PeteCz
10-25-2007, 08:00 PM
Slipped away from work today to try a little fishing after our recent rains. While the rains had raised all of the streams, the WPLP and Road Prong were both very fishable today. If you have a chance to get out, this should be a great weekend for fishing. Now for the report:
Arrived at the Chimney Tops Trail Parking area at about 10:15 and hiked up to the 4th bridge. Rigged up and entered the water at 11am. Caught two fish in the 2nd pool above the bridge on the first two casts. I wish I could say the rest of the day went that well...but that would be stretching the truth...however, I did manage to catch about a dozen brookies in about 3hrs. Caught 8 of them in the last hour or so. The fishing seemed to be picking up, so if you go this weekend, you might want to go in the afternoon. Most fish were in the 5-7" range, with one really colorful 9.5" brookie. All the fish looked great. The water temp was 52 degrees and for the most part the air temp was around 55. It was quite windy in the mountains today, but by staying in the canyon, most of the force of the wind passed overhead and was not too much of a hindrance.
All of the fish were hooked on a #16 Yellow Stimi. I tried an EHC and PA, but rarely got even a look. Early on, the extra elbow room and lower water temp seemed to be keeping the fish down. I really didn't want to fish any nymphs, so I stuck with the Stimi until it started working. Probably could have caught more fish, but would have also snagged a bunch leaves, as well. Up high there were quite a few leaves in the water, but they never seemed to be too much of a problem. It might be that the rain had washed a bunch of them down the stream. I'm not really sure...I had expected them to be more of a problem.
All-in-all it was a great fall day to be on the stream. Even though I caight fewer than normal for the stream if you factor in the better conditions, the higher water, the crisp air and the blue skies it turned out to be an outstanding day. If you can, you need to get out...
Here are a few pics to compare from this Summer. The stream has rebounded back to the point it was at, plus a little extra:
Today at the cascade:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/1751507463_58cc226f94.jpg
August at the same spot
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/1752342912_cec1bbb2a4.jpg
Today at my favorite pool (only caught one there today...)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/1752352338_486fc5b564.jpg
August at the same pool (notice how much lower the flow was in Aug.)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/1751488689_d525a48923.jpg
And finally, the waterfall, today
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/1751508061_f2fc3a2498_o.jpg
And in August (its hard to tell from this picture, but the waterfall was twice as strong today, as in Aug)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/1752350832_c6f2c3e3fe.jpg
I apologize that todays pictures were not as clear, I used my cell phone's camera, and it isn't as good as I had hoped. I also lost a few fish pictures today that I had hoped to upload as well. Oh well, I guess I need to go back on Saturday and find the same fish...
:rolleyes:
Arrived at the Chimney Tops Trail Parking area at about 10:15 and hiked up to the 4th bridge. Rigged up and entered the water at 11am. Caught two fish in the 2nd pool above the bridge on the first two casts. I wish I could say the rest of the day went that well...but that would be stretching the truth...however, I did manage to catch about a dozen brookies in about 3hrs. Caught 8 of them in the last hour or so. The fishing seemed to be picking up, so if you go this weekend, you might want to go in the afternoon. Most fish were in the 5-7" range, with one really colorful 9.5" brookie. All the fish looked great. The water temp was 52 degrees and for the most part the air temp was around 55. It was quite windy in the mountains today, but by staying in the canyon, most of the force of the wind passed overhead and was not too much of a hindrance.
All of the fish were hooked on a #16 Yellow Stimi. I tried an EHC and PA, but rarely got even a look. Early on, the extra elbow room and lower water temp seemed to be keeping the fish down. I really didn't want to fish any nymphs, so I stuck with the Stimi until it started working. Probably could have caught more fish, but would have also snagged a bunch leaves, as well. Up high there were quite a few leaves in the water, but they never seemed to be too much of a problem. It might be that the rain had washed a bunch of them down the stream. I'm not really sure...I had expected them to be more of a problem.
All-in-all it was a great fall day to be on the stream. Even though I caight fewer than normal for the stream if you factor in the better conditions, the higher water, the crisp air and the blue skies it turned out to be an outstanding day. If you can, you need to get out...
Here are a few pics to compare from this Summer. The stream has rebounded back to the point it was at, plus a little extra:
Today at the cascade:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/1751507463_58cc226f94.jpg
August at the same spot
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/1752342912_cec1bbb2a4.jpg
Today at my favorite pool (only caught one there today...)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2230/1752352338_486fc5b564.jpg
August at the same pool (notice how much lower the flow was in Aug.)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/1751488689_d525a48923.jpg
And finally, the waterfall, today
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/1751508061_f2fc3a2498_o.jpg
And in August (its hard to tell from this picture, but the waterfall was twice as strong today, as in Aug)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/1752350832_c6f2c3e3fe.jpg
I apologize that todays pictures were not as clear, I used my cell phone's camera, and it isn't as good as I had hoped. I also lost a few fish pictures today that I had hoped to upload as well. Oh well, I guess I need to go back on Saturday and find the same fish...
:rolleyes: