Prospector
Well-known member
Time Fished: 6am - 10am
Weather Conditions: 63 degrees Cloudy, raining most of the time, sometimes heavy
Water Conditions: water temp was 58 degrees. Running heavy and was an offcolor brown
Insects: a few Sulphur and caddis
As I slid into the public lot at Fisherman’s Paradise the light drizzle I’d been driving in turned into a true down pour. My plan since the previous night was to use streamers but the weather conditions made that the only option. Sort of ideal conditions with heavy rain, off color water and the fact that it was very early in the morning.
I hadn’t been to Fisherrman’s Paradise since 1979 and it has changed a lot. The manicured grass up to waters edge is now replaced by 3 feet tall weeds along the streams edge. I’m sure this is better both environmentally and to supply more food, cover and shade to the fish but it sure makes it tough on a streamer fisherman. Roll casting with weeds around. stripping line into a tangled pile in the weeds and having to repeatedly pick up and move. This part was not fun. The good news is the abundance of willing fish made it worth the hassle.
I parked in the lower lot so I fished upstream to the upper limit of paradise. I used a yellow maribou and caught 5 browns on 25 strikes. I rarely count strikes but today I decided to keep track. I switched streamers at the top of the project. On the way back I switched to a feather wing streamer that I designed and It’s producing well enough to earn more playing time. It also had the added appeal of being a dark streamer and that would be in contrast to the lighter streamer I used earlier. Also I felt darker might be easier to see in the cloudy water. So when I reached the truck my feather wing fly had netted 7 browns on 42 strikes. I found it interesting that the dark fly accounted for 68% more strikes than the first fly.
Was it easier for the fish to see? Did it have better action? Did it match natural food better? Were the fish just more active later? Did the rain washing in “turn on” the stream?
I’m not sure but he earned more playing time again. The disturbing thing was... I generally assume 5:1 ratio of strikes to fish caught on streamers. The yellow marabou met those expectations but the feather wing fly dipped had a 6:1 ratio. I need to look at a refinement to pull that back in line.
But 11 trout on 67 strikes made this a worthwhile trip. That’s a strike every 3 minutes and 42 seconds. Streamers are underutilized but proper conditions do make a big difference too. Also if you are fishing streamers you must be committed to covering a lot of ground. First quickly and move on looking for aggressive fish.
I also had the whole section to myself. I didn’t have to avoid anyone.
Weather Conditions: 63 degrees Cloudy, raining most of the time, sometimes heavy
Water Conditions: water temp was 58 degrees. Running heavy and was an offcolor brown
Insects: a few Sulphur and caddis
As I slid into the public lot at Fisherman’s Paradise the light drizzle I’d been driving in turned into a true down pour. My plan since the previous night was to use streamers but the weather conditions made that the only option. Sort of ideal conditions with heavy rain, off color water and the fact that it was very early in the morning.
I hadn’t been to Fisherrman’s Paradise since 1979 and it has changed a lot. The manicured grass up to waters edge is now replaced by 3 feet tall weeds along the streams edge. I’m sure this is better both environmentally and to supply more food, cover and shade to the fish but it sure makes it tough on a streamer fisherman. Roll casting with weeds around. stripping line into a tangled pile in the weeds and having to repeatedly pick up and move. This part was not fun. The good news is the abundance of willing fish made it worth the hassle.
I parked in the lower lot so I fished upstream to the upper limit of paradise. I used a yellow maribou and caught 5 browns on 25 strikes. I rarely count strikes but today I decided to keep track. I switched streamers at the top of the project. On the way back I switched to a feather wing streamer that I designed and It’s producing well enough to earn more playing time. It also had the added appeal of being a dark streamer and that would be in contrast to the lighter streamer I used earlier. Also I felt darker might be easier to see in the cloudy water. So when I reached the truck my feather wing fly had netted 7 browns on 42 strikes. I found it interesting that the dark fly accounted for 68% more strikes than the first fly.
Was it easier for the fish to see? Did it have better action? Did it match natural food better? Were the fish just more active later? Did the rain washing in “turn on” the stream?
I’m not sure but he earned more playing time again. The disturbing thing was... I generally assume 5:1 ratio of strikes to fish caught on streamers. The yellow marabou met those expectations but the feather wing fly dipped had a 6:1 ratio. I need to look at a refinement to pull that back in line.
But 11 trout on 67 strikes made this a worthwhile trip. That’s a strike every 3 minutes and 42 seconds. Streamers are underutilized but proper conditions do make a big difference too. Also if you are fishing streamers you must be committed to covering a lot of ground. First quickly and move on looking for aggressive fish.
I also had the whole section to myself. I didn’t have to avoid anyone.
