Nymphing Continues
This weekend I had the pleasure of getting out to fish a number of spots with a friend of mine below Maupin. With few bugs hatching early in the morning I started by doing some European nymphing. I fished a 6.5 foot tippet section, a size 16 Hares Ear with a 3.3 mm pink bead as my point fly and a size 18 Hot Spot Pheasant Tail with a 2.5 mm silver bead for my tag fly. If you’re scratching your head wondering what I mean by a tag fly and point fly, book a Technical Clinic with me! In the meantime, I’ll break it down for you here.
When I’m nymphing—whether it be European style or traditional—I will build my leader by fixing an 8 inch long tag to my main tippet or leader section with a triple surgeons knot. I like to have the tag tied about 2.5 feet above my bottom fly so that they both move independently. In this setup I refer to the bottom fly as my point fly and my upper fly as the tag fly. This setup requires a little bit more time in rigging, but provides a much more natural presentation for both flies. Now back to the fishing, I tried to fish some of the faster water since we have had fairly warm weather and water temps to match with a high temp of 45 degrees this weekend. Much to my chagrin the trout still know it’s winter, even with the warm temps. They were still laying in their typical winter water in anticipation of another cold snap. After fishing the deep slow buckets for a while and getting on the board with a number of decent fish, I decided to follow my buddy and fish some more technical shallow water with a shorter tippet section and two 2 mm to 2.5 mm tungsten bead nymphs (same patterns as before, just downsized beads to match the pace of the water).
This time of year when I’m nymphing I look for trout in two water types: long, slow, deep sections where they can find reprieve from the stronger currents, or on the inside 10 to 15 feet of steelhead runs where you will find water depth of 1 to 3 feet with slower pace resting water for them to lay in. Obviously for nymphing the deep slow buckets can be an easy way to fish throughout the day with plenty of action, but if you are getting tired of the monotony of the slow buckets, I highly recommend branching out to explore the shallows. My friend and I were splitting our time between fishing a dry dropper setup on one Euro rod and a double nymph rig on a second Euro rod and did quite well. Don’t worry, you don’t have to carry two rods. You can easily switch from one setup to the other by cutting your upper tag nymph off and replacing it with a dry fly that will support your point fly. If you haven’t taken the leap into the realm of European nymphing then the dry dropper will be your best chance for success in this water type. If you have gone full Euro you can fish this shallow water type with a short tippet section and two very light Euro flies with 2 mm to 2.5 mm beads. These light flies can be difficult to learn how to cast on a Euro rod but if you keep your cast short and move stealthily through the water, our trout lend themselves to a close presentation quite well. Always move upstream when you are approaching this water type, as downstream movement will alert those fish to your presence and send them running.
Mid-day Blue Wing Olive hatches were very light this weekend, but I have been talking to some other anglers and they have encountered some decent dry fly fishing in the last couple weeks. Even though I didn’t encounter a prolific dry fly hatch, I did notice that the trout gravitated heavily to the size 20 Pheasant Tail midday when I started to see the occasional BWO fly past me. If you can’t find fish on the stonefly nymphs and bright attractor patterns, I recommend finding some of the smaller dark nymphs in your box and giving them the old college try.
Streamer fishing wasn’t crazy hot this weekend, but I also didn’t put a ton of time into stripping and swinging flies. I’m sure if you harness the spirit of a stubborn streamer angler you could drum up some carnivorous critters, it just wasn’t how I spent my time out there. If you do go out streamer fishing I really like Olive Sculpin representations like the Galloup’s Mini Dungeon or the Mini Meat Whistle on cloudy days and heavily weighted bright flashy streamers like the Jigged Kreelex Minnow for the sunny days. Give them a lot of boogie and don’t stay in one place too long!
As for steelhead, I’m now giving them the much needed rest they deserve after running the gauntlet of gill nets, side planer marches, and countless swung flies. This time of year I let them turn on some Marvin Gaye, pour a nice glass of winter water, and lean in to what they came here to do. Give them a break and hopefully we will see the trend continue next year of higher returns!
Thanks for tuning in to my fishing report. I hope everyone had a good holiday season and is ready for a year full of fish stories. The spring guiding calendar is starting to fill up, so if you’re looking to book a trip with us this spring, give us a call. Tight lines and happy fishing!
