Still Water

Stillwater 7-13-13

The summer doldrums have hit our favorite lakes to the south. Surface temperatures are now over 70 degrees on most, if not all, of the lakes down south. Hooking, landing, and releasing fish in water over 70 degrees is very tough on fish. If you do decide to fish, make sure you take the extra time to revive the fish and land them as quickly as possible on the heaviest line possible. Fish are going to be cruising weedbeds and hanging out in deeper water this time of year. Damsel nymphs and Chironomids would be your best bets right now.

To the North, the Sand Creek Ponds open up to float tubes and motor-less boats this coming week. Fishing should be excellent on adult Damsel flies and Callibaetis. I had great success on the shops parachute foam damsel size #12 last year up at the ponds. If the fish aren’t on the surface feeding or the wind is blowing, fish a damsel nymph like our Olive and Lt. Olive Mrabou Damsel nymph size #12 under an adult damsel or indicator. There are always some very nice fish caught up there in the first couple weeks so if you missed the dry fly fishing down south on the lakes this year, the Sand Creek Ponds are your best bet.

Stillwater 6/28/13

Damsels continue to dominate the stillwater scene right now and with the warmer temps ahead, the real good fishing might only last a couple more weeks. Dry dropper setups, damsels under indicators, and damsels fished with slow sinking lines are still fishing well, I have done the best with the dark olive bead head damsel in a size 10 we have in the shop. All area lakes are experiencing damsel hatches right now and should all be fishing well with the techniques mentioned above.

There have been some really nice fish caught this spring on area reservoirs so if you haven’t had a piece of the action you need to get out.  Call us in the shop for fresh reports on area lakes.

Stillwaters 6-18-13

Area stillwaters are fishing well right now. We have heard good reports from Daniels, Chesterfield, Twenty Four Mile, and Springfield. Damsels are dominating right now and probably will until the lakes get too warm. The damsel hatch can be some of the best fishing of the year and can even provide you with some rare, dry fly action.  When fishing the damsel hatch though, you need to be ready to switch up your presentation. I would mix it up between throwing damsels on really slow sinking lines like the “Hover” line from Rio, put a pair of damsels patterns under an indicator, or fish a dry damsel with a dropper below. The fish seem to respond differently in each lake around the area so play around with it until you figure out the presentation they want. We have quite a few new damsel patterns in the shop that would be worth checking out if you haven’t been in to see them.

Stillwaters 6-10-13

Stillwaters in the area are fishing well right now. Damsels are hatching on most area lakes and the fish are going to be looking for them. I like to fish Damsels under an indicator this time of year but stripping damsels in with an intermediate or super slow sinking “hover” line works great too. The Rio Camolux and Rio Hover lines are great for that type of fishing. Callibaetis are also hatching and the fish seem to key on them early before the damsels really get going. As far as where to go Twenty Four mile, Springfield, Chesterfield, Daniels, Hawkins, and Island Park reservoir are all fishing well.

If you enjoy Stillwater fishing, I would get out soon and as often as possible. The fishing is good right now and the weather isn’t too terribly hot yet.