With all the weirdness lately, I wasn’t looking for a Punishing, Bruising Fly Fishing Trip Into the Bowels of Hell Itself.
Instead, calm and serene sounded pretty damned good — and the Upper Sac and its tributaries were moving some serious water — so in a classic example of finding what I thought I was looking for, ended up on Lake Siskiyou.
Steven Bertrand provided the transportation (boat), and we basically didn’t catch fish when we visited the "usual" uplake spots, though I have to say I still looked pretty good doing it.
Siskiyou is calm place (OK, not so much on weekends).
Later, we motored to our best smallie/bluegill water, where apparently fish and frustration waited for us in equal doses.
On one brushy stretch, I did manage four grabs on a popper in a matter of minutes, though in ample testament to my laid-back state and the lack of any predatory edge, I only boated one smallie.
Shameless tupperware plug: the 9′ 6wt Zero Gravity is a nice streamer rod.
Soon, the open-water rises started, and we spent a couple hours chasing trout eating… well, we’re still not sure what they were eating.
The surface film was littered with flying ants, and we pounded up a few grabs from very spooky trout on ant patterns, but we didn’t get bit far more often than we did, creating a suspicion that we didn’t quite get it right.
Midges? Mayfly nymphs? Who knows.
This is what we were chasing later; rise rings, usually coming in groups of 3-4.
Ultimately, we both missed a handful of takes on ant patterns, and the trout were typically spooky.
They’d create two to three barrel-sized boils before disappearing again, so catching them involved leading them — difficult when you’re never entirely sure which direction they were headed.
I finally hooked and fought a nice trout for several minutes (he just took off every time he saw the boat), and then — like so many unexplained moments in life — the hook just came out.
And, as the sun sets slowly in the West…
The Gear Guy
I fished poppers and dry flies using Chris Raine’s 8.5′ 5/6wt hollowbuilt quad prototype, and while it throws a popper nicely with a DT6 line, Next time I’ll try it with a DT 5.
When fishing the wide-open expanses of a lake, I can quickly find myself casting 70 feet while thinking I’m throwing 45 feet, leading me to wonder what the hell happened to my backcast.
I also fished a Corltand Clear Camo sinking line on a 9′ 6wt Orvis Zero Gravity, and while people who fish streamers a lot suggest throwing the fastest tapered rod you can get your hands on, I’m happier throwing a mid-flex rod.
That could mean I’ve stumbled on an essential truth overlooked by the rest of fly fishing, but it’s more likely I’m a little hardheaded about my gear.
So be it.
The Weather
Damn, it’s hot up here. With many of the local rivers absolutely blown out by snow melting (fast) in near 100-degree temperatures, I’ll likely be back on Siskiyou sometime this week, this time trying a little harder to crack the code.
Naturally, you’ll be among the first to hear about it.
See you on the lake, Tom Chandler.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Eduardo Sanchez 05.18.08 at 3:41 pm
Beautiful landscape!!
It´s very common in a few places here in Mendoza (Argentina) not to catch any trout beyond the trouts take bugs from the surface of the water…
SMJ 05.19.08 at 8:54 am
I had a similar experience at a beautiful small lake in Tuolumne County this weekend – lots of ants on the water, but the fish breaking the surface seemed more interested in something else. I eventually resorted to dragging a wooly bugger, and scored three fat healthy browns.
Tom Chandler 05.19.08 at 9:40 am
SMJ: Bertrand thought the fish were keying in on struggling ants instead of the lifeless variety.
It’s as good a theory as any, though it’s still real possible the trout were eating midges, but not sticking around much on the surface.
If I can get enough work done, I’m heading back out soon.
kbarton10 05.19.08 at 9:59 am
That’s what I love about fishing - a lethal mixture of optimism and science.
What the fish were doing was rolling on the surface tormenting you - they weren’t eating anything.
I call it the “Thumbing Rise” - very difficult to detect as fish lack a thumb, but attempt an fin-on-nose gesture anyway.
Drives anglers nuts and these fish know it …
SMJ 05.19.08 at 10:18 am
Perhaps a microrobotic ant pattern would have worked, but I suspect the fish that taunted me were after midges. That being said, Kbarton has once again provided the most plausible explanation.
TC: I’m glad you’re going to give it another try. Let us know if you figure it out.
Tom Chandler 05.19.08 at 12:54 pm
kbarton: Didn’t you mean to say “a lethal mixture of optimism, science, and an undeniable brute ignorance”?
SMJ: See, I was thinking a “microbiotic” ant pattern would have appealed to today’s healthier, active trout. But maybe your suggestion is better.