Caney Fork Fishing Report

A Rainbow Caught & Released

We have been back on the water this week and specifically the Caney Fork. The dam has been the talk of all us river rats since last year. The repairs are supposed to cost upwards of $300,000,000.00 and take seven years. While the Army Corps fixes the seep water and cracks, I decided to go find the fish, cause they are there....somewhere.

Dan Working in a Run

We hooked up early, well Dan, hooked up early and we boated some hatchery brats. But, on this day we gravitated back to throwing streamers for larger fish. It was hot, real hot and I must admit the heat won. The next thing we knew the boat was parked on a gravel bar and we were wet wading. I ended up on nymphs pretty early while Dan and Mark stayed on streamers a bit longer.

Caught on a Single Nymph Rig

The water continued to fall out. We saw some folks who thought the water was still a little high. The water level was keeping the fish from playing. We agreed and continued to pick apart the holes, runs and riffles. Anglers are some of the most optimistic folks around. Knowing that water level was high, but also that it was continually dropping. The meaning? The fish are going to really turn-on at any minute, because the water level is steady falling. It just makes sense. It makes sense in my head anyway.

Persistence. The challenge to stay focused when it is hot and the fish aren't keeping us as busy as we want to be. Oh yeah the fish were coming to the streamers and then braking at the last minute. We started picking up some trends and beginning to bring some fish to the net. Some fish came on the nymph rigs and pretty soon the browns were coming along with the rainbows.

A Calm Day on the River, Life's Good Today

I never get tired of the view from behind the oars, or heck from the casting brace for that matter. Somebody said one time "when you push the boat away from the ramp and it picks up the drift there isn't a feeling like it". Leave the day to day stuff behind and just look at the view, watch the big nasty streamers work or just get focused on the dry fly or the indicator... There is always just floating fown the river and having a good discussion that solves pretty much nothing.

Came to Dan's Articulated Streamer

Dan has been fishing with me for a couple years now. He's an accomplished watercolor artist and he enjoys the streamers as much as anybody. Not only does he stay with them as long as anyone, but he enjoys watching the fly "swim" too. One of the tricks to "catching" on a streamer, especially the bigger articulated stuff is to stick with it when everyone else and almost everything inside you says give it up. Dan stays with it and on this day a brown (yes that brown right up there in the picture) came up over a log chasing the marabou and deer hair, then nailed it right in front of our eyes. Dan received his opportunity to row shortly thereafter...

This Brown Slammed a...

We fished everything under the surface and didn't really try any dries. One of the reasons was that we were stuck on streamers until the sun came out. Then it was so hot that watching the indicator seemed like the right thing to do. The rainbows were the first to come to the nymphs. I have been just fishing a single nymph rig a lot lately. Who knows why, other than the single nymph seems to bring some of the better fish than a nymph and midge or even a couple midges. Later in the Summer we will create our own midge hatch with the triple midge rigs. Right now in the heat of the Summer the single offering seems to work about as good as anything else on the river, for me anyway.

Nothing But Net

We ended the day in a thunderstorm after wrapping up the day chasing some real big stripers. The stripers were in the mood to do 'drive-bys' only and wouldn't hook up like we wanted. You can bet I have the best ambush locations noted though. Mark and I have fished together for about ten years now. There is one thing that really gets him excited and that is a big striper! He had a couple close inspections but they were just a teaser for what is surely to come. We will go back again and check out those spots again before too long...

Caught & Released