Fuller report

[Scott V]

Fished fuller last weekend with my fly club, the water temp was 42, the roads are clear to the lake but the boat ramp had a pile of snow in front of the road to it. They have yet to plant so any fish caught are either hold overs or wilds. All the fish I caught had all of its fins, I do not believe they clip browns at Fuller. Fishing was tough but we were able to get some.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/Fuller/IMGP2634.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/Fuller/IMGP2635.jpg

Love the spots on this one.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/PsychoZ/Fuller/IMGP2636.jpg

[wineslob]

Scott, what did the snow levels look like farther up, say, near Grouse Ridge?

[Scott V]

Scott, what did the snow levels look like farther up, say, near Grouse Ridge?

All I can say is I saw alot of snowmobiles heading up the hill past Fuller. So my guess would be there is still a good amount of snow up that way.

[wineslob]

Well, looks like my date of after the 4th of July might work. :shock:

Man thats a carpload of snow. :eek:

[DFrink]

Scott,

Did you get any on a floating line, or were all caught on an I-line?

[Scott V]

Intermediate line, that is about the only line I use out there. On rare occasions I will use a type 3, but I have not really had much success using a floating line, but if that is all you have just use a long fluoro leader and you will get them. My intermediate line only sinks about 12 or so inches and I usually don't even count down, I cast and strip. They are planting next week, so next weekend would be a good time to get up there.

I recommend Fuller especially for beginners, anyone can catch fish there after a plant.

[wineslob]

Do you ever go up to Blue Lake? :fish:

[Scott V]

If you are talking about over off of 89, no, I have driven by it on the way to a hike in creek.

[DFrink]

Thanks Scott. I've only fished Fuller with an indicator suspending nymphs under it. That lake is an easy mark when the fish are on, fun too.

[jbird]

Thanks Scott. I've only fished Fuller with an indicator suspending nymphs under it. That lake is an easy mark when the fish are on, fun too.


I was about to say, Indicators with chironomids is one of the best way to catch a lot of trout and large ones too. June is a huge month for chironomids. Just fish water where you see fish rising, or know fish are supposed to be, or even if you see chironomid shucks on the water. Find the depth by clipping your foreceps to your fly and drop it to the bottom. Adjust the indicator so your fly/flies is suspended about 6"-12" off the bottom. Remove the forceps and plop it out there. If the fish are there, I promise you, it wont take long. A dark red chironomid on a size 14 hook with a small whit bead and small silver rib is a great general purpose fly. Its as simple as dark red or maroon thread or crystalflash wrapped up the hook, counter wrapped with ribbing and bead head. I have been fishing a chironomid at the bottom and a small black and blood wooly bugger 16" up. Its flat deadly. I get 2/3 of my fish on the bugger. When theres a slight ripple to the water, the bugs really dance under an indicator and theres no comparison for a deadly presentation.

[SHigSpeed]

I was about to say, Indicators with chironomids is one of the best way to catch a lot of trout and large ones too. June is a huge month for chironomids. Just fish water where you see fish rising, or know fish are supposed to be, or even if you see chironomid shucks on the water. Find the depth by clipping your foreceps to your fly and drop it to the bottom. Adjust the indicator so your fly/flies is suspended about 6"-12" off the bottom. Remove the forceps and plop it out there. If the fish are there, I promise you, it wont take long. A dark red chironomid on a size 14 hook with a small whit bead and small silver rib is a great general purpose fly. Its as simple as dark red or maroon thread or crystalflash wrapped up the hook, counter wrapped with ribbing and bead head. I have been fishing a chironomid at the bottom and a small black and blood wooly bugger 16" up. Its flat deadly. I get 2/3 of my fish on the bugger. When theres a slight ripple to the water, the bugs really dance under an indicator and theres no comparison for a deadly presentation.

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until I have that life changing day, but I'm going to learn to love the deep midging...

Will these do?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1269/4692030671_9a1793fc68_b.jpg

"I promise to fight the urge to strip next time!!"

_SHig

[jbird]

oooooooooh. You even tied them on the 200R. Theyre perfect. You could fish all spring with nothing but those in your box and you wont be sorry. I coat mine with sally hansens for durability. They still get destroyed tho....tie a bunch.

Not all lakes have chironomids. Really rocky lakes dont have em. Thats a lesson for another day. Im off to Hyde lake at Yamsi ranch. Possibly to catch the biggest trout of my life. :-) I'll report in...

[Blueracer]

Nice Shig. Looks identical to the one I pulled out of that trouts lip at Pyramid.

[DFrink]

I was about to say, Indicators with chironomids is one of the best way to catch a lot of trout and large ones too. June is a huge month for chironomids. Just fish water where you see fish rising, or know fish are supposed to be, or even if you see chironomid shucks on the water. Find the depth by clipping your foreceps to your fly and drop it to the bottom. Adjust the indicator so your fly/flies is suspended about 6"-12" off the bottom. Remove the forceps and plop it out there. If the fish are there, I promise you, it wont take long. A dark red chironomid on a size 14 hook with a small whit bead and small silver rib is a great general purpose fly. Its as simple as dark red or maroon thread or crystalflash wrapped up the hook, counter wrapped with ribbing and bead head. I have been fishing a chironomid at the bottom and a small black and blood wooly bugger 16" up. Its flat deadly. I get 2/3 of my fish on the bugger. When theres a slight ripple to the water, the bugs really dance under an indicator and theres no comparison for a deadly presentation.

Jbird,

Thanks, never really fished the Chirnomid, although I don't do a lot of lake fishing (as of yet). I'll be hitting Fuller up more this year than years past, hard not to when it's only a 30 min drive from home.

Dan

[Scott V]

Fuller is a blast with a 3 weight and intermediate line striping in streamers. Dan let me know when you plan on going up and if I can I'll join you. Fuller is one of my favorite places to fish.

[DFrink]

Scott,

That sounds great, I will. I haven't been able to get as much in the last year, having a baby takes up a lot of ones free time, but hopefully I will get up there in early July. I'll let you know.

Dan

[jbird]

"I promise to fight the urge to strip next time!!"

_SHig

Dont sell out stripping. I would way rather catch fish casting and stripping on a sinking line. The chironomids are just so stinkin deadly its hard not to do it.

It is imparitive to have a dead drift, like river nymphing. If theres wind and your line is all bellied out, you wont do well. A nice ripple is perfect, a full wind chop can make them ineffective tho. Cast down wind and just shake out line as it drifts away. I have caught tons of fish in dead glassy conditions just letting it sit. However, dont be afraid to give it little twiches. I have friends that do the twitch retrieve with great success. I dont know why but I do better when I do absolutely nothing. A GREAT secret if your not getting bit....look away or put your rod down. I swear to you the fish know when you arent paying attention.

Sorry Scott for the hijack :-( But Im rambling now.... :-)

...Look for what Brian Chan calls the "dibble". iIf your indicator does ANYTHING out of the norm, set the hook. I have caught countless fish when my bobber is riding the ripple and then it simply doesnt ride one, like the ripple goes over it. The indicator doesnt move but it doesnt ride the ripple. Does that make sense? This is HUGE. This is the difference between the guys that kill it and the guys that catch a few. I have set the hook and caught fish when I wasnt even sure if I saw anything. Something just seemed different I couldnt explain and it was indeed a fish, and sometimes a very large fish.

One more tip and I'll stick a sock in it... I have noticed time and again I would get "takedowns" and I'd set the hook to nothing. Often times this happens when I am using a split shot. I am convinced they are taking the shot for a snail. I have put on a snail pattern and started to hook up. Also, Ive had days where I will get dibble after dibble with no hookups. I am convinced its from fsih inspecting it and turning away and the fishes tail wash is enough to register on my indy. The first coarse of action is to go smaller on my tippet, then smaller on the fly if the first doesnt work. But anytime your indicator does "something" and its not bottom, there is a fish very close or even suckin on your icecream cone :-)


Jbird,

Thanks, never really fished the Chirnomid, although I don't do a lot of lake fishing (as of yet). I'll be hitting Fuller up more this year than years past, hard not to when it's only a 30 min drive from home.

Dan

See my above response to shig. I have now divulged all the tips I can think of for the moment....at the expense of hijacking Scotts thread. (sorry)

One more thing. LOL! ANY nymph, scud, snail or anything that trout recognize as a food source can be fished extremely effectively this way.

[Ben Kobrin]

...at the expense of hijacking Scotts thread. (sorry)



The hijack continues...how deep can you reasonably fish this kind of rig. Obviously the indicator can't go through your rod guides upon hookup, so the depth that you are fishing becomes the minimum distance that you will stay from a hooked fish (does that make sense?) If I hook up in 18' of water then how difficult is it to net the fish, especially in a float tube. The good old high stickin' technique can only get you so far!

Again, sorry for the hijack...maybe this conversation is deserving of it's own thread.

-Ben

[DFrink]

I was wondering the same thing... and since this thread has been hi-jacked to death WoolyBugger your avatar is my favorite on this board!


The hijack continues...how deep can you reasonably fish this kind of rig. Obviously the indicator can't go through your rod guides upon hookup, so the depth that you are fishing becomes the minimum distance that you will stay from a hooked fish (does that make sense?) If I hook up in 18' of water then how difficult is it to net the fish, especially in a float tube. The good old high stickin' technique can only get you so far!

Again, sorry for the hijack...maybe this conversation is deserving of it's own thread.

-Ben

[jbird]

http://www.pacificflyfishers.com/Catalog/ProductPages/Accessories/AccessoriesProdDetail/QuickRelIndicators.htm

I have caught fish with chironomids in 24' of water with an indicator like the ones in the link. I prefer to fish with a sinking line in water more than say 16' tho. Use a short leader, a full sinking line, let out the same amount of line that the water is deep and fish straigt down with a dead slow retreave. (rod pointed straight down). It can be super fun and the bites are HARD. Nearly impossible in any situation other than standing in a boat.

It can be tricky to cast an indicator rig with super long leaders. Thats where a float tube is the bomb. Just drop it off your rod tip and back up.

Do some research on chironomids. They are present all year long and they can hatch in VERY deep water. Over 50' I believe. They are a staple food source wherever they are found, including deep water. Most of my chironomid fishing takes place in 4-14' of water.

landing fish in 12' of water at hyde lake from a float tube with an indicator would have been impossible without the releasable.