How
to: Fly Fishing...... Use medium
tippet, 3x to 4x (7 to 6- pound), and long leader- 12 to 14 feet if using
floating line or short tippet if using sink tip line. Use sculpin
patterns down deep off the boat ramp in the Stump Hole. Go in from
the south and fish in deep hole, using long strips, pausing every once
in a while. Also try #2 to #2/0 olive or black wooly-buggers... same
pattern. Using a little lighter rigging, throw gray or white zonkers
or beaded gray or white wooly-buggers and work them closer to the surface.
Strip fast and sharp, pausing briefly. Use #12 to #16 size emergers,
red or black. Cast at rising trout- or anywhere- and strip fast and
very short, stopping every 5 strips. Stand or anchor boat on the
hump and let the fly swing in the current to the side and beneath the hump
over the hole and channel. You will see the strike most of the time,
depending how high the fly stays in the current. Lift the rod sharply
but gently if using light tippet. Use beaded
nymphs under a strike indicator... squirrel
tail, hares ear, pheasant tail, sow bugs, from #10 to #16. Ideally,
fish in choppy water- where the surface is broken- just a riffle or white
caps, anything is better than a glass surface. Set the fly 3 to 5
feet deep. After the cast, let the fly settle, but look for a strike
as it does. Wait a few seconds then twitch the float, moving the
fly a bit. A strike may be hard, taking the float all the way under
or it may be subtle, just barely moving the float. Set the hook hard
and fast. Helpful Hint: Keep an
eye on the slack in the line. When setting the hook you need all
the slack out or you won't get a good hook set. Strip woolies
through
this area in windy weather or rain. Use 4x to 6x tippet and a long
leader. Good colors are gray, olive, brown and black in sizes #8's
to #14. Cast across to downstream- 45 degrees best and try all kinds
of strips- fast, slow, long and short.
Spin Fishing...... Use 2- or 4-pound, green line. Throw jigs either with or without a strike indicator. With a float, use 1/80th or 1/100th oz. jigs in ginger, olive, brown, black, black/yellow, white, pink or gray, olive being the best in this area. Why all the colors.... trout change their eating habits sometimes on an hourly basis. You have to be prepared for anything. Work the jig and float just like the strike indicator and fly-- look for choppy water or just fish the water that's there. Use the same techniques and set the hook the same way. When throwing a jig straight, use either a 1/32 or 1/16 oz. and the same colors. Work the jig up and down like crappie fishing, letting the jig drop as long as possible. Trout tend to strike the jig as it falls and you may or may not feel the strike. That's what makes jig fishing a challenge-- a finesse style that takes a lot of touch. Helpful Hint: If the fish are striking short and you're missing a lot of hits, pinch off the marabou tail making it shorter. Small, in-line spinners like Mepps, Rooster Tails and Panther Martins worked close to the surface in choppy water will draw a strike. Also small crank baits worked irratically close to the surface are good.