MIddle Fork of American

[charles]

My friend and I fisked the Middle fork of the American River yesterday and between the two of us caught nothing. There were tons of 8-16 inches sipping on the surface, but we couldn't gat any to take. We tried caddis, mayflies, midge patters, nymphs, and streamers. no takes. A few looks but no takes. We were on the four-by-four trail by rough a chucky. Any advice?

[Frank Alessio]

Were any of the flys you tried emergers that sit lower in the surface film..sometime you must fish those size 20's.... Good luck

[hookedupanglers]

I run the only guide service that has permits to float the middle fork of the american river. I do spend a lot of time fishing the section you are talking about. The problem with this area is the over population of small fish in the 8" to 14" range. These fish feed on cadis and may flies as they hatch and float to the surface. try using small nymphs in the #14 to #18 range. If you are looking for larger fish use a sink tip with a large streamer. The flows are down right now due to repairs on the dam above. This may have a lot to do with the fish feeding or not feeding.

Hope this helps. You can also read our fishing reports @ http://www.hookedupanglers.com/Fishing-report.htm

[dtp916]

I know how you feel brother, I was up on the Rubicon (which is near the mid fork) 2 weeks ago and the exact same thing was happening. I swear I threw everything in my fly box; big, small, light dark, mayfly, caddis, midge, droppers, emergers, you name it. Looks, but no strikes.