covering the column

**LorenWilliams** · 06-18-2008, 07:41 AM

OK. So yesterday I have "one of those days" that makes stillwater fishing so much fun. Out on my big, deep, clear lake in a nice westerly breeze. Water is now mid-60's, air was the same. Overcast. Recall this lakes routinely gives me fits with blanks or 1 and 2 fish outings.

Shove-off at just after 0900 and notice drakes on the water and some fish working them. Looking harder I see that the drakes are emerging-this is typically a late evening hatch.

Set up a drift in the margins and fish are rising about frequently but sporadicly. I assume panfish. 3 dries on 4X and I am quickly into fish--recently stocked fish with what I think are a few holdovers mixed in. Cool! 10-13 inch fish are fine with me. The #7 bounces quite a few of them--dammit! Should I go to the #6 TFO????

I pretty quickly start to feel that this is less than the best set-up because the fish are rising so haphazardly it is hard to cover them. Casting blind has only taken one fish. I think the stocking pods are still together and when they pass the fishing dries up. So, I switch to 3 nymphs and keep my floating line. Again, once I encounter a pod I hit some fish then it passes. I also begin to notice the rising has really slowed although I still see ample duns. But what I do not see are emerging bugs.

Thinking the fish, at least the better fish, have gone deeper (or were always deeper since I did not touch a good fish at all in the past few hours) maybe taking deeper nymphs or emerging chiro pupae, I start working my flies on sunk lines. Nothing is happening as I go deeper and deeper to the point of working a vertical retrieve with my Di7.

I go back my Type 3 to try and cover lots of water and retrieves. Looking out into the chop something catches my eye. A rise? Swirl? Not sure--just something odd. As I look harder upwind of the disturbance I see it! What I detected was the dorsal and tail fins of a small pod of holdover rainbows slicing through the water's surface between the wave crests! AhA!

I pick up and cast ahead of them on a short line and basically use my rod to pull the flies in front of the fish and I am in!! This was a solid 20" bow. I pump here and immediately I switch back to the floater.

I begin to hit fish pretty consistent--mostly all holdovers. What I notice though was that the fish all came early into the retrieve. Nothing beyond the first few moments even when I saw fish in the area. Too deep!!!!!! I do hit some stockers over shallower water and using a much faster retrieve. My drift was from shallow to deep on the lee side of the lake.

Next change was to go to a washing line with a DHE on point. From then on it was fish at least every 5 minutes--all holdovers with the smallest being 16". Good thing I stayed with the #7 but a #8 would have been better still! One fish, a 22" male of about 5 pounds, had me well into my backing and behind the boat in no time.

My finest outing on that lake to date on various levels. Yeah, I caught nice fish but I was really happy with my observations and decisions. What is bugging me now is how long it took me to figure things out.

Now: Davy, 1fly, others with stillwater experience. That course of progression took me about 4 hours. As you know from competition that is 1-hour too long and the last 30-45 minutes is where I really did the most damage with the WL rig. I am now certain the holdovers were up the entire time and I feel strongly that they were cruising the chop taking nymphs and drowned duns as opposed to feeding off the top. For sure I now have this bank of knowledge to fall back on but my question is this:

When you are in searching mode, how big of a step up or down to you make? 1-foot at a time? 2? 6-inches? If I had not seen those fins in the chop I would have probably fished under the fish the rest of the day. Scary!

1fly: I had some hooks bend out--Grips and Partridge SLD's on these bigger fish. TMC 100 SPBL's dropped fish routinely whenever they got to really shaking their heads or jumping. Knapeks and Gamus held fish well. Also, got a top dropper hung on my tip-top that cost me a fish when it made a final lunge at the net so keep that in mind.

alanb_ct · 06-18-2008, 10:52 AM

Now that's an excellent, informative report. Good detective work on figuring out those fish. Did you take pictures? I would love to see the big holdover rainbows!

What is a washing line? What is a DHE?

Thanks.

**LorenWilliams** · 06-18-2008, 01:37 PM

No photos--was by myself and photojournalism was not at the top of my priority list.

A washing line is a leader with a bouyant fly on point and two or 3 wets/nymphs as droppers. Can be fished with a floating line to keep the wets at near the surface or on a sunk line to exaggerate the "U", to keep the flies above weeds, or to hold them at a level.

**Davyfly** · 07-12-2008, 06:37 PM

Loren, From the information here you were in the region of 3 hrs over the top by the time you had it figured.
On the other hand within that time slot the fish may have been doing something else, therefore as you found out observation is very important. As there are few days that fish in lakes are found feeding in the same mode, hatches may be one reason DO levels in the upper layers another, wind and wave action and other reasons as is time of day and overhead light conditions.

As a rule unless temperature is a reason mist fish in lakes will be found within 15 ft , either close to the shoreline or out in the main body of water.
A dry line with the right set up of flies will enable you to fish down to that depth and in some cases when there s no wind drift way deeper than that.

Correct that you used the options of fishing the flies at different depths, you did not say if you fished static modes, as l would probably have done that knowing that fish were cruising high and looking for a food base in the upper levels. Chironomids should have taken those fish along with variations of HE and top water dries, color may well have mafe the difference here, be it black, claret, orange, red and so on.

I personally dislike having to fish with HID lines, it is boring and not so much fun, all be it in competition you may have to resort to it.
In fact some of my comp buddies wou refuse to fish with a sinking line, ST were ok.
I may well have used a ST line in the circumstances you fished here or intermediate. Problem with full sinking lines at range is detecting takes and being able to set the hook fast.
ST lines allow for take detection and faster hook sets.

Having the fish hit the fly soon after you cast it is indicative of the fact the fish were cruising at lower depth saw the fly and rose up to hit it, very typical of stockers.

As a rule if fish are cruising high and you have the right flies presented and fished at the right pace they should have nailed them.

Is this lake a productive lake through the summer.

Davy

**LorenWilliams** · 07-12-2008, 07:09 PM

Davy, it can be but pleasure boat traffic can make it unpleasant to downright unsafe to fish. Temps will nudge 70 but the fish can usually be found down 10-15 feet if it's really hot.

Thanks for your valuable input!

**Davyfly** · 07-13-2008, 11:49 AM

Loren, so you have good water early and late there l guess without having to deal with idiots.

In this are are there any other still waters that are good, be they wild or stocked ratios of fish.

Davy.

**LorenWilliams** · 07-13-2008, 12:17 PM

There are some but they all have very abundant alewife populations. The lake I mentioned is the best in the area. I am lucky compared to most guys in the Eastern US who like to fly fish for trout in still waters. In the Adirondack region there are lots more opportunities but it's a 3-5 hour drive for me.