Tuesday, April 07, 2015

The fish are where we thought they were.


One outing in March; I can't even recall the date.  I can't tell if I still like going out for all C&R trout fishing but I do it and that offers some indication.  The report is that the fish are in the same haunts; they eat the same nymphs unless you drift them over the top of their heads.  They still eat streamers sunk to the bottom and twitched back.  They still show the same beautiful spot patterns and the same yellows; same white edges.  The males still have deeper mouths; dragon-like mouths sometimes.  Trout streams in March lonely as always; no people, no tall grass and no more big bucks sporting antlers.

As for the warmwater streams I have looked in on a few.  The big rivers are low; my old river in which my kids were born is as low as I've seen it on any April 1.  I suppose I should look at USGS records but I was just estimating based on the rocks that are showing and bright stripes of outcrops that are usually underwater this time of year.  The carp were active in both rivers as of April 1st.  I looked in a couple pond settings and did not see one fish of any specie in shallow water as of a couple days later.  I've received one report of a Rochester carp caught with a fly; in fact one report of carp caught thus far.  But in general I don't expect people to report to me and I don't really look at warmwater forums much so who the hell knows.  Carp can be had starting now, safe to say.  I will look for an opportunity despite the fact that I'm ruined by bigger, harder fighting carp of other waters.

I hear reports of trout fishing being slow.  I see data suggesting adult fish populations down.  I've only fished two streams a total of maybe 3-4 times in 2015.  And so I've not noticed anything; will be interested to see how this all feels once things get moving a little faster.  

Hope everyone is getting out and breathing the free air.  April is a top month for many reasons but in sum because one can move about in the world and look at all waters without much encumbrance and without the hindrance of the great streamside nets of green clinging swatting vineworks.  Get out see what you can do.  Pics below of only March 2015 trout outing.


Cranefly.  Used to fish it a lot more.  Good pattern, and easy.

Same fly.

Don't be afraid to pinch a splitshot on right at that damn DB eyes.  No single living organism will notice.  That fly right there is ~4 minute tie and probably my favorite general streamer.  Skip the rib and the full body hackle; use a soft hackle collar instead.




Pretty nice fish was sitting at the toe of the most erosive bank I saw all day.  Crushed a streamer as I stripped it back down and and across 45 angle.

New fishing car.  Made it ~9 months with one vehicle.  Spring showed too many kids sports and too many fishing needs; decided to go back to two car family.  I dig it.  Opens up more doors.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Bryan said...

Aww yea, another subie!

8:41 AM  
Blogger Steve said...

Does that barb on a size 10 hook tear up the mouth of the trout? You know, the trout you write about but don't appear to give a damn about. As I said before--you are not the only good fisherman out there and if we all fed our families with wild trout you could kiss the sport farewell.
Steven Matter

12:20 PM  
Blogger Mr Bubble said...

Minnesota DNRs data shows that for trout angling, barb vs barbless doesn't impact trout survival in any meaningful way. On top of that, trout mortality overall doesn't really have much to do with harvest - its the rare fish that makes it to 4 years even without angling pressure.

As for the comment 'the trout you write about but don't appear to give a damn about' - wow, you're a jerk.

9:37 AM  
Blogger Wendy Berrell said...

Thanks everyone for good notes.

I appreciate Mr. Bubble bringing some useful information; I was pursuing similar but he posted it first. I believe that Iowa has concluded that barbs vs barbless are not weighty factor in fish mortality.

That said, Steve makes a good point in that for C&R fishing, I should probably use barbless (I prefer crushed barbs) hooks. I agree. My explanation is that I don't always uniformly crush the barbs of flies I turne out; my box is a mix and I don't pay good enough attention when I tie on a fly. Thank you for calling me on it.

1:00 PM  
Blogger Wendy Berrell said...

Regarding your second point, it's a good thinker/talker and I trust that you have a developed position on the matter, based on careful consideration, data, emotions, thoughts on where people fit into the world and how they bind themselves to it, and how we should get the protein we need to live.

My position is that I think one should fish to hunt some protein, and in the course of doing so, release most/some of the fish captured. I am not even sold on the idea of calling it a sport; better in my opinion to think of it as an enjoyable hunt in the free air of the world.

As for caring, I do. My concern is focused on the system though, not an individual fish. Of great concern to me is the health of SE MN trout streams; want them to be shaped by the best possible land management, show good habitat and thus have the capacity to support trout populations. Those populations will wax and wane; like all things. An individual fish was not set there by some God Hand is not holier than its rearing cradle.

Eat a trout; bind yourself to the stream and to the world. I take exception to the suggest that one cannot love and respect an organism that he kills.

Finally, a data note from DNR; and you can find a lot of these:

"Some anglers mistakenly assume that if a slot limit is good for the fishery, catch-and-release must be even better. The reality, says DNR's Vaughn Snook, is that anglers would be helping to improve the size structure of trout populations if they harvested fish under 12 inches."

Happy to talk further on it. Thanks again.

1:08 PM  
Blogger Steve said...

Hi. I was apprehensive about checking back as my words were a little harsh yet your response was that of a man of letters who believes in civil discourse. And anyone who writes as thoughtfully as you would necessarily care about the ecosystem. Glad you are on our side.

Fishing is a blood sport and I take home a two or three a couple times a month. But rarely any over 11". Those 12-16" trout are the reason most of us bother to fish--who wants to catch a 10" trout all day? And those larger fish are harder to find. Yes they have a tough life with various predators, but we are the most efficient.

A guy used to come to our T. U. fundraiser and enjoy teasing the fly guys, boasting bout how many big browns he brings home by using a spinning rod with 2# test, small splitshot, drifting a worm through runs. I had to finally tell him that perhaps those trout were there because others had released them.

I will never believe that barb vs. non barb mortality is the same, having removed barbless hooks from gills, eyes, flesh. Adding that nasty barb makes it worse.

But it is so true, healthy riparian habitat is the most important aspect. Your writing will help the cause.

Steve






6:31 PM  
Blogger Wendy Berrell said...

Most criticism contains useful information for the recipient; study the critic, study the words.

Your initial entry was framed in an aggressive manner (as noted by Mr. Bubble); seems that was your passion coming through.

Good exchange; thanks again. Carry on and good fishing to all.

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