Liteweight
06-28-2009, 06:49 PM
Got back from an annual trip to Hot Creek Ranch on Friday.
I arrived on Tuesday afternoon (around 4ish) to calm wind. :Big Grin:
My fishing buddy, who had already been up there fishng the Mammoth Lakes/Bridgeport area for a week already, was back out for the afternoon hatch. According to him, and the locals I know, the weather has been strange/horrendous for the last few months so it was nice to see that Mother Nature had taken the day off.
By the time I had thrown all my things in the cabin and grabbed a rod (TXL 4710-3) and my vest it, was around 5p. I proceeded out to the water to find him. I caught up to him to find he had already landed 3 nice fish in the last hour. I rigged up and went downstream from him about 100' or so. On my third cast I caught a nice rainbow on a variation of an Improved Elk Hair Caddis (Craig Matthews pattern) that I tie. As I landed it, I thought "D@Mn forgot the camera" on the coffee table! :Angry:
Just as I release my fish, I look up to see that my friend has another one on! OK...looks like I'm gonna get :Beat Stick: today.
Just a little backround on my friend and I; I taught him to fly fish back in '95 after he accompanied me out to Hot Creek one day and watched as I landed fish after fish "on the Dry". In recent years he's started to put the :Spank: to me (thanks to his extensive reading and experimenting of various patterns). We've start to razz each other at the beginning of each season as to who's going to :Spank: whom on the first trip and each subsequent trip thereafter (BUT WE'RE NOT COMPETATIVE OR ANYTHING :LOL: ). This is his payback for some of the really mean things I'd do to him when he first began his foray into Fly Fishing in his 2nd and 3rd years and he would start to get "too big for his britches".
One of the funniest memories we both have (at least funny to me) is when we were fishing in the canyon section of Hot Creek and one afternoon I let him fish a section first and told him I would watch. I watched him fish for a while and as he fished (cleared) a section I noticed several fish rising right behind the area he just fished! After a few minutes (which felt like an eternity as I tried to keep from running right up behind him) I slipped into the water about 75' behind him and proceeded to fish the area he had just finished fishing. On my second cast I caught a nice sized fish which made so much noise that he heard the commotion and turned to see what was happening. For about 45 minutes thereafter I continued to catch fish after fish (we agree it was more than 10) in the area he had just finished fishing! Boy was he mad at me, :Twisted: and he remembers it every year and we now laugh about those days. :ROFL:
Now he pays me back every chance he gets on every trip. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
Anyway back to Tuesday afternoon. About 20 casts later on a difficult run with about 6 different cross currents, I hook up another fish. It's only a 8" dink brown but it's got some pretty bright markings (D@mn No CAMERA!!!). A little after 6:30p the fish start to feed in a way I've only seen in a few places. They start to pick off only[I][B] caddis that fly close to the water without landing. We still manage to finish off the afternoon with a couple more fish each before calling it a day.
Wednesday's forecast is for a little wind in the afternoon so we plan on a heavy fishing morning and possibly a wipe out for the afternoon (for anyone who fishes the Sierra's frequently you know how accurate "Howard" is :ROFL:).
We wake up to dead calm wind and a warm 55 degree morning @ 8a. It's going to be a good morning! My back is giving me some serious pain so I do some P/T and electrical stim and it's off to the water I go. My friend has already headed downstream so I make my way upstream (as I do every year @ this time) to where a spring feeds into the creek. Had heard reports that there has been sproadic Baetis hatch in the morning around 9:30 followed by a PMD hatch around 10:30-11:00a. I reconnioter my way upstream to my regular spot. All along the way I see nothing, nada, zip, zilch etc., well you get the idea. I'm wondering if I've made a mistake coming up here. There's a chair set up at the spot so I sit down and contemplate my options. I stare at the water and scrutinize every disturbance and ripple when all of a sudden...a disturbance like no grass patch or riffle about 50-55 feet on the other side of the stream. It is the tell tale subtle ring from a trout rising to an emerger!!! THERE IS LIFE IN THIS STREAM!!! I stare at the spot for a little while and he rises again about 3 agonizing minutes later. Then suddenly I see it...a baetis mayfly, about a 22 or 24. I pull out my fly box and search through the compartments for an emerger that might entice the fish into rising. I settle on a pattern that I tie that usually works only after the hatch has firmly started (see attached fuzzy pics). The fly is one size larger than it needs to be but because it is a realistic pattern I may be able to get away with it (done it in the past). I throw a couple of casts out, each subsequent one a little farther out to the next possible feeding lane until I get to where I saw the fish last rise. While I had been covering water, my target had started to settle into a rythm of rising every two minutes or so. I made about 3 casts, each time making multiple mends to correct for the various currents I had to cast across. On the fourth cast the fly drifts right over where I believe his head should be. D@mn, what was wrong with that cast, I ask myself. If I were a fish I'd eat it (the fly) :LOL:. I guess the fish also has a sense of humor, or could it be I was out of sequence to his feeding rythm? I dress the fly with a little Frogs Fanny (fly floatant) and so I wait and time his rises again. One minute and 45 seconds or so, one minute 58 or so, one minute 32 seconds...I got it now! I wait for about one minute and 30 seconds and let loose a cast, mend, mend, mend. I watch while the fly drifts over his head again but it's about one foot short of his feeding lane...close but no cigar. I wait for the fly to clear the area and pick up and cast again. Mend, mend, mend...here it (the fly) comes...nada. WTH (HECK)...what was wrong with that drift? Rise....D@MN:!!!: , did I miss his timing again? Okay, here we go again...cast...mend, mend, mend...and then I see it...a shadow rising to the surface...sip...swing...NOTHING! :Twisted: Was I late or something? I could have sworn I saw him sip the fly:!!!:
I grab my fly to check the hook to make sure that I didn't damage it while tying on my tippet. Check, no damage to hook point. I observe the fish rise again and again. I watch the stream and can see no other discernable hatch emerging.
OKAY, here I go again. Cast, mend etc., drift...Ooopps here he comes again. I watch the shadow come up to the surface and...sip...set the hook!
WWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's on! :Dancing Banana::Dancing Banana::Dancing Banana:
He screams upstream, then downstream, into the weeds, under the weeds, d@mn this fish is smart! Like a bass except longer runs. Be careful (I think to myself), your only using 7x tippet, don't horse. Silver flash...looks like a 'bow. 5 minutes later...success. I slip the net under a pretty 14"er with a bright pink stripe.
I carefully revive him and set him free to fight another day. And as I do with almost every fish I catch, I thank him for the privilige of the challenge he presented to me.
Unfortunately that was the highlight of the day. After a few more minutes, I observed no other fish rising in the area so I proceeded downstream to where my friend was fishing.
He's done well that morning, having caught and release about 8-10 fish with nothing of noteworthy size (however they're all browns). It's about 12:30p. and the wind is up (probably around 10-12 mph). After we get back to the cabin the wind has increased to a sustained speed of about 15 mph. (I can tell 'cause that's a speed that I can no longer throw a 4 weight with my SP with [B][I]any kind of accuracy).
At about 3p the wind begins to decrease a little, but still around 10mph. What the heck, it may lay down more this afternoon. We go out and head downstream, and manage to catch a few fish each that afternoon.
We fish downstream Thursday morning and do pretty well. My partner kicks my ***** again but neither of us manage anything over 12". Strange trip...last year we each managed at least 1 fish a day that was over 18" (both rainbows & browns), this year neither of us could manage more than one fish over 16" for the whole trip! :Confused:
The afternoon presented an interesting weather pattern for us. It started to get dark and vvveeerrryyy windy with sustained winds over 20 mph and gusts to probably 40 mph. A good night for Nick 'n' Willies' pizza.
Later that evening we were treated to one of Mother Natures' amazing light shows. It was one of the most extrordinary lightning storms I've witnessed in over 10 years. What a way to end a trip!
I fished for just 2 hours in the morning by myself before leaving for home. My friend had decided to leave after he woke up that morning. The morning bite had been mostly non-existent compared to the afternoon so he figured he wasn't going to miss much. As I had explained earlier he had already been there for over a week already before checking into "the Ranch", so he was ready to head back. I managed about 4 fish (again nothing of any size) that morning before wrapping it up and heading home.
All in all, a good trip. :Smile::Smile::Smile:
Robert.
Sorry guys...no pics. Computer having case of hic-ups (it's still on vacation).
I arrived on Tuesday afternoon (around 4ish) to calm wind. :Big Grin:
My fishing buddy, who had already been up there fishng the Mammoth Lakes/Bridgeport area for a week already, was back out for the afternoon hatch. According to him, and the locals I know, the weather has been strange/horrendous for the last few months so it was nice to see that Mother Nature had taken the day off.
By the time I had thrown all my things in the cabin and grabbed a rod (TXL 4710-3) and my vest it, was around 5p. I proceeded out to the water to find him. I caught up to him to find he had already landed 3 nice fish in the last hour. I rigged up and went downstream from him about 100' or so. On my third cast I caught a nice rainbow on a variation of an Improved Elk Hair Caddis (Craig Matthews pattern) that I tie. As I landed it, I thought "D@Mn forgot the camera" on the coffee table! :Angry:
Just as I release my fish, I look up to see that my friend has another one on! OK...looks like I'm gonna get :Beat Stick: today.
Just a little backround on my friend and I; I taught him to fly fish back in '95 after he accompanied me out to Hot Creek one day and watched as I landed fish after fish "on the Dry". In recent years he's started to put the :Spank: to me (thanks to his extensive reading and experimenting of various patterns). We've start to razz each other at the beginning of each season as to who's going to :Spank: whom on the first trip and each subsequent trip thereafter (BUT WE'RE NOT COMPETATIVE OR ANYTHING :LOL: ). This is his payback for some of the really mean things I'd do to him when he first began his foray into Fly Fishing in his 2nd and 3rd years and he would start to get "too big for his britches".
One of the funniest memories we both have (at least funny to me) is when we were fishing in the canyon section of Hot Creek and one afternoon I let him fish a section first and told him I would watch. I watched him fish for a while and as he fished (cleared) a section I noticed several fish rising right behind the area he just fished! After a few minutes (which felt like an eternity as I tried to keep from running right up behind him) I slipped into the water about 75' behind him and proceeded to fish the area he had just finished fishing. On my second cast I caught a nice sized fish which made so much noise that he heard the commotion and turned to see what was happening. For about 45 minutes thereafter I continued to catch fish after fish (we agree it was more than 10) in the area he had just finished fishing! Boy was he mad at me, :Twisted: and he remembers it every year and we now laugh about those days. :ROFL:
Now he pays me back every chance he gets on every trip. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
Anyway back to Tuesday afternoon. About 20 casts later on a difficult run with about 6 different cross currents, I hook up another fish. It's only a 8" dink brown but it's got some pretty bright markings (D@mn No CAMERA!!!). A little after 6:30p the fish start to feed in a way I've only seen in a few places. They start to pick off only[I][B] caddis that fly close to the water without landing. We still manage to finish off the afternoon with a couple more fish each before calling it a day.
Wednesday's forecast is for a little wind in the afternoon so we plan on a heavy fishing morning and possibly a wipe out for the afternoon (for anyone who fishes the Sierra's frequently you know how accurate "Howard" is :ROFL:).
We wake up to dead calm wind and a warm 55 degree morning @ 8a. It's going to be a good morning! My back is giving me some serious pain so I do some P/T and electrical stim and it's off to the water I go. My friend has already headed downstream so I make my way upstream (as I do every year @ this time) to where a spring feeds into the creek. Had heard reports that there has been sproadic Baetis hatch in the morning around 9:30 followed by a PMD hatch around 10:30-11:00a. I reconnioter my way upstream to my regular spot. All along the way I see nothing, nada, zip, zilch etc., well you get the idea. I'm wondering if I've made a mistake coming up here. There's a chair set up at the spot so I sit down and contemplate my options. I stare at the water and scrutinize every disturbance and ripple when all of a sudden...a disturbance like no grass patch or riffle about 50-55 feet on the other side of the stream. It is the tell tale subtle ring from a trout rising to an emerger!!! THERE IS LIFE IN THIS STREAM!!! I stare at the spot for a little while and he rises again about 3 agonizing minutes later. Then suddenly I see it...a baetis mayfly, about a 22 or 24. I pull out my fly box and search through the compartments for an emerger that might entice the fish into rising. I settle on a pattern that I tie that usually works only after the hatch has firmly started (see attached fuzzy pics). The fly is one size larger than it needs to be but because it is a realistic pattern I may be able to get away with it (done it in the past). I throw a couple of casts out, each subsequent one a little farther out to the next possible feeding lane until I get to where I saw the fish last rise. While I had been covering water, my target had started to settle into a rythm of rising every two minutes or so. I made about 3 casts, each time making multiple mends to correct for the various currents I had to cast across. On the fourth cast the fly drifts right over where I believe his head should be. D@mn, what was wrong with that cast, I ask myself. If I were a fish I'd eat it (the fly) :LOL:. I guess the fish also has a sense of humor, or could it be I was out of sequence to his feeding rythm? I dress the fly with a little Frogs Fanny (fly floatant) and so I wait and time his rises again. One minute and 45 seconds or so, one minute 58 or so, one minute 32 seconds...I got it now! I wait for about one minute and 30 seconds and let loose a cast, mend, mend, mend. I watch while the fly drifts over his head again but it's about one foot short of his feeding lane...close but no cigar. I wait for the fly to clear the area and pick up and cast again. Mend, mend, mend...here it (the fly) comes...nada. WTH (HECK)...what was wrong with that drift? Rise....D@MN:!!!: , did I miss his timing again? Okay, here we go again...cast...mend, mend, mend...and then I see it...a shadow rising to the surface...sip...swing...NOTHING! :Twisted: Was I late or something? I could have sworn I saw him sip the fly:!!!:
I grab my fly to check the hook to make sure that I didn't damage it while tying on my tippet. Check, no damage to hook point. I observe the fish rise again and again. I watch the stream and can see no other discernable hatch emerging.
OKAY, here I go again. Cast, mend etc., drift...Ooopps here he comes again. I watch the shadow come up to the surface and...sip...set the hook!
WWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's on! :Dancing Banana::Dancing Banana::Dancing Banana:
He screams upstream, then downstream, into the weeds, under the weeds, d@mn this fish is smart! Like a bass except longer runs. Be careful (I think to myself), your only using 7x tippet, don't horse. Silver flash...looks like a 'bow. 5 minutes later...success. I slip the net under a pretty 14"er with a bright pink stripe.
I carefully revive him and set him free to fight another day. And as I do with almost every fish I catch, I thank him for the privilige of the challenge he presented to me.
Unfortunately that was the highlight of the day. After a few more minutes, I observed no other fish rising in the area so I proceeded downstream to where my friend was fishing.
He's done well that morning, having caught and release about 8-10 fish with nothing of noteworthy size (however they're all browns). It's about 12:30p. and the wind is up (probably around 10-12 mph). After we get back to the cabin the wind has increased to a sustained speed of about 15 mph. (I can tell 'cause that's a speed that I can no longer throw a 4 weight with my SP with [B][I]any kind of accuracy).
At about 3p the wind begins to decrease a little, but still around 10mph. What the heck, it may lay down more this afternoon. We go out and head downstream, and manage to catch a few fish each that afternoon.
We fish downstream Thursday morning and do pretty well. My partner kicks my ***** again but neither of us manage anything over 12". Strange trip...last year we each managed at least 1 fish a day that was over 18" (both rainbows & browns), this year neither of us could manage more than one fish over 16" for the whole trip! :Confused:
The afternoon presented an interesting weather pattern for us. It started to get dark and vvveeerrryyy windy with sustained winds over 20 mph and gusts to probably 40 mph. A good night for Nick 'n' Willies' pizza.
Later that evening we were treated to one of Mother Natures' amazing light shows. It was one of the most extrordinary lightning storms I've witnessed in over 10 years. What a way to end a trip!
I fished for just 2 hours in the morning by myself before leaving for home. My friend had decided to leave after he woke up that morning. The morning bite had been mostly non-existent compared to the afternoon so he figured he wasn't going to miss much. As I had explained earlier he had already been there for over a week already before checking into "the Ranch", so he was ready to head back. I managed about 4 fish (again nothing of any size) that morning before wrapping it up and heading home.
All in all, a good trip. :Smile::Smile::Smile:
Robert.
Sorry guys...no pics. Computer having case of hic-ups (it's still on vacation).