08/08/2016 - 08/14/2016

I have been out all week spending time with my youngest son and we had sometime to explore and fish.  We had some good success on the water with dry flies, specificaly the #12 Charlie Whopper and a #14 Yellow Sally Stimulator.  I found that going back to the basics for me this week was a good thing.  Lets face it, not many trout are eating right now and not many nymphs are on the rocks so dry flies can work better.  Terrestrials are very effective and good trout can be taken on them.  Ants, Beetles, and Hoppers are great choices.  With all this being said this all happened on Straight Fork and Soco Creek.  We did drive past Ledge Creek but it was raining and was very dingy so we did not throw a fly.

My youngest did fish the Talking Trees Trout Derby Saturday and he had a great time!  It was nice seeing all the kids fishing and spending time with a parent or role model.  We all should get kids out more and expose them to fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, or anything that does not include an electronic device.  During the derby things was a bit slow so I tied on a Blue Woolly Bugger and low and behold he hooked a pig of a Rainbow Trout.  The point I am making here is that at times we need to think outside the box and not be afraid to mix things up.  Stocked trout do react differently than wild trout and throwing something crazy just might be the ticket.

We did get a storm here this evening and 2 inches of rain fell very quickly.  Deep Creek got flooded Thursday night after 6 inches of rain fell on the mountain.  Trees had to be removed but I have not been on the creek.  The rain will help as long as it is not flooding rain.

Seek out cooler water and you should be successful.  Stick to the basics and use dry flies early  in the morning.  Use a stealthy approach and watch your drifts.  Cast places you normally wouldn't because trout move around.  I like fishing dark waters with overhanging limbs, structure, and areas that have water flowing in between two or more rocks that create a small channel that form a feeding and holding lane.

I suggest terrestrials and dark body dry flies.  Some Green Stones are hatching but I did not get any strikes on them.  I use a size 12 and Saturday evening I even used a size 10 with great success.

Tight Lines!