It was around 3:00 AM Sunday morning and we were 3/4 of the way through our night float. We had been grinding through an hour long mousing lull, and I was about ready to call it. We had caught a 19.5 incher early on, and had a decent amount of non-committal bumps on the surface throughout the night. I was struggling to keep my eyes open in the rower's seat, when I heard a thrash on Shane's mouse. "Got him, good fish, GOOD fish". I gave one hard back-row and we turned our headlamps on. When we saw the fish, we instantly knew it was the biggest fish Shane had ever hooked on a mouse, and priority number one became "get this one in the net". Forget about the oars or the encroaching log jam downstream that we're about to crash into. The fish ran to the opposite side of the boat, then made a U-turn and tail-kicked right at the bow. I made a hail-mary tail-first stab with the net, lifted, and there he was. Our sincerest apologies to any cabin owners within a mile radius who may have been awakened by our hooting and hollering.
The recent heat wave made a lot of the Trout water unfishable due to high water temps, and those that remained below the safe catch & release threshold fished a little tough. There's usually a flurry of activity right at dusk, followed by intermittent bite windows. On the darker nights, darker flies are the go-to, and when the bite is slow, it's critical to try different fly patterns and sizes. If you're in a boat and have two anglers fishing, have one try a smaller profile and one fish a larger, gaudier fly to get an idea of what they're looking for.
During the daylight hours, we've been doing a little carp fishing on local ponds and rivers. These bottom feeders present a fun challenge for the fly angler and are a great way to practice your casting distance and accuracy. Small rubber legged nymphs, san juan worms, and even a glow bug will get sucked in by an actively feeding carp. Getting your fly right in front of the fish's face without spooking it is the name of the game.
If you are interested in getting on the water with us, we have guide trips available in the coming weeks for bass and carp, and salmon and steelhead season is just around the corner. Send us an email, or give us a call (616-805-4393) to book a trip today!
