TR: Good day on the Crowsnest

Yep.......the subject line says it all. Managed to get a good day of
January fishing in today. You see, cabin fever was setting in as the
weather had been brutally cold since the day after Christmas right up
until about the 16th of January (tied about 8 dozen flies during that
period). Then, the sun came out and so did the Chinook winds. Daily
temps went from -20 to +15 and higher (that's in centigrade, don't ask
me to translate). With the warm temperatures, the snow completely melted
and the ice cleared completely from the banks of the rivers. This, and a
few days of rain, resulted in pretty murky water, so fishing had been
out for the past week. However, the water had been clearing over the
past few days, so a friend and I went to try our luck. The sun was out,
the wind was quiet, and the fish were hungry. I started out fishing a
deep hole near a steep bank. Probably about 5 casts into the day, I
hooked into about a 16" or so rainbow. Beautiful male with a thick body
and dark red flash down the sides. The second fish came about 10 or 15
minutes later, and was a solid whitefish. Moved up the rive and fished
for an hour or so without a bite, then, in the space of of about an hour
or so, I was able to land three nice rainbows from a deep pool. These
also ranged in size from 16 - 18" or so. After a while, we fished our
way upstream, and finished the day with another rainbow from the tail
out of deep pool. The fish were really beautiful. Their backs were a
deep olive, and they all had red stripes along the sides, both male and
female. All were in excellent condition. The weather was excellent.

I fished the whole day with the same nymphing rig: a cork indicator
followed by about 5 - 6 feet of leader, a single split-shot for weight,
a heavy wire-bodied bead head San Juan worm (size 10), and a size 18 RS2
dropper teid through the eye of the worm with about 12" of 5X tippet.
Caught all the fish on the RS2. It amazes me that these large trout will
take the effort to eat something that represents such a small food item.
You would hardly think it was worth it to them. But, I am glad they did.

Tim Lysyk

"Tim Lysyk" wrote in message
news:XDiKd.52931$Qb.12506@edtnps89...
Yep.......the subject line says it all. Managed to get a good day of
January fishing in today. You see, cabin fever was setting in as the
weather had been brutally cold since the day after Christmas right up
until about the 16th of January (tied about 8 dozen flies during that
period). Then, the sun came out and so did the Chinook winds. Daily
temps went from -20 to +15 and higher (that's in centigrade, don't ask
me to translate). With the warm temperatures, the snow completely melted
and the ice cleared completely from the banks of the rivers.

----------Anipped because I am envious-----------
Damn it Tim, nice TR but I need pictures dude! Buy yourself one of those
really nifty digital cameras and take some pictures for the rest of us. It
sounded like a great time - thanks for sharing, I really needed it!

Chris

"Tim Lysyk" wrote

I fished the whole day with the same nymphing rig: a cork indicator
followed by about 5 - 6 feet of leader, a single split-shot for weight, a
heavy wire-bodied bead head San Juan worm (size 10), and a size 18 RS2
dropper teid through the eye of the worm with about 12" of 5X tippet.
Caught all the fish on the RS2. It amazes me that these large trout will
take the effort to eat something that represents such a small food item.
You would hardly think it was worth it to them. But, I am glad they did.

Tim Lysyk

Thanks for the report. I've been waiting to get down to the local river to
fish EXACTLY the same rig and flies, it's a past proven combo this time of
year ... but we've had a enough rain that the river is very muddy and I'm
stuck just reading about your adventures. Thanks again

"Tim Lysyk" wrote in message
news:XDiKd.52931$Qb.12506@edtnps89...
Yep.......the subject line says it all. Managed to get a good day of
January fishing in today.
(nice trip report snipped)
Tim Lysyk

Hi Tim,
Sounds like a neat day! Thanks. Glad the RS2 worked for you.
For all. Here is a link to the RS2 Home Page:
http://home.att.net/~ferenc/
I probably posted something similar in ancient history, but thought I'd
share some of it again. The author of the website, is now a friend of Rim
(the RS2 guy.)
I've seen Rim tie a couple times. At that time he never deviated from what
is published on the website, much.
Since that time . . .as things go in the fishin' world . . . there are many
deviations. . .from many different sources.

While fishing a similar pattern, I tied, to his, in the '70s, on the same
river, I switched to his. I liked it better, after getting out of my
pouting mode. His was a better concept. Simply, it just works, in many
places.

For those not seeing it yet, just go to the website. It has caught "many"
fish for me over the years. I use it on its own in the surface area, or
with a dropper behind another nymph, or a dropper behind a dry, or behind an
indicator. I don't weight the flies, but some do. I may weight the rig,
maybe not, depending on where the fish are setting up.
This time of year I would almost always use weight.

Use the web site as a base reference, and then just goof around with the
pattern from there.
Good pattern.
Thanks Tim for making me look at my fly boxes again. Seems anymore I give
away more flies than I use . . .kinda fun.
BestWishes,
DaveMohnsen
Denver
(who hasn't been out, actually fishing, since the middle of November or so.)

Padishar Creel wrote:
----------Anipped because I am envious-----------
Damn it Tim, nice TR but I need pictures dude! Buy yourself one of those
really nifty digital cameras and take some pictures for the rest of us. It
sounded like a great time - thanks for sharing, I really needed it!

Chris


I have a digital camera. I don't carry it fishing with me. For some
reason, I don't like to take pictures while I fish (or at any other time
really). Fortunately for me, I often fish with a guy is is obsessed
with photography, and he has taken many nice pictures of me holding fish.

Tim Lysyk

Jonathan Cook wrote:

After meeting Bruiser in 2000 I've been fishing all my droppers off
the eye of the top fly, and I love it. I tried the bend for a while
but I just can't shake the feeling that it "pushes" the fly away from
getting a hold sometimes.


I have heard others say the same, and it might be true. I use the eye
because I find the dropper fly slips off too easily if tied onto the
hook. Also, I find it easier to tie through the eye.

An #18 RS2 is _huge_ compared to what the San Juan fish will take.
I can understand them taking a #24 midge in slow water where it
doesn't take much effort but I caught several 18"+ trout in the
main channel at the head of a run with my drift probably moving at
2ft/sec -- I don't even know how they find that #24 at that speed
much less why they'd hit it!

Jon.
I was thinking that someone would say that about the San Juan. I think
size is relative thing. The rivers I fish are generally freestone
streams, with large popualitons of big stoneflies. It amazed a trout
would take a tiny droppen when there are salmonfly nymphs about.

Tim Lysyk

DaveMohnsen wrote:

Hi Tim,
Sounds like a neat day! Thanks. Glad the RS2 worked for you.
For all. Here is a link to the RS2 Home Page:
http://home.att.net/~ferenc/

I have seen the web page. I have been using the RS2 as droppers on dry
flies in the late summer, probably since about 2000. I may have gotten
the pattern from ROFF. I like the fly because of its simplicity. I have
not often used it with a deep nymphing rig, but will continue.

Since that time . . .as things go in the fishin' world . . . there are many
deviations. . .from many different sources.

I don't like tying split tails on nymphs. I started tying the RS2 that
way at first, but now I just use a few hackle fibres for the tail.
Sometimes, I like to rib the bodies with a single strand of crystal flash.

Tim Lysyk

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 03:50:15 GMT, Tim Lysyk
wrote:

Yep.......the subject line says it all. Managed to get a good day of
January fishing in today. You see, cabin fever was setting in as the
weather had been brutally cold since the day after Christmas right up
until about the 16th of January (tied about 8 dozen flies during that
period). Then, the sun came out and so did the Chinook winds. Daily
temps went from -20 to +15 and higher (that's in centigrade, don't ask
me to translate). With the warm temperatures, the snow completely melted
and the ice cleared completely from the banks of the rivers. This, and a
few days of rain, resulted in pretty murky water, so fishing had been
out for the past week. However, the water had been clearing over the
past few days, so a friend and I went to try our luck. The sun was out,
the wind was quiet, and the fish were hungry. I started out fishing a
deep hole near a steep bank. Probably about 5 casts into the day, I
hooked into about a 16" or so rainbow. Beautiful male with a thick body
and dark red flash down the sides. The second fish came about 10 or 15
minutes later, and was a solid whitefish. Moved up the rive and fished
for an hour or so without a bite, then, in the space of of about an hour
or so, I was able to land three nice rainbows from a deep pool. These
also ranged in size from 16 - 18" or so. After a while, we fished our
way upstream, and finished the day with another rainbow from the tail
out of deep pool. The fish were really beautiful. Their backs were a
deep olive, and they all had red stripes along the sides, both male and
female. All were in excellent condition. The weather was excellent.

I fished the whole day with the same nymphing rig: a cork indicator
followed by about 5 - 6 feet of leader, a single split-shot for weight,
a heavy wire-bodied bead head San Juan worm (size 10), and a size 18 RS2
dropper teid through the eye of the worm with about 12" of 5X tippet.
Caught all the fish on the RS2. It amazes me that these large trout will
take the effort to eat something that represents such a small food item.
You would hardly think it was worth it to them. But, I am glad they did.

Tim Lysyk

Nice read Tim. Where on the Crow were you fishing? The "deep hole
near a steep bank" sounds familiar.

Peter

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Peter Charles wrote:

Nice read Tim. Where on the Crow were you fishing? The "deep hole
near a steep bank" sounds familiar.

Peter

Deep holes near steep banks pretty much define the Crow. I was fishing
between the 507 and iron bridge.

Tim Lysyk

"Tim Lysyk" wrote


.. Fortunately for me, I often fish with a guy is is obsessed
with photography, and he has taken many nice pictures of me holding fish.


i know what you mean, but there are few other types of images that grow
more boring than those of backlit shots of humans holding fish.

wayno