angle to get them close enough to net.
 
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