Caples Lake

[Mike Churchill]

Spent Saturday afternoon tubing around Caples Lake up Highway 88. Had to get away from the office and the heat after a long week.

Beautiful day--around 80, puffy white clouds floating by, and a bit of a breeze. Water was 64 on the surface so no waders were necessary.

Even say the occasional fish feeding at the surface--but I never figured out what they were eating. I would guess "up-slope blow in" but I never saw anything on the water.

Tried buggers, various nymphs, a stimulator, an ant, and a hopper. Net result: one small rainbow and a couple of bumps.

The one I caught was a pretty weird fight. I was trolling a hare's ear soft hackle trailed by a PT on a type 3 sinking head when I got a great grab. For the first 45 seconds, I thought I had a good fish on, but it was trying to go straight away from me. Then the fish kind of gave up. Then I saw what looked like a fish sliding on the surface on it's side.

I briefly fought a couple of more times, but as it came in I saw that it was foul-hooked in the belly just in front of the tail by the PT.

I guess he struck short at the hare's ear and the rear fly got him.

Sure beat working.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I thinks it's nice to be up in the mountains and out of this heat.

[andanb]

When a fish is foul hooked with the bottom fly that usually means that he did eat the top fly as they fight the line with the trailing bottom fly either wraps around the body of the fish or lays against the fish. The top fly then comes loose in the fight and the bottom fly then usually sticks the fish either in the anal fin, anus or just above the anal fin.

The fight of the fish usually takes on a different flavor at this point.

This seems to be my experience.

[Mike Churchill]

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense (and makes me feel better to assume he actually ate the lead fly. )

Mike