I just picked up a great classic reel…and broke it in today on the Fall River

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Update:  I hit the Fall River today with my Hardy Sunbeam line up on one of my 7′  0″  4 wt rods.  Doug, one of my new bamboo rod building students joined me.  We rose quite a few smaller rainbows and brookies to our dry flies.  A #10 black stonefly seemed to get the most attention.  Here is feisty rainbow practicing becoming a larger fish.

Doug and I with our bamboo rods.

It’s not always about how big the fish are.

 

I just love putting an old reel on my bamboo fly rods.  I’ve been looking for a nice old 2 3/4″ Hardy Sunbeam Reel for several months and just picked up this on Ebay….All original, beautiful patina, and great working condition.  Can’t wait to line it up and get it on one of my 7′  0″  4 wt bamboo fly rods.

Hardy Sunbeam Reel

A day on the Fall River Czech Nymphing

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I had a few hours to get out on the Fall River yesterday to tempt a few fish.  There wasn’t any noticeable surface activity but some caddis and small mayflies were out dotting the water.  I tried Czech Nymphing with a small #18 black Psycho Mayfly pattern and a #16 Green Caddis Pupa pattern fished along the grassy banks in the fast water and picked up about a dozen rainbows, browns, and brook trout in the 8″ to 11″ range. I happened to have with me my 7′  6″  5 wt FreeStone Series bamboo rod, which is not exactly the best rod for Czech Nymphing.  Normally I would be fishing with one of my longer rods, typically in the 8′  6″  to 9″ 0″  range.  But, since I was working very close to me along the banks, the smaller rod worked fine. Sometimes it’s not about size of the fish…it’s just about getting out on the stream and trying some new techniques.  Here are a couple of photos.

A deep slot along a grassy bank. I caught 6 fish in the small area.

An 11″ rainbow that took my caddis pupa.

A nice little native brown

More on Dave Hughes’ Wet Fly Techniques

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I’ve been reading Dave Hughes’ book “Wet Flies” recently, and it’s caused me to think a lot more about how I fly fish.  On a brief outing to the Middle Deschutes River last week, I took my 8′  0″  5 wt slow action rod to swing some of Dave’s recommended patterns for the local browns.  The “Silver Invicta” in a size 14 proved to be a great fly to swing through shallower riffles, and it brought many feisty browns in the 7″ to 12″ range to the net.  I think I’ll be using Dave’s wet fly techniques a lot more in my fishing outings, especially on smaller water.  Check it out:

Wet Flies by Dave Hughes

The Silver Invicta

The browns in the middle Deschutes River couldn’t resist a swung fly.

 

Fly Fishing Bamboo with Dave Hughes.

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Mary Ann and I had the wonderful experience spending time on the Middle Deschutes River two weeks ago with noted Author and Fly Fishing Expert Dave Hughes.  I put one of my 7′  6″  5 wt Signature Series bamboo fly rods in his hand for the afternoon and watched him swing winged-wets and soft hackles through the shallow riffles.  I worked at Czech Nymphing with stonefly nymphs and small mayfly nymphs.  While neither Dave nor I were overly successful at landing fish on the day, it was still a fun time.  Mary Ann out-fished us both, landing 4 or 5 trout and whitefish.  Dave commented that my Signature Series rod was the finest bamboo rod he’s ever swung flies with….wow, what a compliment.

Last week, I was down in Northern California meeting up with some fly fishing friends on Hat Creek, a place we’ve been fishing together for 34 years.  We did well fishing golden stonefly dries late in the evening, but the largest fish I landed over the 4 days of fishing was using the swinging techniques Dave outlined in his latest book, Wet Flies – Second Edition.  His techniques and wet fly patterns certainly worked for me, and helped me land a beautiful 21″ rainbow on a swing Partridge and Yellow soft hackle one evening.  Here are a couple photos.

Mary Ann and I with Dave Hughes showing off our bamboo fly rods on the Middle Deschutes River.

A beautiful 21″ rainbow taken on Hat Creek, California on a swung #16 Partridge and Yellow.

 

More Bamboo on the Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I got out again two days ago on the Deschutes River to see how the Salmon Flies were doing.  I chose my 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series bamboo rod for the day.  While there were lots of Salmon Flies and Golden Stoneflies on the bushes, and a few flying around, the fish seemed pretty disinterested in them during the sunny afternoon.  Instead, I again caught several nice rainbows on a #18 Tan Lafontaine Caddis drifted towards the bottom.  I may have been the only angler on the river during the day who was not throwing big ugly bugs.  But, once the sun went down, the fish turned on to a #8 Clarks Stonefly on the surface.  This pattern has proved to be the most effective adult stonefly for me lately.  Even when the giant Salmon Flies are out, the trout have always seemed to prefer the smaller Golden Stonefly imitation.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Golden Stonefly

Giant Salmonfly

#16 Tan Lafontaine Caddis

Clarks Stonefly

A nice rainbow putting a big bend in my 5 wt bamboo.

One that came to the net.