# Why my name's not J-Trout



## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Went up to Tibble Fork Res. with Nibble Nuts yesterday afternoon. I was surprised by how many people were up there on a Wed. night. Especially with an all new episode of South Park on, but that's a different story. Anyway, I have apparently lost the ability to catch trout in my constant pursuit of warm water fish this last summer and I was totally skunked last night. I tried a Mepps, a Lil Jake, some no name lure, powerbait, powerbait tipped with a minnow, a tube jig, a tube jig tipped with a minnow, and a fly with a bubble. I got a total of two things: Jack and crap and that's it. There were fish all around and they were launching themselves out of the water. We also saw a fly fisherman who was fishing close by pull out 2 or 3 little guys, but I couldn't even get a bite. So, if any of you trout guys want to throw some tips my way, I'd sure appreciate it.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Size 18 parachute adams or griffehts gnat on a 6x tippet with a size 18 pheasant tail dropper. Fished slow.


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Ya I'm not a fly fisherman, so it's like you're not even speaking English. What does all that mean? I'm willing, I just don't understand!


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

J-bass I will make you a deal, I have only caught one bass in my life and it was fun and it sounds like you can use so trout help. In the spring lets swap you take a clueless monkey don't know how to catch a bass guy out fising (I even have a small boat we can use). I will take you tummy-showing beer drinking avatar having fly fishing for some trout. What do ya think?


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

I can also take you out (we'll leave the Jazz as an off limits topic) :lol: and show you how to catch trout on your bass tackle. :wink: I can also get you on bass during the winter if you've got a mind.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

J-bass said:


> Ya I'm not a fly fisherman, so it's like you're not even speaking English. What does all that mean? I'm willing, I just don't understand!


LOL, that made me laugh. I can laugh because I used to be there.

Size 18 is the size of the hook, it's pretty small. Most bait hooks are like size 8 to give you an idea, the bigger the number the smaller the hook.

Parachute Adams is a type of fly. It is a general fly pattern that represents pretty much anything, but mainly small mayflies.
http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/uploads/DSC04391.JPG

The Griffeth's Gnat is a pattern that represents a Midge Cluster. Midges are very small bugs (little mosquito looking things, but without their needle sucker thingy http://www.troutnut.com/topic/626 ) . When they mate, they cluster up and fish go nuts for them. Usually size 20-18 work well, but they can go all the way down to size 28 or so. http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/upload ... 200491.jpg

I would also recommend using a Zebra Midge, this pattern represents a midge pupa right before it hatches out of the water. Just tie it on your leader behind your bubble and reel it in nice and slow. Size 22-18 work best for me.
http://www.danica.com/flytier/ccraven/zebra_midge.htm

Any local fly shop would have any of these flies.

Your leader should be thinner and more clear than your regular line when fishing with flies. I usually fish a 6x tippet. Basically that is 3lb line. Tippet is a special leader that tends to be more clear, thinner and stronger than regular fishing line. Most fly fisherman tie on about 2-3 of it on the end of their leader. I make my entire leader out of the stuff. Leaders makes a HUGE difference on getting skunked or not when fish are keying in on small bugs. The thinner the better. But you can't fight the fish as hard, or you will break them off. You have to be gentle and still try to maintain control, all though on a lake that isn't too much of a concern.

When the fish are going nuts over something you can't see and NOTHING else works, they are usually keying in on these small bugs. I don't go fishing with out those patterns in my fly box.

Good Luck


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I can attest to the effectiveness of a Parachute Adams behind a bubble. I'd never tried it before and got hits on every cast. I couldn't always set the hook, but it worked.

Also, if you find that setting the hook is difficult with a sinking fly, like that midge pattern, try a dry like the PA. I've noticed they're a little bit easier to set IMO.

And I'm in no way to be considered a fly guy. I usually like spinners, rapalas, and bait. The fly thing is just really fun to play with. 

(With a spinning rod and a bubble, you can get your fly out way further than guys with a fly rod, too. Shhh.) :lol:


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

The bait guys I see doing the best up there use salmon eggs on a egg hook under a bobber. 

I use midge patterns mostly-- dries and emergers from 18-22 and small nymphs of the same size work well under an indicator. In the summer and early fall, a 14 olive damsel nymph stripped slowly is deadly for the rainbows and an occaisonal brown.


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Orvis, you got yourself a deal man!!! Altough I can't catch a **** trout to save my life, I really am an OK bass fisherman, and would love to get you onto some nice fatties this spring. I've always wanted to know how to flyfish too, but I don't want to spend the big bucks on tackle if I don't know what I'm doing and it doesn't look like something you can just figure out by yourself. So I'm in if you are!

Riverrat, you've got yourself a deal too! And incidentaly, I'm not really that big a Jazz fan, I just like arguing about sports so no big deal there. I really want to hit the bass through the ice this year as I tend to target trout. Throught the ice is the only time I can seem to catch 'em. Also, catching trout on my bass gear would be ideal because then I wouldn't have to buy a whole new tackle box of stuff.

And finally to Garyfish, RNF and LOAH, thanks a million. It's like you just translated some anciet and secret text for me and I'm now beginning to see the light. I'm going after work today to pick up all of the flies and leaders mentioned and I'm going to try this trout thing again.

Hey LOAH, I know you're pretty into tossing lures. Any good advice on that front?


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

J-bass, 

That is the beauty of this forum! I can troll 1/2 decent and pick up fish on the fly although no expert by any means. But from just this year LOAH has turned me into a minnow fisherman, and now 1/2 of his post have to do with flies and he was a deadly fisherman before that now he really slays them! Skee4l was nice enough to take me mac fishing and I caught my first bass on a tube jig this year, I didn't even know what a tube jig was before that trip. Greenguy88 & Chuckmiester are showing me the way on stillwater flyfishing and this weekend I hope to get my first still water fish on a flyrod. Hopefully I can help Greenguy88 with some moving water stuff and he promises to show me icefishing this year. These are all great experiences just from meeting with new people and learning new techniques all from forum members. It has made me catch the fishing bug worse this year and shown me new ways to fish. So J-bass you got yourself a deal PM me your contact info and I will do the same and we will hit some water this spring!


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

This really is an excellent resource. I was very upset when the DWR shut it down and was very excited to find this site. I don't post a lot but I do read most of them and pick up a lot of tips! I would like to thank everyone for sharing tips and secrets here. Maybe one of these days I'll actually figure something out that works well on my own and be able to share.


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Guns and flies, I hear you man. I was pretty ticked off when I saw they shut the old site down. I was also like you in that I hardly ever posted anything on the old forum, but I figured I ought to throw my hat in the ring and share my limited knowledge in hopes of picking up a whole lot more and I gotta say it's worked! From just this post alone I should be a heck of a better fisherman. Of course, reading about is one thing, putting into practice is another, but I'm willing to give er a whirl! And actually, this summer I met UTBass through the old forum and he taught me and Nibble Nuts a new bass technique that really opened up whole new worlds of fishing for us, so I owe this site a lot. I say thanks to all who contribute as well.


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

I'd like to add that while I like the hunting section of this forum, getting any realinfo out of that bunch is like pulling teeth. But, with the competition so great and the quarry so few, it makes sense. It just seems that the fishing guys are a lot more willing to pass on their knowledge.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Welcome aboard, G&F. Glad you found us.

J-bass

I'm best on a river or a stream with my spinners, but I usually do alright on stillwater. The biggest "trick" I've noticed when fishing stillwater with a spinner (usually a Blue Fox #2 in brass) is to get an understanding of how that particular water wants me to retrieve. Sounds silly, but it's the major factor as to how well I do with my hardware.

At some waters, I have to reel in pretty fast and others will be slow. It also may change with the direction that I'm casting. If I cast to my left I may feel the action through my rod is just right at a slow steady retrieve, but to get that same feel through the rod on my right side, I may have to reel in just a little bit faster.

The only constant part of it (with a spinner) is to keep a firm grip with your rod hand and a steady crank with your reel hand.

With rapalas, it's an entirely different world. Sometimes a smooth retrieve is what works and sometimes you have to move your rod around or twitch the tip or walk with it...Open book that I'm not too good at reading yet.

A Jake's can score you some fish with a pretty steady speed interrupted with a couple of twitches and a short pause every once in awhile. Once you get a few hits, you'll get the feel of what's working on that water, that day.

On a river, tossing that BF#2 is solid gold for me. I catch fish casting upstream and downstream. Both take a different retrieve.

Casting upstream is usually the most effective because the fish can't really see you coming, usually. The key is to read where the fish will be in the current, but you can get this after a little while. Normally, hitting the invisible line where fast water meets slow water (often along side obstructions in the current) can produce. Also tossing into pockets of calm water behind obstructions (boulders, logs, shopping carts, corpses *Jordan River* :lol: ) and reeling in just faster than the current works well.

When you're going against the current, you'll have to be a little sneakier and you'll have to reel in much more slowly. If you see your spinner hopping on top, slow down or stop for a sec while the current spins it and lets it down into the column. Work the same types of areas and "swim" your spinner back and forth periodically until you can find your groove. If you swim it into bubbles and wash, you'll probably need to crank a little faster or swim it out to the seam where the bubbles end to get hookups. Those areas can toss your lure around and stop your blade from spinning sometimes.

Sorry to ramble. I should probably get back to work. :lol:


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Now that was a sweet post LOAH. I hope everyone can benefit from that.


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

orvis1 said:


> J-bass I will make you a deal, I have only caught one bass in my life and it was fun and it sounds like you can use so trout help. In the spring lets swap you take a clueless monkey don't know how to catch a bass guy out fising (I even have a small boat we can use). I will take you tummy-showing beer drinking avatar having fly fishing for some trout. What do ya think?


So you are looking to add some variety to your troutly ways. You just might find that you are not immune from the bass fever once you start down that road. They sure fight alot harder so learn the palomar knot. Big bass can rip knots with ease. Maybe we will cross paths someday and can exchange some knowledge.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Nibble nuts you got yourself a deal! Chasing bass does seem like fun and they put up a heck of a fight. P.M. me and we will set something up for the spring!


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

I will pm you with my info when I can think straight again. Me and J-bass are hittin it heavy tonight. We would have met anyway, because me and J-bass go back well over a decade and he might as well be my brother. I think LOAH needs to get into some big bass as well. I saw the post of his biggest bass and he is missing out on the action of the bigguns. We can arrange that for him. So lets do some fishing this spring or summer or whenever.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

You got it, just had a few at the neighbors myself! Only a few because 4am comes early for my drive to the spot 2morrow!


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## J-bass (Oct 22, 2007)

Where are you headed to tomorrow Orvis? I hope I'm not too loaded to head out early tomorrow.


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