I got to the White last night with over 2 hours to fish before darkness. The first thing I did was check the water temperature, even though I was sure it would be cool enough to fish. Just 2 weeks ago, a friend had measured the river at 72F near the town of Sharon. A week ago, a small tributary of the White that is almost always very cool was 67F. Last night, the White was at 59.6F. This was in the main branch, downstream from Bethel and upstream from South Royalton. I was very surprised that the water had cooled that much so quickly.
Because I had a good chunk of time for fishing, I opted to start in the lowest part of this stretch of river. I rarely fish this lowest part and I don't know if I've ever taken a fish there. But, I had plenty of time and with low water levels, I could wade to a spot that allowed me to access some deeper water that I rarely ever get to fish. I spent about 20 minutes in this stretch and then decided to move up to a more reliable fishing spot. When I turned around to head upstream, I was shocked to see 2 other fishermen right in front of me.
I'd checked for cars when I parked. I'd looked up and down the river as well. If I'd been able to see anyone fishing anywhere in this stretch, I would have gone elsewhere. The White is not a crowded river. The only time I've shared this stretch with anyone other than my son or my wife was during a fly fishing tournament earlier this season. That day, I was the second person to arrive and I gave the guy who was there first a wide berth. I fished far away from him, talked to him for a couple minutes, and then went somewhere else.
These two guys had parked close to my car and basically stepped into the river not very far from where I was fishing. If I'm in Pennsylvania, I'm used to seeing stuff like this on the Yellow Breeches or Little Juniata. Those are streams that get a lot of pressure, especially on the weekends. Even in VT, I can think of spots on the New Haven or Otter or Winooski where I might see another fisherman. But, I've never had anyone step into the river right beside me like that. But, the White is a big river and I knew I could go around them and get upstream to some better fishing.
On the way past, I talked to them a bit. They had never fished the river before. I pointed out a seam in the main pool that they were working, and suggested they focus on that. I suggested some flies to them, but they had never heard of isonychia (or the more common name - Slate Drake). I tried to find some in the air to show them, but the iso's were sparse last night.
They didn't have any of the standard nymphs that they should have been carrying - Prince, Hare's Ear, Pheasant Tail, RS2, etc. One of them was fishing a muddler minnow and I don't know what the other guy was using. If they hadn't crowded me out of a spot I was going to fish, I might have given them a couple flies to try. But, I guess I'm not that nice, so I simply headed upstream.
I got at least 50 yards upstream before I put in another cast, determined that I would not crowd them as they had done to me. I did see them each catch one fish in the lower pool, so maybe I should fish muddler minnows in the White more often. To be honest, I don't think I've ever thrown a muddler minnow in the White - a river dominated by rainbows (my last brown in the White was caught almost 2 years ago). I tend to find that if rainbows are going to eat streamers, a white or olive woolly bugger is usually going to work. And, I had no luck in the pool above them. By now, I'd tried hare's ears, an isonychia nymph, a BWO nyph and a prince nymph variation, along with a grasshopper pattern. No strikes at all.
I headed further upstream. This was where I had a clear advantage over the other 2 guys on the river. I know this stretch of water inside-out, and the best fishing is the topmost pool in this half mile stretch of water. I continue to work the nymphs as I headed up. With the cooler temperatures, I worked some shallow riffles that never produce anything when the water is warm, but sometimes produce in cooler water. Nothing.
As I got to the lower end of the top pool, I decided to try a strike indicator. I prefer to fish without them and really work hard to feel the strikes on my own. This is probably foolish, as I know they work and they can really help with a dead drifted nymph. I had no luck with the added strike indicator either. I was now wondering what was going on. I don't think I'd fished this stretch this year without a strike, and it was getting close to sunset.
Insects in the air were sparse. I'd seen two iso's and a couple BWOs. I hadn't seen one fish rise, although the 2 guys below me had seen one fish come to the surface. But, I was looking at getting skunked, so I decided to try a local version of an isonychia comparadun. I know a local guide who claims he fishes this fly all through the autumn, even when no fish are rising. As I was tying on the fly, I saw two more iso's in the air, which I took as a good sign.
On my third cast, I got a strike. I was so surprised that I didn't even set the hook. A few casts later, a big fish came up for the fly and missed it, but flew completely out of the water. He was easily in the 16"-18" range. A few casts later, I caught a feisty wild rainbow. Not long after that, after the fly had sunk at the end of the drift, I hooked a fish while retrieving the fly underwater. Then, I caught another fish. Missed a few more. Had another strike while the fly was underwater. Caught another on the surface.
By the time it got dark, I'd had at least 10 strikes on the surface and 2 sub-surface. I only got 3 fish to the net, but it was a very exciting 30 minutes. I guess I'm going to be a bit quicker to go to this pattern for the next few weeks, even if we don't have many bugs in the air or fish coming to the surface.
A 12-day vacation devoted to fly fishing around the state of Vermont starts on 9/27.
No comments:
Post a Comment