The Oldman/racehorse Blues

[bigalcal]

I was fishing up from the Gap on the Oldman and Racehorse and I saw a lot of fish rising. I tossed out alot of BWO's of different sizes above the head of rising fish. I also threw out Mahogany Duns, Caddis and terrestrials. I caught fish but I was frustrated by the big guys I saw rising and ignoring me. Any suggestions on what dry's to try next week when I head down there again for my last weekend of fishing/camping?

[Taco]

greased line emergers and/or go small with ur flies and tippet and make sure ur flies are presented first---- those fish are gunshy, they've seen a lot of 9' sticks wavin' in the air this summer.

[fishfreak]

A size 18 Griffiths Gnat seems to work when not much else does. I've had friends cast to the same fish for 15 minutes and give up. I'd tie up a gnat and catch it in 5 casts, and not tell them what fly I used, hehe.

[bigalcal]

Tried the GG as well. What exactly is a pattern "for a greased line emerger"? and where might I purchase them?

[PeasantoftheVise]

Fished the Oldman the last week of Aug and found the fish to be very picky but catchable. As said before the small sized Griffith Gnat was a winner but so was a size 16-20 ant pattern. Those fish are there but not rising to any large flies. Our best fish would have been in the 18" range--is that what you mean by large fish?

[bigalcal]

18-20" is bigger than average for there. That was the size of the ones I saw rising and couldn't get. I have had great success all year there and I have found the fish eager, it was just last week when they frustrated me.

 

They will be mine.....................Oh yes!............They will be mine!!!!

[DonnieM]

One of the main things to watch when you see the big ones rising is if they leave an airbubble or a few bubbles when they rise, if they do it means they are taking a dry fly, if there is no bubble it usually means that they are snacking on emergers. A bigger fish tuned into emergers is most likely not going to hit your dry because they are tuned into something completely different. If they are hittin emergers which definately sounds like it might have been the case then yah, use an emerger pattern and grease your line so it sits just below the film. Good luck!

[bigalcal]

What does "grease your line "actually mean?

[Taco]

http://books.google.ca/books?id=h6WiRzrBHt...4&ct=result

[Taco]

Now that I've had more time to search for the proper article

 

This is the method I was referring to and use, works slick

 

http://books.google.ca/books?id=TcKOshXME9...1&ct=result

[maxwell]

did u check any back edies too see what was on teh water? had similar situations all wek btu managed ltos of fish once i saw the bugs

[Harps]

Swinging soft hackles has always been great this time of year. I find that at the end of teh swing, if I let the rod tip drop some and then lift, I entice hits... must be like a caddis swimming up.

 

There were lots of caddis (oct and little tan jobs), still some big grey drakes, PMDS, lime sallies (size 14-16), and BWO's.

EHC worked. PMD patterns didn't work, nor did the BWO dries (except a tap on a 18 comparadun).

Last week the ticket was to fish big.

Size 6-8 chunky patterns were bringing them up when hatch matching wasn't.

 

Otherwise emerger patterns worked... like Bob Wyatts Deer Hair emerger (I tie it with snowshoe).

A sz 8 Oct Caddis and an 18 SS emerger were getting hits 50/50 and were used for most of the afternoons.

 

Some big fush were put down on the first cast and just stayed put on the bottom or in cover (undercuts). Wouldn't move until I waded out to them, and then they would drift away and circle back. Freezing my nuts for 10 min in the water wasn't long enough for them to get comfortable and drift within underwater picture range (or maybe it was my stinky hungover wetwading ass in the water...).

 

Bastard fish

[esleech]

Try small cdc blue wing olive, or green humpy. A big stimmy with a couple black prince nymph or hares ear droppers. Dont let the fish see you, do alot of walking and spotting off the main river channel and out of the water, those fish "hear" you coming in there. Don't underestimate a good drag free drift either. Even for cutts.