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Wind Knots And Tailing Loops.

 Home in Lafayette resting up after some yard work and figured it was a good time to answer questions.  James gets the Dennis Molter award for most questions asked. I measure the trout by holding it up against my rod where the nice people at Winston put little white lines every two inches. If the fish is 20 inches or above and I'm near shore I lay the fish on my landing net which has an inlaid tape measure to get a more accurate measurement. The drift boats coming and going on 191, (and 97), are almost certainly on smallmouth bass trips down river. I've not done it, but have heard that the bass fishing is very good. Cold nights help cool the water down so fish return to their home pools which opens up the entire river system. Rainy days should help bring on the olives. Fish are not happy rising on bright sunny days. John H - October usually offers pseudos, isos and hebes, the colder the weather the better. A 15 year old, (really any trout over say 6 or 7 years), is as big as t...
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Come On, Let Me Tell You Where It's At.

Spent a minute or to before writing tonight reading fishing reports from DRC, WBA, and AI. All gild the lily to varying degrees. I don't blame DRC and WBA one bit they are trying to rent rooms/cabins and keep the boats floating. AI, however, should be able to see through the bs and tell it like it is. DRC has had 3 pictures of fish in the month of August. AI says there are sulfurs, olives. isos and Cahills providing steady dry fly action. I say bull shit! The sulfurs - God bless 'em have been on the water for more than six weeks and they still are hatching. The hatch is waning and the best hatches are up above Deposit. The sulfurs can be seen from about noon until dark. The fish seem to be ignoring them most of the time but will feed heavily in short concentrated spurts. It's still the best chance to fish to rising fish before 8:oopm. The olives - Need to get get in the game. Traditionally as the sulfurs start to wane the olives start to hatch. Yes, there have been olives m...
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At Least The Fish There Were Willing To Eat My Flies.

 After yesterday's lackluster, rain shortened effort, I resolved to do better today. Got to Deposit at 1:30 and drove up to the Red Barn where two cars and two fisherman told the story. Stilesville had five cars and unless I missed someone, an equal number of fishermen. Glassed the water in both places and yes there were sulfurs, but not many, didn't see a single rise. The cedar wax wings, (about a dozen of them), were picking off every sulfur that got airborne. Saw Troutfitter regulars, JF, Mike the Cop, and The Tenant all driving around looking for a reason to fish. I went back to the Lordville Estate and pulled up crabgrass in the backyard. The good - With the recent high water event, and the relatively normal August temps there may well have been movement of fish from their thermal refuge haunts back to their home pools. Most water temps have peaked at about 70 degrees for the last couple of weeks and that for only an hour or two a day.  The bad - With over seven inches of...
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Sometimes the Sulfur Zone Is Just "A Better Place To Be".

 After yesterday's woeful fishing performance, my usual reaction would have been to spend more time fishing and less time doing crosswords. Today it was 6:45 before I pulled the suspenders up over my shoulders, put on the fishing vest and headed for the river. Why? I'm tired of fishing the Sulfur Zone, had yard work to do, and wanted to try to fix the front door, it works fine in April and May, but refuses to close, and this year latch, in June, July, and August. Got a jack post and raised up the door frame on the latch side. It no longer binds but I still have to push down on the door handle to lock the door.  Everyone who regularly reads the reports is familiar with the choice that has to be made with the raincoat, (under the vest or over the vest), well there are two more choices, (leave it in the car or put it in the back of your vest). I left it in the car, with but two hours of fishing and thinly clouded skies to the west, it was a no brainer. Fifteen minutes later, a qu...
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My Day Produced Some Shocking Results!

 Mowed the lawn this morning as soon as the sun dried the dew off the back yard grass. Felt no need to hurry up to Deposit as I had rising fish from two until almost five yesterday. There are bugs on the water from at least noon until dark, but the fish seem to decide when they want to eat. There are fish feeding everywhere, you stop to change flies, (don't bother, they're not looking at them anyway), look up, and there isn't a fish feeding, the bugs are still on the water but the fish are done. There seems to be an hour and a half to two hours when the fish are up during the afternoon and another feeding spell sometime between six and dark. I've been weaning myself away from the Sulfur Zone, making evening forays down to the lower WB where I've found a dearth of bugs, but fish more willing to eat what's put before them, until today.  The fishing - For me, wasn't worth a damn. Tried up in Stilesville for the first time since the Invarias departed and I proba...
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There Are Some Yearling Rainbows In The Lower West Branch.

  #29 got  his new crown at 8:00 this morning. Went from the Dentist to the car wash, and then filled the car up with gas. Arrived at the liquor store at 8:52 and had to wait until 9:00 to replenish my whiskey and vermouth. Stopped at home to pick up the food and was on my way.  Arrived in Deposit a little after 11:00, chatted with Dave who said it was a slow weekend fishing wise, then drove along the river down to the Men's Club. Saw a few sulfurs in the air and not a single fish rising. Headed for the Lordville Estate. Put everything away, and at 1:45 returned to Deposit. At 2:00 there were bugs and a few rising fish. Went up to the Red Barn and found but two cars and the two fishermen that drove them. Saw bugs and some rising fish and decided to join the fray. Paid my $5:00 and walked through the open gate, (Heffers are apparently elsewhere at present). Stewart, (aka "the tenant"), hooked and landed a nice fish as I walked downstream behind him. Went below the second a...
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Food For Thought.

July, helped by a very good Dorothea hatch, was a surprisingly good month for me. I have never, in the 36 years I have owned the Lordville Estate, caught as high a percentage of big fish. While statistics are often misleading I think this months are interesting enough for you to take a look at. Since 1991 I have kept track of the percentage of brown trout in my catch that are over 17 inches each month. July usually shows a decline in the percentage of large browns as they switch from eating bugs to eating fish. Here is a list of both the number of browns browns caught and the percentage of the total catch in July since 2020. Year        # of Browns over 17"       % of browns caught, over 17" 2020 -      24                                          7.8% 2021 -      17              ...
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