We have a pile of Solarez colored UV Resin in stock now. The first batch went in a blink so I ordered a bunch this time, and expanded the color range out. Now they are doing black, so I loaded up on that color, it's the classic color to do a wingcase on a Perdigon nymph. Traditional is to use black nail polish, but then you have to wait for it to dry before you can coat it with clear UV Resin. This UV Resin speeds up the process and is more durable. Got a bunch of other colors too, including various shades of fluorescent colors such as orange, pink, chartreuse, red, etc, and other colors like brown and grape. We also have the ultra thin Bone Dry formulation in black now also. Solarez is hands-down the best UV Resin on the market: cures the fastest, cures rock hard/durable, and it's not tacky. It's also way less expensive than the other brands, despite it's superior performance. The upside to low flows is more dry fly fishing, easier wading/access, and it pushes many fish into the faster water. The fast water both gives them cover from predators, as well as more oxygen. Warmer water doesn't bother the trout per se, but rather it's the lower oxygen content as water temps rise. So faster water is win-win for the trout. It's also easier to approach the trout is broken/faster water. Think about lengthening your leader (12' instead of 9') in low water to help prevent spooking the trout, especially when fishing flatter pool water. Lengthening the tippet section to 4' will also help get a drag-free presentation with your dries (as long as it's not windy and you're not throwing a big/wind-resistant dry). In general lower water = smaller flies, exceptions for nymphing would be bigger Stoneflies in the early/mid morns, and Isonychia type nymphs later in the day.
Early to mid mornings & eves remain the peak fishing times, with dry fly fishing arguably better/easier in the evenings (more & bigger bugs), however water temps are coolest in the mornings and it's a great time to nymph the fast water then. Although Isonychia hatches are light now, you can blind fish them in the riffles in late afternoon/evening and bring trout up to them, even if you don't see them on the water. They are a big bug that hatch all summer long here, and the trout get used to them and anticipate the hatch.
Tricos will be with us for the next couple of weeks. They are tiny and will average a #24, give or take
The dry fly fishing on the flat pools can be very technical this time of year: most of the bugs are small, and the fish have been worked over hard for months, so bring your "A" game, a bunch of tiny flies, and a long leader with a long/light tippet. Fishing terrestrials like #14-18 beetles & ants before you tie on the tiny stuff, means sometimes you won't have to go super small. Fishing riffly water in the eves can give you an edge, as the trout have to make a quick decision, the bugs are bigger in the faster water, and the trout don't get to inspect your fly with a magnifying glass there. It's also the same water both Mayfly spinners & egg-laying Caddis are active in. Win-win. 6x will suffice for most of the evening bugs. Think 7x on the smaller dries.
Dry/Dropper can be a fun way to fish now: use a bigger buoyant dry (like a Mini Chernobyl, Chubby Chernybol or big Isonychia) and drop a #16-18 tungsten bead nymph 1-3' below the dry. Most fish will take the nymph, but you will get some bonus fish on the dry also. Tie the nymph off the hook bend. Run it closer (12-18") to the dry during insect activity or in shallow water, run it further apart (2-3') in deep water and during non-hatch periods. It's like the fun of dry fly fishing, combined with the consistent effectiveness of nymphing. Plus it allows you target fish at distance and not spook them. If you wanna target big trout on the surface after dark, try a short/heavy 6-7.5' leader (0x) with a deer hair mouse pattern- make sure to bring a BIG landing net with you...:)
While
the focus for many of our customers seems is
dry flies, the subsurface angling with nymphs, wet flies &
soft-hackles remains consistent and is often better than the dry fly fishing,
especially when the trout aren't rising and/or when they are refusing
your dries/emergers/spinners/terrestrials. The key when nymphing is to
focus on the faster/broken water (pool heads, riffles, runs, pocket
water, etc.), get your flies down, get a dead-drift, and cover lots of
water. Experiment with your flies, as the better producing flies may
change as the bug activity changes throughout the day.
We have a great assortment of custom tied soft-hackles in our bins by Dick Sablitz, they are both fun & deadly to fish. We have flies to imitate all the current hatches, the most effective way to fish them is 2-3 at a time on tag-end droppers.
FYI we are now in our extended hours: 8am-6pm weekdays, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
We have
Devin Olsen's hot new book "Tactical Fly Fishing", and it's really good. Its based
upon what he's learned from years of the highest level fly fishing
competitions against the best trout fly fishermen in the world. It
covers things in an extremely detailed way, and has some great "Case
Studies" where he shows you different water type pictures with photo
sequences of how they were able to successfully catch fish in them, and
what adjustments they had to make in their rigging, approach,
presentation & flies to find success. It's a good
new option that does NOT duplicate George Daniel's two books on
nymphing, but rather it compliments and adds to them.
From April through October we are open 7 days a week, 8am to 6pm Monday through Friday, and 6am-5pm on weekends.
Hatches/Dries: