Got 5x?

[jlmelend]

It has been a tough week at work and a tough week fishing. Yesterday, I got skunked fishing with "oonchie" over at Watt, so I tried another spot on the A, not expecting to catch much with the sun on the water. I didn't need to catch anything, but I really needed to fish to clear my head.

I may be way off, but these HPs seem so leader shy I felt compelled to go to 5x tippet. Swung a fly into a some fast water leading to a dropoff with a sink tip and drew a hard bite on a #14 soft hackle PT directly below me. Didn't get any bites after three more swings into the same area. Changed to a #14 improved hare's ear and ZZZZZZZZING! I'm down to my backing! So great...I hooked a hot, big fish in fast water...on 5x tippet???!!! :roll: Repeatedly reeled and released line patiently to protect my tippet and was taken in and out of the current a dozen times.
Stayed along side him with my rod high but I ended up moving with him downstream about 50 yards to some shallows. It took about half an hour to land this hawg! Tried filming the action with my camera but took so long, I used up a GB of memory :oops: !
Took twice as long to walk back upstream to get home! Arms AND legs were bloody tired!

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z180/jlmelend/Tough20InchHatcheryHP3.jpg

This measurenet was brought to you by Bill Kiene...Looks like 20 inches! Hatchery hawg, but pretty fresh and bright...

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z180/jlmelend/Tough20InchHatcheryHP2.jpg

I'm no expert, but it seems that:
:!: These HPs have become more leader shy like local trout, but still lazy and don't move much for flies.
:!: A sink tip has helped in faster water and dropoffs to get nymphs deeper with control to where the fish lurk, without much loss of feel.
:!: Like big TJ said, swinging has been effective, as HPs are definitely hitting emerger imitations, but I am having to change them up everytime I miss a hookset to keep them biting.
These fish have figured US out.

So, for Halloween, I guess I dressed up as a trout fisherman...:oops:

Joe

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Joe.

I think your right here.

After these fish have been in the river for a while I think they get to be feeding just like a trout.

We should be using 4, 5 and maybe softer 6 weight outfits with 4x and 5x tippet if that's what it takes to get them to eat.

We need smaller imitations too that are more like what they are eating, small caddis and even smaller mayflies.

Beautiful fish.............

[Mike Stroud]

nice work. sounds like a lot of fun! I'll definitely be moving to the smaller flies... I haven't been out in a week, but fishing seemed slow. Is it just me?

[BigBuddha]

I wonder if the same holds true for the Feather River?

[Adam Grace]

Nice Work! Good Steelie!

[jlmelend]

nice work. sounds like a lot of fun! I'll definitely be moving to the smaller flies... I haven't been out in a week, but fishing seemed slow. Is it just me?

Stroud, it's not you. Fishing has definitely slowed down for me. Seems like the HPs are spread out more and they seem more "picky", hiding out more.
Delicate presentations and trout tactics seem to be in order. Finer tippets and flies, mimicing hatches when you see fish gulping or rolling, with dries and emergers. Moving the fly on the swing or rising an emerger at the end has helped draw bites. But still have to bring the fly right to the fish.
Unlike September, there is less margin for error or drag. Ironically, in order to prevent breakoffs with the fine stuff, I find myself playing the HPs longer...probably creates a ruckus that spooks all other nearby fish. Tons of challenge and tons of fun nonetheless to land one big one...but worth it.

BB - I haven't been out to the feather, so I'll defer to Bill and the others.

Good luck to you out there stroud and BB
Thanks Adam!

Joe

[slim]

Come on, guys. 30 min. to land a 20" fish!
Lay them on the rocks for pics.?!
Let's show the fish a little respect. I'm not trying to bust your balls, Joe.
That is a nice fish and report, but I think this post has a few classic examples of what not to do and I feel obligated to point them out if no one else will. I'm getting off my soap-box now.
Again, nice fish Joe.
slim

[jhaquett]

I was going to PM Joe the same thing. 8)

No personal attack meant here AT ALL but if you're taking a HALF HOUR to land a 20" fish you might want to beef up the gear a bit and most definitely do not take it out of the water once you do land it! :thumbsdown:

A half hour is a super long time to be fighting. Comparable to us being forced to run around 3 miles. :shock:

Plus, 5X tippet is 5 lb test, right?:?: You really don't have to be THAT gentle with 5 lb tippet. I have landed fresh 15ish pound salmon with 6 lb medium grade mono, horsed them around plenty and landed them within 5 minutes. I've snagged loads of huge (30ish lb) salmon on 6 lb tippet and landed a few (most of the snagged hooks pop off fortunately) in under 10 minutes with a 7 weight.

If you really feel like you need that picture after that wild fight have your camera ready and barely lift the fish out of the water, snap it and put it back. That's why the "measure nets" are so handy.

Looks like that was a hatchery guy so not a big deal but just some advice to be taken lightly in case the next one is wild.... :wink:

[jbird]

If the fish are getting leader shy, you can also change to flourocarbon. You can get away with a stronger tippet and acomplish the same thing. That is a beautiful, fat fish! Nice job.
30 minutes is a long fight, with the water temps as low as they are right now, its not as critical as say, early sept. But we should probably be setting an example when reporting publicly to try to land them quickly. I'm always an advocate of not undergunning your gear...its still lotsa fun even when youve got plenty of rod and strong leader.

Again, nice fish!

Jay

[jlmelend]

Points well taken and no offense taken.
Jbird, I did use umpqua fluoro 5x and I guess I wasn't confident in my skill in the rapid water.
JH and Slim I didn't mean to undergear the fish or fight him for too long but this felt like an adult steelie and he took me into three successive currents as I went downstream with him. I was only using the lighter stuff, becuase that's what it took to get bites where I fished. But right you are, the rocks photo was a bad idea.
The fish and I BOTH rested in the water a long while before photos and he was fresher than me. He easily released himself from the water. Thanks to this experience and your constructive replies, lessons were definitely learned.
Joe

[jhaquett]

That's all that matters 8)

Sounds like you had an epic battle

Amazing what a 4(?) pound fish can do a 185(?) pound man! :lol:

[A Matthews]

Beautiful fish. I caught one like that at Watt about a month ago. It's a great feeling!

A week ago out at Watt, I tried swinging for halfpounders with a heavier line (say 3-4x florocarbon) and shorter tippet (say 4 feet) and I found three great reasons to like it: 2 fish (both ldr'd), I could yank flies free from most snags, and, I didn't worry about the line breaking in trying to get the fish in quickly from out of the current.

Only thing is, I've been way more successful with dries this year and my experience is you can't get too heavy on the line without the fish snubbing your offerings....

[dtp916]

How am I landing wild 22" browns and 23" rainbows on 6x tippet with a #20 fly in less than 5 minutes on my 3 wt and you're throwing 5x on a 5 wt and taking 30 minutes to land a hatchery hp?


On a lighter note, that is a very nice fish!

[jbird]

How am I landing wild 22" browns and 23" rainbows on 6x tippet with a #20 fly in less than 5 minutes on my 3 wt and you're throwing 5x on a 5 wt and taking 30 minutes to land a hatchery hp?


Why dont ya tell us James? Lets hear it from the "pro".

J

PS We need an emoticon for "attitude check".

[jhaquett]

Why dont ya tell us James? Lets hear it from the "pro".

J

PS We need an emoticon for "attitude check".

:roll:

[Ed Wahl]

Let's back off a bit guys, James is pretty close to dead on here. While his fish are a bit bigger than what I'm used to I've never fought a trout over 5 minutes. At that point I'd feel real bad for the fish. Sorry Joe, but a half hour and that fish(a hatchery fish anyway) should have gone on the grill. While they do take off strong after a rest in your hand, most will die after a fight like that. With experience you'll start horseing them in a lot quicker, normally either the fish is pulling line out or your pulling it in, never a standoff. That tippet is a lot stronger than you would think, push it to the limit to get the feel for what you can do.

[jbird]

The point is that the original poster already humbly admitted that fact after a couple guys pointed it out. There was totally no need to bring it back up! Theres nothing like getting kicked while your licking your wounds. Maybe we should write a song about it and we could all sing about how he fought the fish too long...come on guys! give him a break


Jay

[PaulC]

I agree with Jay.
Slim tactfully brought up the point and that should have been enough.
This sport is a continual learning experience and everyone is sitting on some point of the never ending learning curve.

The trend on the board, which I find disconcerting, is some of the corrective post by others come across as arrogant and overly critical.
That, and the fact that they are quite frankly non-informative or helpful in the least.

Lets take the 3wt "look at me" post for example.
What would have been useful is how a lighter stick can work to your advantage on very light tippet and larger fish.
Things like how the softer action in the rod gives more protection to light tippet against shock and can help the angler apply more mean pressure to the fish.

Or how an angler can use the current and turning the fish to his/her advantage to land it in a quick manner.
Things like turning the fish so it is fighting the current and not you, while zig-zagging it to the shoreline and out of faster current.

How about other tips for the angler to help him bring in the next fish quickly?

I guess I miss the more open helpful advice of the board of the past.
Like all aspects of life, I find the more I learn about a topic, the more I realize I have a lot more to learn.
New anglers bring fresh perspective and force an experienced angler to re-encounter those stumbling blocks from the past.
Sometimes a new solution comes out of the fresh perspective which is definitely cool and benefits everyone.

Unfortunately, like others that have already done so, I will probably start spending my time elsewhere.

Paul

[aaron]

Unfortunatley one bad apple has taken this entire thread south. I'm locking it, hopefully it will serve as a learning experience for how to fight fish, and more importantly how NOT to act on this board.