So I’m trying to throw myself into tying most of the trout-appropriate flies in Morgan Lyle’s “Simple Flies” book. I started with some of the simplest, brassies and peacock herl nymphs.
I got as far as half a dozen size 14 and size 16 brassies, and half a dozen size 12 peacock herl nymphs. I should have tied some buggers, but had just enough to tell myself I’d be all right. So I dashed out to Bear Creek. My time is crushed with two courses to develop essentially from scratch (that’s six lectures a week to make 40-50 slides for each), and when I do get to fish there’s an internal voice yelling at me that I should be at home developing lectures. But oh well.
I figured Bear had to have been stocked by now, given the cars I’d seen in the parking lot. Sure enough, there was a car in the parking lot this time. This deflated me, but I figured I could manage to work around one or a couple of guys. As it turned out I didn’t even see whoever it was all day.
So, yes, it had been stocked. Downstream wasn’t great, though. I caught three rainbow in the pool where James caught his first ever, but not much else in other pools. I think they’d been fished pretty hard. Things changed when I got to our favourite pool upstream, which isn’t easily accessible from the groomed paths. I set up shop here and mainly worked nymphs. I tried the very first size 14 brassie I’d tied and caught a rainbow. Eventually I tried the very first size 12 peacock herl nymph I’d tied. I hooked and lost three rainbow, landed a big chub, then lost it in a tree. I tied on the second I’d tied and landed three rainbow with it. It was enormously satisfying to fish the new patterns right away and have success with them. Not doing it to just admire them in the box. I caught seven trout from the pool, including the largest rainbow I’ve landed in Iowa (just over 14″, measured with a tape measure, not estimated). I also caught the largest smallmouth bass I’ve landed, at 12″.
The smallmouth fought absolutely furiously, running all over the place. I was half-worried about the Rhodo as it got more of a workout than usual.
I moved up to the huge stocking pool at the upstream end of the track and for the first time saw trout holding in it. I crossed over, tiptoed into it a ways and cast downstream with a olive plus size killer bugger. This yielded the first trout I’ve taken from this pool, and was a portent of what was to come on the next trip with James.
I went upstream to the best of the newly discovered pools and took a few more rainbow along with the usual centrarchids. The highlight was the largest chub I’ve ever caught, a 12 inch monster.
So, despite the pangs that I really should have had the nose to the grindstone, it was a great outing. The newly tied patterns caught fish and I caught the largest rainbow, chub, and smallmouth of the year so far. The final totals were 18 rainbow, 26 chub, 7 shiner, 3 rock bass, 3 smallmouths, and 8 green sunfish. I used a variety of #12 plus size olive killer bugger, #12 black woolly bugger, #14 brassie, #12 peacock herl nymph, #10 hare’s ear nymph, and #12 copper john. All caught trout.