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Smith-Continued

Started by 5xTippett, June 17, 2012, 16:15:23 PM

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Big J

Quote from: NCsporksman on July 28, 2019, 20:47:23 PM
Quote from: driver on July 27, 2019, 21:17:57 PMSo when you buying?

re-iterated

Re-re-iterated.  Treat yourself old man.

P.S.  You do have my phone number for when you have an open seat correct?  All my friends have boats....Friend.

Woolly Bugger

#1636
Sunday afternoon. What to do? Go to the carp pond? Or head up to the Smith for punes on dryflies?
Getting some inspiration from the Orvis podcast on the drive up to the river. A streamereater Sex dungeon from the last trip is dangling from the Sage One.
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Man was it hot, I broke a sweat gearing up in the lot as the afternoon sun beat down. It was 4:30 and I was going to wet wade.
Some fungi popped out after the recent rain.
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Weird bug...

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6 to 6.5x blood knot...
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The hike down to the corner pool was taxing and I couldn't wait to stand in to cool water and pop a beer open. I saw a few birds working but no risers as I chugged the barley pop. I still had a comparadun tied of the Sage SP 5 wt. Went old school with a CFO reel too. I worked the run but the fish weren't looking up and I thought for a moment to rig for nymphing. Finally a fish rose to the fly but missed it entirely, it would not rise again.
I tried puff daddies, and cdc comparaduns and then went small with a #18 BWO parachute.
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That appeared to be the ticket and I caught a few on the surface.
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Time for #2
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Cardinals and cedar waxwings were on patrol picking off the bugs as they tried to fly to safety. During lulls in activity they perched on nearby branches with strategic views allowing them to track down any newly hatched mayfly.
A pair of anglers came down from the flats above, they were wearing full chest waders and flailed away without any success that I could see. They worked down to the hole below me and then quit as it wasn't happening for them. I wasn't exactly working for me either, but the plan was to fish as long as possible and I still had one more stream chilled beer left.

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Walking back past the mirror plant I head voices coming from the railroad tracks and we all arrived at the parking lot at the same time. I was Chuck and Ian, they had floated earlier and then hiked down to the islands for some wade fishing. I think they both were euro nymping. Ian handed me a pint of beer, some strange brew, and we talked for a while before departing for home.













ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Dougfish

You're welcome.  :laugh:  n!n

Wheel Bug. A type of Assassin Bug.
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

itieuglyflies

Good stuff.....new camera is producing.

Woolly Bugger

#1639

I've been trying to get used to the new normal weekend flows on the Smith. Hitting the old Special Regs section around four and then fishing till darkish-thirty. That leaves the morning open, so I hit the carp pond in the morning, I was overcast and I'm beginning to think that I see more carp feeding in the shallow end during low light conditions. As I approached the first spot a little Green Heron flew off its perch and spooked the carp that was feeding three feet off the bank.  It was almost impossible to see the fish in the pollen covered water. Take a look, there are two carp feeding in this photo, sure polarizing lenses help but not as much as you would like. One is moving to the right and the other to the left.

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I had a good number of shots at those slimy bastards but they weren't interested in my fly or it was too far away and they didn't notice and then when I dropped it closer they spooked and left a plume of mud. After a couple of hours, I was getting ready to leave when to "local" bait fishermen came on down. They were fascinated with the fly "pole" and asked a lot of questions about knots and fly line and flies, they wanted to know if I ate the carp. They said they didn't eat carp, but I suspect that if they caught one they might change their minds. Now, this is a catch and release pond, but they ignore that rule and keep all the bream they catch. I could be back there now, but I'm writing this TR instead.
Anyway, after a late lunch, I iced down the Yeti and headed up to the river. I listened to a Hidden Brain episode The Cowboy Philosopher: A Tale Of Obsession, Scams, And Family Worth a listen... Further Reading

As I pulled in the parking lot thunder boomed and the sky darkened and it started to rain. I had planned to make the trek down the track to a section that I've not fished in a while to break out of my standard run and avoid the tick-infested field.  I checked the radar and decided to wait and see if the storm would stay on the far side of the ridge.

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It had cooled off a bit and I donned my waders mostly as a tick deterrent and headed down to my usual spot not wanting to make the long hike just in case another thunderstorm popped up. I flicked off one tick and looked for more, usually, I get at least two of the suckers. Took to freshly hacked access at the head of the run, assume that is the work of Doug.

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It started to rain as I cast the puff daddy. There weren't any risers and only a few small bugs in the air. It only took a few casts and a twitch to entice a rise. 

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I managed to catch three in quick succession while it continued to rain and I was beginning to think this might be a good day.

After a few more fish and breaking off a fly in a rhodo it was time for a beer as the humidity was approaching 100%.

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I worked my way down to Sally's pool and cast out to the likely holds. Drift and twitch is the game and it brought a nice brown out of the water but it missed the fly and wouldn't rise again.  Another fish went into an epileptic fit trying to chase down the skittering puff daddy. The birds were perched ready to take off and intercept the mayflies as they hatched. I was a yellow drake and what I believe was a yellow stone along with midges and the occasional sulfur.

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Things slowed down a bit and I took it as a sign to have another beer.

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I got a lot of fish to rise and I missed them or they missed the fly and only a few more punes came to hand.

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Awe fuk....

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It hurt going in, but damn it really hurt when I looped the fly line around the hook and pressed down the eye as best I could and 1, 2, yank!

Then this happened later on.

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I may have called it quits after that.

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Back and the car I got a text from that ex that my old neighbor, Fred, has passed away. He was in his eighties. He was a bird hunter and fly fisherman but gave that up a long time ago. He gave me his old Pflueger reel. I passed that reel along to a troubled friend, Mike, and hoped that getting into fly fishing would help him, he pawned the reel for crack. Mike died shortly after that. I poured a sip for Fred, Mike and the people in El Paso.

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ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

streamereater_101691

I tip my hat to you sir.  bd;0

Dougfish

Nice. Bloodshed and everything. V:;
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

Al

I was finally able to get my significant other up to my Bassett cabin this weekend - first time in over a year and a half due to health issues. Hopefully we have it under control or at least on hold. Ok, back to fishing ...............

I was able to slip down to a nearby section of the Smith early Saturday morning - spotted a big black bear near the end of my driveway as I undid the cable at main road.

No one at my predetermined spot so suited up while admiring the fog coming off the water just being happy to be alive
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Didn't go far before my fortitude was rewarded
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Caught several like this - seems the AW still works :o
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Had a good number come unbuttoned so they don't count but if I was keeping score I'd say close to to a double handful
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Off the water and back to my wife and cabin at 0900 - still pleased to be alive and able to outfox the elusive Smith.



creekfreak

 Awesome... I await the next reports!
Guinness! Good God!

Dougfish

#1644
Go Al!

For those who want to know/go/turn in a net?:
Smith Riverfest. 8/10
Meeting  9/5
Fish With A Friend 9/21
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

driver

Quote from: Dougfish on August 05, 2019, 19:01:35 PMGo Al!

For those who want to know/go/turn in a net?:
Smith Riverfest. 8/3
Meeting  9/5
Fish With A Friend 9/21


Your date is wrong on SRF. 8/10

The wife showed interest in going. So we may show up.

Dougfish

Quote from: driver on August 05, 2019, 19:38:49 PM
Quote from: Dougfish on August 05, 2019, 19:01:35 PMGo Al!

For those who want to know/go/turn in a net?:
Smith Riverfest. 8/3
Meeting  9/5
Fish With A Friend 9/21

Fixed!

Your date is wrong on SRF. 8/10

The wife showed interest in going. So we may show up.
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

troutrus

Though I previously would fish the Smith 50+ times per year, a review of my log revealed my last trip was in July 2014. With favorable weather and generation plan, I decided to head up this a.m.
Arrived at the upper mirror facility about 6:45 and was on the water about 7:15.
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Decided I would target surface feeders and tied on this pattern that had proven productive for me in the past. Stayed with the same for the three hours I was there.
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Had immediate success with a couple small browns, after which I went through a dry spell. Probably spent as much time just sitting and relaxing as I did fishing. Even took a beer break to celebrate my return to the river.
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While sitting I noticed a few rises. Went back to fishing and quickly missed the next two strikes. Overall I went four for seven, all of which were little Browns.
Left about 10:30 as another angler arrived. The walk out was extremely pleasant considering the time of year. Glad I went. Hope to get back soon.
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Al

Welcome back!

Not sure if you noticed but the river has changed. All that free flow of water while the turbines were out of action has moved the bottom around a bit. Places that were shallow are now deep and vice versa. It becomes more noticeable as you move downstream. Fish have adapted so we need to do the same.

itieuglyflies

Good report. Just goes to remind us that you don't need some exotic beverage or fifty trout to have a great day on the river!