Tully, 3/28/2009

[Van_Cleaver]

I enjoyed the above posts. I fished the Tully three time last year and enjoyed the fishing despite the fact that it isn't a pristine wilderness trout stream. It does still provide some lively sport, and if you can hit it on a week day, the crowd is more bearable. I was able to find spots that weren't crowded, and there were plenty of fish, to boot. One day my buddy met me there to fish Sulphers, and of course wanted to fish the Paper Mill hole. It was crowded for my taste, but with trout rising everywhere. The anglers worked their way upstream, so I slipped into the bottom of the pool, making sure I was a couple drifts(or so) away from the nearest guy. Everyone caught fish, and there weren't any incidents of hostility; maybe that wasn't the rule. If I get crowded or am just getting bad vibes, I'll usually just move to another spot. It is supposed to be fun, right? If it looks like a beginner, or just a really young person, I might try to explain stream manners, but on older anglers it is usually a waste of time. Meanwhile I except the Tully for the niche it fills; a good sized stream that hold lots of fish, and provides fishing opportunities for a lot of people.

 

[Mike]

TDB: Yes, by many accounts there is more reliable fishing and better angler usage. So, no, I am not complaining when 68% of the anglers inteviewed in and along the DH Area preferred the adult trout stocking program.

 

[TDB]

I am not surprised by your numbers. I believe in the adage that 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish - so I am positive that it holds even more true when you are talking wild or fingerling holdovers... That being said, I am not suprised at all that most like the adult pellet fed fish - they are easier to catch - period...

It is just sad that one of the only larger cool tailwaters in SEPA and we can't change the mold to make it special...

Stock the other thousands of miles of warmwater streams in SEPA with adults and let people have at 'em.... - not sure why I am still fighting it - it will never happen...

A little FYI, my unscientific study of speaking with fellow anglers streamside leads me to believe a different story. I'd say over 75% of guys that I talk with agree that the fingerlings were better.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, most of the guys I talked to said they liked the fingerlings too. But Mike's numbers don't surprise me.

The argument for a fingerling fishery is the uniqueness of that type of fishery in the area. That stream, rightfully or wrongfully, became famous due to the fingerling program. Now its just another ho hum stream.

 

[TDB]

pcray, That is well put. Not to beat this to death, but another thought I wanted to throw out there is this:

Most of the guys I discuss this matter with are knowledgeable. They've fished it for many years, are in the FF biz, guide, TU members and officers, etc...

If you go up there now on a Sat with the adults swimming around hitting anything I'm pretty sure you are going to be interviewing people who (I hate to stereotype) are less knowledgeable on the fishery, fish, etc. They are just out to throw their san juan, jig, or spinner and stick a few...

 

[Mike]

TDB, it would be easy to dismiss the angler responses to my standardized questions as those of neophytes who were there to stick it to a few easy fish. The fact is, however, that I conducted the weekday interviews in late June when the trico hatch was at a peak and the vast majority of the anglers who were on the stream were fly anglers. Also, they were largely anglers interested in fishing that hatch. The fish were not necessarily easy since they had had an entire spring of "educating." These anglers were not weekend warriors. I did interview some after work fly anglers in the evening as well. Obviously, those were not trico anglers.

 

[TDB]

Well, come interview me and everybody I know!...🙂 We'll help...

Mike, I realize the FBC goals and they are different than my personal goals so let's just leave it at that. You win. Do what you want and what you feel is biologically correct.

Thanks for your efforts.