Fathers Day Dud

Father's Day: The Day That Was A Dud

David Hutton
June 17, 2018

Conditions
Sky - clear, 50% Rh
Wind - 2-5 mph SSW
Barometer - high, 30.3 in.
Water Temp - 84°
Air temp - 94°
Water Clarity - stained/murky, visibility 2-3 ft 

It is Fathers Day. A day when we remember all the dads, living and passed. I am a dad, and I have my dad's and their memories, so it was a good day to call, "special"... and go fishing.

I have to admit that for all the sweetness of the day, the actual fishing was a dud. No angler wants to admit that he didn't break records, or catch his limit on every cast, but there it is: fishing was pretty much a dud.

Shallow Water
I did get bites and nibbles in the near-shore fringe. Nymphs were mainly the attraction, but honestly, it was precious little. 

I'm still impressed with the Fledermouse fly, though. The fish mobbed the thing whenever it landed nearby. But they were small fish, swatting at it. 
I'll have a half-dozen of them when the cooler season returns, count on that.

Deeper Water
Eventually I moved out from the shore and got a few fish. 
The shore here drops pretty fast to the basin depth of 20-25 feet, so the depth breaks are the better places to look for fish now that the seasonal heat is on. The water is cooler, gloomier, and more oxygenated down there. Reaching to that level calls for sinking flies, sinking lines and whatever else it takes to get to the fish.

I dissected each swoop, curve, and small point in the shoreline to mentally create, "feeding flats," places where, cooler, deeper water might intersect a quick rise to the cover and structure of the shore.
The theory is, the fish will hold at this depth break, and make occasional forays into the shallows.
It is this holding zone that I'm interested in. 

I also pick apart any structure or cover that EXTENDS out into this depth break zone, like docks, or downed trees.
The expectation is that fish will hold in and around these cover sites where they meet the cooler, deeper water.

So that's the theory and it sounds pretty good, right? 
All nice and methodical, and all that jazz. But it didn't do much today
I beat the skunk with a 6" bluegill, an 8" yellow perch and a couple fish that released early.

Six Inches of  Handsome

The Dragonfly Nymph
One of the aquatic world's most interesting and ubiquitous critters is the dragonfly. There are over 3,000 dragonfly species worldwide, and some 450 call North America home.
They range from teensy things no bigger than a dime, to the big whoppers you see powering around a pond.

But only a relatively few people know they start out and live the largest part of their life in the water as an aquatic nymph. After a few seasons, when they are ready, they leave the water and climb onto a stem, rock, or piece of wood. There, they break out of their nymphal shuck, spread their wings - and become one of the most recognizable creatures of the warm season.

I found one of these nymphal shucks clinging to the side of a dock today. The former resident was long gone, of course; only the dry husk remained. But what I want to impress on you is the SIZE of the thing - a full 2" long.

And this is not the biggest one I've seen... I've found bigger. So as pal Jonathan Kiley of flyskinz.com says: "Don't be afraid to tie some big dragonfly nymphs, people."

Thanks and Tight Lines,
David

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