jhguster23
Member
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 71
Fished in Millport Conservancy for about 1 1/2 hours after work this evening. A few observations:
I don't know if the 8" of rain we got in the monsoon several weeks ago scrubbed out the bottom of the stream, but the water is as clear as I've ever seen it. Very little silt visible in the stream bed, and lots of clean gravel on the bottom. As a result, the fish, who weathered the drought conditions of this summer surprisingly well, can see every move you make and accordingly, a great deal of stealth is required. This is saying a lot because the trout in this stream have always been spooky, but I believe they are even more so now.
Rainbows are definitely reproducing in the stream. I caught one beautiful stocker that had been in the stream for awhile with nice, dark fall colors, and one beautiful 6" rainbow which very clearly was wild. Both fish were caught on a size 8, black estaz Woolly Bugger. I would imagine fishing for rainbows will get even better over the next several weeks as the browns start spawning and the rainbows feast on the eggs.
There were two relatively heavy hatches going on simultaneously: Blue Quills in a size 18/20 and BWOs sized approximately 22/24. Of course, during the time I was there, I did not see a single rise. It's a real shame because it would have provided some pretty epic sight fishing given the water clarity. Time to tie on a pellet fly, I guess.
I keep hoping that TU will decide to stop feeding the fish in this stream. I'm sure it would cut down significantly on the number of fish in the stream (and many of the small wild rainbows I've caught would become dinner for some of the big browns that are in there), but it would likely improve the dry fly fishing dramatically and would allow the stream to return to its natural state.
I don't know if the 8" of rain we got in the monsoon several weeks ago scrubbed out the bottom of the stream, but the water is as clear as I've ever seen it. Very little silt visible in the stream bed, and lots of clean gravel on the bottom. As a result, the fish, who weathered the drought conditions of this summer surprisingly well, can see every move you make and accordingly, a great deal of stealth is required. This is saying a lot because the trout in this stream have always been spooky, but I believe they are even more so now.
Rainbows are definitely reproducing in the stream. I caught one beautiful stocker that had been in the stream for awhile with nice, dark fall colors, and one beautiful 6" rainbow which very clearly was wild. Both fish were caught on a size 8, black estaz Woolly Bugger. I would imagine fishing for rainbows will get even better over the next several weeks as the browns start spawning and the rainbows feast on the eggs.
There were two relatively heavy hatches going on simultaneously: Blue Quills in a size 18/20 and BWOs sized approximately 22/24. Of course, during the time I was there, I did not see a single rise. It's a real shame because it would have provided some pretty epic sight fishing given the water clarity. Time to tie on a pellet fly, I guess.
I keep hoping that TU will decide to stop feeding the fish in this stream. I'm sure it would cut down significantly on the number of fish in the stream (and many of the small wild rainbows I've caught would become dinner for some of the big browns that are in there), but it would likely improve the dry fly fishing dramatically and would allow the stream to return to its natural state.
