Lamson has revised the Konic reel and we now have them in stock. This is a great reel for the price. I would say this is the best value for your dollar in terms of trout reels. It is a die cast reel instead of machined, which cuts down on the cost. However it is packed with the same drag system as Lamsons high end reels. This reel comes in at $149 for a size 2 which is for 5 and 6wt rods. Come in the shop and check it out, you will not be disappointed.
Flows have been reduced to 1,100 cfs. I don’t know if they will be dropped again. We will let you all know if that happens. I personally don’t think it will because the inflow is now great than the outflow and the resevior is begining to slowly fill. Floating is still an option at these flows but it will take you a long time to float traditional stretches you are used to in the summer time. We recommend smaller shorter floats, like Wolf to Byington, Irwin to Spring Creek, Spring Creek to Conant, Dam to Huskies and Lorenzo to Menan. However now that the flows have dropped this much wade fishing is also very accessible throughout the entire river.
Blue Wing Olives and midges have been hatching. The BWO fishing is much better on the cloudy days. Streamers have began to slow down a little but has still been effective. Again the cloudy days will produce more active fish on streamers. Nymphing is always a good option for catching fish right now. The moss is still present on the bottom of the river and nymphing can become frustrating cleaning all the moss off your flies. If you do nymph I would only drop my flies 4 feet from my indicator. Rubberlegs and Zebra midges have been my choice for nymphs. Copper Johns, blue wing olive nymphs and pheasant tails.
News here is that Ashton Dam construction is complete. Only clean-up and wrap-up actions remain. Ashton Reservoir is being refilled with completion by the end of this year. It looks like the fishery below the dam may not be impacted from construction activities. Credit goes to Pacificorp for conducting construction in a manner that kept the fishery quality unharmed as much as possible.
Tomorrow is the last day of the 2012 fishing season in Yellowstone Park. It makes for one last chance to enjoy pitching streamers to those big browns or BWO life cycle patterns to sipping rainbows!
Springfield Reservoir was recently stocked with rainbows for holdover purposes. These fish range 15″ to 19″ and are easily caught. They seem to take anything that resembles a food form, so try your favorite nymph, midge pupa, or wooly bugger type pattern. Don’t expect a great fight from these fish, but those that survive the winter will be worthy opponents, mentally and physically, come springtime.
Now is the time on the lower river to present streamers for migrating browns and rainbows stalking up for the winter. With daylight savings ending, late afternoon fishing becomes more convenient for being on the river when large fish are more active.
We are happy to announce the beginning of our winter fly tying demo schedule for 2012-2013. Go to the fly tying demo tab on our web site to see demonstrating tiers scheduled from the first demo on Saturday, November 17th to each Saturday through January 5th. As we get acceptances we will announce demonstrating tiers on following Saturdays.
Flows were dropped again this morning to 2,000 cfs. Fishing has been good with Blue Wing Olives and Streamers. There is still a lot of moss on the river. So nymphing deep is pretty ineffective unless you like cleaning moss off your flies. Nymphing can be accomplished by hanging a dropper from a Chernobyl ant or a Grasshopper. The Blue Wing Olive have been hatching in great numbers and fish are rising to them in the afternoons.
Most folks fishing here report good success, so no big changes. Take a look at our previous reports for more details. One thing for sure is that as we move toward the winter season, it’s a good idea to check road and weather conditions before traveling to the lake.
We are assembling our Saturday fly tying demo schedule for the winter season. A demo will be held each Saturday, beginning November 17th, 2012 and going through March 30, 2013. In a few days we will announce the schedule for the remainder of 2012. The demos are free to the public, usually run from 10 AM to 1 PM, and attending them is a great way to keep up with new materials and techniques as well as review both of these, tried and true. Each tier to be featured has great experience tying and presenting the patterns they will demonstrate. Each is also ready and willing to share their knowledge and skills with you.