Rodding The Stillwater (A Slight Return)

I was able to get back out to the Stillwater (see my previous post on the river, it’s location etc.) last Sunday afternoon and what a great experience it was.

I started out by hiking down river quite a way in hopes of starting as far downstream as I could and fishing the river all the way upstream to the bridge on Dana Hill Road.

Falling back on a prior winning pattern, I tied on a Woolly Bugger and switched between fishing it like a dry and wet fly through a long shallow riffle section.

Things weren’t going well.

Not a single hit even after wading over a 100 yards and through two good pools where I had taken Trout on the last outing.

I was thinking maybe the water level was too low, it was much lower than the last time I was at the river, or maybe it was too warm. I panicked a bit.

I didn’t want to get skunked knowing that I could easily drive to the Millers River and fish a more well known Trout stream.

I came to the third and largest pool on that stretch of the river and I was about to hop from the river and b-line it to the car.

Then it occurred to me. “I’m just fishing this friggin' Bugger… it’s not working. Why not change it!”

I decided to use this opportunity to try my hand at nymphing for the very first time.

Fortunately, last time I was at the fly shop, I picked up a couple of Hares Ears and a Pheasant Tail for just this occasion.

I tied on the Pheasant Tail and casted directly into the fast moving water that was heading into the head of the pool.

The fly sunk immediately and I attempted to fish exactly as I would a dry fly, stripping line and watching very carefully for any sudden unusual movements of to the section of line that met the tippet.

Sure enough the line stalled for a microsecond and I quickly gave the line a good set.

Fish on!

I was stunned. It was a good size fish with some strong pulling and thrashing about under the water.

When I eventually landed him I was pleased to see I good size, 8-10” Rainbow Trout (pictured poorly below) and this time, he didn’t hop off while I was removing the hook.

I kept on nymphing and while working away I noticed some fairly sizable flashes of fish sides in the pool.

It appeared to me that a fish was actively feeding, occasionally turning to its side while scurrying over and across the pool.

Then, a few more casts and BAM!

Another sizeable fish although as I got closer to landing this one, I could see that it was not a Trout.

Instead, it was my good friend the Bass.

Now, I’m not certain what type of Bass this was though. Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted? I don’t know but below is a rough video clip I took and if you know what it was, please let me know.

Next, feeling more confident that the river was truly worthy of sticking with, I waded up stream to the next pool and continued nymphing.

Again, success.

First, a nice size Brook Trout then another nice Rainbow.

I waded still further and continued nymphing but by now my Pheasant Tail was looking really ragged and beat and eventually got hung up on a tree and ruined a nice pool when I had to wade right through the middle in order to get the fly off.

I decided to retire the nymph and try to do some dry fly fishing as the river was now getting much smaller with very shallow water.

I tied on what I can only describe as an Adams tied with a Muddler Minnow-like body.

I cast directly into a fairly fast moving broker riffle at the head of the pool I had just fouled.

BAM!

Some crazy little insane fish was now flying out of the water feet into the air.

This was no Chub… and I could see during its brief flights that it had a series of light round marks on its side.

It reminded me of images of immature Brook Trout that I had seen so I assumed that’s what it was although having talked to the guy at the local fly shop, I now think it may have possibly been a Landlocked Salmon Fry.

Unfortunately my crappo cell phone camera was dead so no pics… next time Ill be sure to bring a digital camera and get some good shots.

Well I proceeded to land another five or six more of those little buggers, all about 3 – 6” and all completely crazy.

One thing though, I think I may have been using too large a fly for this size fish (a 12) as they were being hooked in unusual ways. Next time I will use some newly purchased 16 and 18s instead.

At this point, I was starting to get kind of tired but I was committed to getting to the bridge and then walking back to my car by way of the road so I continued on fishing the now very productive Muddler-like Adams.

I came to a really nice looking run that was swift and smooth with large overhanging ledges where the water cut into the bank.

I cast a few times over the sight of a rise that I had caught out of the corner of my eye.

BAM!

Now this was a really nice fish. Very active and strong… no breeder but easily the largest fish of the day.

After making doubly sure that the hook was set I proceeded to land him to find that I had caught a really nice, roughly 10” Brown Trout.

What a great river! Not a sole fishing it and seemingly loaded with nice Trout.

Well I continued on my way, hiking a bit, all the way to the bridge, walked back to the car, filled out the Trout Unlimited catch report and was off very satisfied that I was now thoroughly back in action.

Fish Killer

San Diego, usually know for its near-idyllic sunny climate and pristine beaches was rocked on Saturday after Lifeguards discovered the body of an 150 pound endangered giant black sea bass, impaled on a spear, floating off the coast of Windansea Beach.

Authorities have ruled out suicide and, having created a profile (see above artist rendering), say they are searching for a single male Caucasian spear fisherman, in his mid 20s or early 30s who may harbor unusual animosity towards the species and have expressed so publicly.

This is the third in a disturbing series of violent acts perpetrated towards giant black sea bass coming only a day after several local men fishing off the coast of Catalina Island accidentally caught one victim who is now, fortunately, recovering from his wounds.

In 2005, three men were also charged in the senseless shooting of another La Jolla victim who wasn’t so fortunate.

Officials are asking that any information that might lead to the capture and subsequent arrest of the killer be brought to their attention and that the wider community of giant black sea bass should stay vigilant and alert but not overly concerned as stepped up police presence should act to deter further violence.