Bobber down! Almost…

[jifigz]

Nice fish! I've been getting a little stir crazy after the cold we have had. I'd be good with one more decent snow storm and then I'll be ready for spring.

I've gotten out a handful of time in 2025, not really expecting much I had a good day similar to yours last week.

The prolonged weather forecast looks like it is going to be staying cold.

 

[Swattie87]

The prolonged weather forecast looks like it is going to be staying cold.

Penns. So glacial right now.

 

[moodyblues]

I had not been fishing yet in 2025 until yesterday. What changed? Not the 32 degree air temps. My dog got sprayed by a skunk on Thursday morning and I have been cleaning her and the house to no avail since. Let me just tell you that’s what cabin fever really feels like!

So I headed out in search of some ice free flowing water and solidarity. Mostly, for everyone else’s sake. One whiff of me would send anyone running.

When I got to the river I decided that it may be better to try fishing the bobber instead of my usual tight line nymphing approach. I’ve never been a huge fan of bobber fishing, not because of the idea of using a bobber but rather I feel I have less control over the presentation of my flies. I don’t even think I used the bobber that much when I first started fly fishing. At any rate, I chose indicator fishing on this day because I just really wanted a relaxing day of fishing. Watching a bobber float down stream and waiting for it to go under fit the bill.

I started off using a #10 stone fly nymph and a #14 flashback pheasant tail. At first the fishing was slow until added some shot to the mixture. I felt my flies were decently weighted and getting down but the extra shot slowed the drift and action began to pick up.

To my surprise I quickly put a dozen wild browns and bows to hand all on the pheasant tail nymph. After a tangle I swapped out the stonefly for a #12 guides choice hares ear soft hackle. I have never tied/used this fly before in my life but the next 8 trout caught ignored the PT nymph and went for the guides choice. It’s certainly a buggier fly than the PT but I was shocked that the trout selected that fly over the PT that had been working so well. I did change depths on the indicator frequently to match the different water levels I was fishing and almost all of the takes were a very subtle movement on the bobber. Not your typical bobber down situation to say the least but I had blast on a cold February day. Here are a few stream side pics to help anyone who also may be experiencing cabin fever.

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Hmmm.................now ya got me thinking. What better way to have it suggested to you that maybe it would be a good idea for ya to get out of the house and go fishing, hunting, hiking, etc. I always did kind of like the eau de skunk. Unless, of course, it was really fresh, up close, and personal,. That will make your eyes water, burn your olfactory senses, and you'll be heaving like crazy.

 

[HopBack]

It's a great fly and a proven fish catcher. This is the version I tie and fish:

That’s the exact variation I tied.