Tight Lipped Late Summer Trout

Early Morning Hopper Muncher

 Fishing has slowed just a bit here in the last month or so, but there are still fish out there willing to take an artificial fly.  When fishing highly pressured trout streams in the late summer I have found that you just need to poke your fly into those little nooks and crannies that are overlooked by the bulk of fishermen.

The tailwater river I fish on a regular basis gets a lot of traffic, and it was about a week and a half ago I really noticed a shift in the way the fish were eating my grasshopper immitations.  They still take a look, they will still eat, they are just a lot more cautious in this act.  And they don't mash the hopper like they did a few weeks ago.  Many fish I was taking two weeks ago I was hooking deep in the corner of their jaw, or even in the back of their throat as they really committed to eating the big bug.    As they have been stung by the hook a few too many times these last couple weeks I have noticed many more false rises, false takes, fish that come loose after a couple headshakes, and even the fish I do bring to the net seem to be hooked just in the edge of the lips.  Never the less the fish are there and they are eating, just much more cautiously, so a bit more patience is required on the anglers part. 

At times like this you still should been able to go out and have some good success but the willing fish are not going to be in the same places you were catching them before.  Don't get me wrong, the fish are still in those obvious places everyone and their dog throws a fly into, but the fish there are going to be extremely careful right now. 

As an example I have a favorite run that three weeks ago yielded one of my best mornings fishing hoppers ever.  It is an obvious spot that gets a lot of pressure for several reasons.  One, it is right off the road.  Two the near bank is relatively shallow and easy to wade, and three, there are always fish rising here.  I picked off six big fish on six casts, in the span of about 10 minutes on an amazing Friday morning at the beginning of this month.  All six fish were spotted rising along the roadside bank before I casted to them.  All six fish took the fly hard and deep making it easy to bring them in without fear of losing the fish.  It was a great little span and a morning I won't soon forget.

But just a couple weeks later I fished that same run with no luck.  Every little lie I had seen and caught a fish out of last time still had a fish visibly rising in it, but they were not going to fall for the hopper trick.  As I moved fishless up the run this week having multiple looks, but no takes I was wondering if the whole river had become educated on foam hoppers and I was going to have to shift my strategy a bit.  While I welcome the challenge, I was a little disappointed.  Then on a whim I decided to cross the river and fish the other bank.  Now this is what I am talking about when I say be willing to look in the not so obvious spots when the fish get lockjaw.  Their was a fairly deep channel I had to cross to get to that side that would have kept slightly more cautious waders from fishing that side much, and quite frankly the water did not look that fishy.  It was shallow, 5-10 inches in most spots, and slow moving.  However as you looked at this bank carefully you could pick a few spots that could hold a fish or two.

The first of these was a simple little slick where the water flowed off the edge of a small brushpile.  Here the water was more on the 5 inch deep side than 10.  Not much water, but I could see that the way the current flowed there was the opportunity for food to be caught in the little eddy behind the brush pile, then as it got pushed out it would funnel right off the edge of the currents seam flowing off the brush.  I made the cast, and watched the fly pick up speed as it hit the faster current in the seam and drop into the "hole" where I hoped a fish would lie.  Sure enough a big snout rose up and engulfed the fly as if on cue.  And this was not a soft take.   A few moments later a nice 20 inch fish slid into the net.  Don't be afraid of shallow water.  Big fish can lie in some surprisingly shallow lies. 



I continued down the run and found another little nook that I thought would possibly hold a fish.  It was a tough lie, but the current cut back into the bank a bit here and the depth of the river changed a few inches while overhead willows hung over the water offering great protection, and just down stream there were dead willow branches in the water.  These dead branches caused the current to slow just enough that I could see any drifting food getting hung up here a bit, and an opportunistic trout lying in wait.  The problem with the lie is that it is basically a one and done deal.  It was a shoe box sized area, and if you let it drift any further than that little window your fly would surely become one with the dead willow branches in the water.  So in such a small area I would be forced to rip my fly out of there while still in an area that any fish that was there would surely be spooked.

I lined up the cast and dropped it just ahead of the target, and watched it drift into the sweet spot and just as I suspected, because of the current the hopper slowed up and swirled just a bit before continuing tight to the bank.  Precious inches passed in slow motion as I watched the bug near the end of its narrow window of opportunity and I was preparing for the quick rip that was going to be necessary to haul my fly out of danger as it approached the dead willows.  I bravely watched as the fly curled just around the first branch, and figured it was over, no fish.  But just as I started to take up the line the skinny water exploded and a fat 21 inch buttery Brown attacked the hapless hopper. 

As I continued down the bank each small potential lie held similar fish who were far less shy about taking the big fly than their comrades across the current, and what had started out as a morning of frustration ended up being one of my better mornings on the water.

So when fish get tight lipped, first try the other side of the river so to speak, away from where the highest pressure is going to be, and then pay attention to reading the smallest details of the water.  Really look for those smaller lies that may only hold one or two fish, but where fish that are tired of being hammered while eating in the obvious spots will go to find refuge.  It's always rewarding to pull that big fish out of a less than obvious spot.

Looks like the fish aren't the only ones getting fat off the abundance of bank side hoppers

It's Hopper Season!

The FT Hopper in Action!

The scorching afternoon heat in the dog days of the summer can bring many of our earlier prolific hatches to a screeching halt. However it is in this time that some of my favorite fishing takes place. Drifting a well tied hopper pattern under overhanging willows, and along grassy banks can save the day, and provide a lot of excitement. There are not many fish that can refuse the big meal. It can be fun to throw hoppers even if another hatch has fish looking up as well. Look for a head, and punch in this big realistic foam pattern and more often than not that fish will eat the big bug. Without a doubt this is my favorite time of the year.

New Product Line

Jump Creek Flies is proud to announce we are adding a new section to our catalog.  We will start offering a limited selection of Daiichi hooks for those of you that tie your own flies.  Daiichi has staked claim to the title of "World's Sharpest Hooks" and after trying many different brands I have to agree.  Where other hooks have often left me wishing for more, Daiichi has always delivered.  Their strength, sharpness, and uniformity have made tying on Daiichi hooks easy, and not having to worry about one failing in the lip of that 26" brown trout is priceless.

For now I am going to begin by selling their 1120 Heavy Wire Scud hook in sizes 18 and 20.  I will continue to add more hooks to the catalog as I get them in.

The 1120 is the go too hook for many nymph, larvae, pupae, and scud patterns that I tie.  The heavy wire sinks the fly fast, and the hook is exceptionally strong.  The point of this hook remains sharp fish after fish.

I have sizes 18 and 20 hooks in stock, but if you want to order another size, just let me know and I can order them in (sizes 6-16).  So get your hands on the best hooks on the market at a great price, and as always, shipping is free.

Featured Product: CDC Bubble Emerger

Have you ever had one of those outings where fish were rising all around you, obviously feeding on something at or near the surface, but have all your best dry fly offerings refused? The answer to this frustration is most likely emergers. Fish love to key in on these mayflies in the midst of their transformation from Nymph to Dun as they struggle in this vulnerable position. Half hatched and not yet able to fly, they make an easy target for hungry fish.

My favorite early stage emerger in these cases is the above pictured CDC Bubble Emerger. It fishes well early in a hatch when fish are just beginning to show themselves on the half hatched mayflies, and it works great later in the hatch when you catch those lazy slurpers feeding along the banks, eddies, and in current seams where crippled and stillborn mayflies that were unable to leave the water are pushed by the current. This pattern fills a very nice hole in the arsenal between the nymph(Marabou Nymph) and the late emerger, and dun stages (BS Sparkle Dun).

Featured Product: Zebra Midge

It's about as simple and straight forward as they come in fly fishing, but the thread wrapped Zebra Midge is a go to pattern year after year in my fly box.  Midges can hatch year round and in prolific numbers, and although they often get overlooked once the more well publicized hatches begin each spring they remain a steady part of fishes diet in many waters.  I like to use them as a dropper fly off my bigger dries when it comes to fishing stonefly and hopper patterns each year.  And although it is usually tied on as an afterthought, it often ends up out fishing all other flies.  Keep stocked up because you never know when one of these simple little flies will save your day on the water.