Skunked on the Caney...Again.

[Gerry Romer]

Originally Posted by Worrgamesguy

I don't know how you could get skunked on the Caney...

David- Isn't Lancaster where we parked and we all almost fell? The place with the shack across the pull off? If it is, then Lancaster hasn't "shock and awed" me by all means. It seems like fantastic water but when we were there we saw at least a dozen fishermen and only one 17" brown was caught, along with a few that David pulled in. Gerry and I didn't catch any at Lancaster.

BRF, I'll tell you my favorite- a tan sz. 14 EHC with a black and silver zebra midge under it. I've had multiple strikes on the indicator, but I haven't been able to bring one in on the indicator just yet. But I PROMISE that if you go up to Happy Hollow right around daybreak it is IMPOSSIBLE not to catch a fish, it's unreal how many fish are in that shallow water not even 10 feet out.

To your question about length of tippet, here's a method I made up that has worked great for me- make your elbows touch your side, and hold the spool of tippet with both hands in the middle of your chest. Grab the end of the tippet on the spool, still keeping elbows on your sides, pull your hands apart until your arms go straight out from your body. Grab the place where the tippet meets the spool with your left hand, keeping your right hand straight out, and pull one more length until your left hand becomes straight out from your body. Make sense? Sorry it might be a little confusing

Listen to you!!

A few posts ago you were whining just like BRF "I can't catch anything on the Caney... where are all the fish?? ... what am I doing wrong??" and now you're offering sound advice!? Where did this come from??

congrats! You're not only addicted, you know what's going on and how to explain it. Very gratifying...

Now for some specifics.

The 12' that Grumpy was referring to was for some specific areas along the Caney's course. Lancaster is not one of them. Most of the Lancaster area is way too shallow (when it's wade-able) to use anything over 3' on your dropper - even up against the bank. So 24" to 36" in the Lancaster area should work just fine. And, yes, yarn indicators are move able so start at 24" and adjust from there.

The area below the bluffs (and just before the bluffs if you're drifting) is full of some very deep, slow pools where you can extend your dropper to some incredible depths. There are a few killer browns in there, but there's also a lot of deep hidden structure there so you've got to be pretty careful.

Congrats, Trey! You're now suddenly giving back and I think that's great

Gerry

[Worrgamesguy]

Originally Posted by Flat Fly n

PS.. What is a Blue Raider anyway?

Middle Tennessee State. I'll be a student there next fall. MTSU has pulled off some upsets lately, so I'm kinda psyched about going there if the football team gets better like it has been doing. But I'm going to be a pilot, and they have one of the top 5 flight teams in the nation.

Originally Posted by Gerry Romer

Listen to you!!

A few posts ago you were whining just like BRF "I can't catch anything on the Caney... where are all the fish?? ... what am I doing wrong??" and now you're offering sound advice!? Where did this come from??

congrats! You're not only addicted, you know what's going on and how to explain it. Very gratifying...

Now for some specifics.

The 12' that Grumpy was referring to was for some specific areas along the Caney's course. Lancaster is not one of them. Most of the Lancaster area is way too shallow (when it's wade-able) to use anything over 3' on your dropper - even up against the bank. So 24" to 36" in the Lancaster area should work just fine. And, yes, yarn indicators are move able so start at 24" and adjust from there.

The area below the bluffs (and just before the bluffs if you're drifting) is full of some very deep, slow pools where you can extend your dropper to some incredible depths. There are a few killer browns in there, but there's also a lot of deep hidden structure there so you've got to be pretty careful.

Congrats, Trey! You're now suddenly giving back and I think that's great

Gerry

You've been my mentor for god knows how long now, 5 months? And you've NEVER gotten angry with my questions that I'm sure you've answered a dozen more times than you cared to. Why WOULDN'T I want to give back? Fly fishing has changed my life, it's sad to admit but I LOVE IT!

You want to know what I'm doing next, buddy? Buying 2 kayaks to put in the back of my dad's truck so a friend and I can go float the Caney whenever we want, and not have to wait on my dad so we can cram into the jon boat. I saw a lot of people fly fishing from kayaks, and it seemed like it was a lot of fun.

I swear one day I will find a way to pay you back for all that you've done for me.

[fishingman62]

hey brf.... i'll add my two cents...this is what works the best for me..... a size 14-16 parchute adams as an indicator....3-4ft of 5x tippet tied to the bend in the hook and a midge which ever color is working or a bhpt tied on as the dropper... this catches fish for me every time i go to the caney... i also always manage a few fish on the adams which is why i use it for my indicator...some of my larger fish have come off the adams...like i said just my two cents but it works ......

[BlueRaiderFan]

Originally Posted by fishingman62

hey brf.... i'll add my two cents...this is what works the best for me..... a size 14-16 parchute adams as an indicator....3-4ft of 5x tippet tied to the bend in the hook and a midge which ever color is working or a bhpt tied on as the dropper... this catches fish for me every time i go to the caney... i also always manage a few fish on the adams which is why i use it for my indicator...some of my larger fish have come off the adams...like i said just my two cents but it works ......

Yeah, I was doing about the same thing except I used a stimulator dry size 18. I think my problem was depth, but it's hard to be certain. One thing is for certain; I wasn't at work. If it were legal, I would spend the night on the bank and wake up and do it again. You have to love a sport where you can tie your own bait and feel like an artist for having done it. I'm still learning, but that's the best part about it. If it came to me easy, I wouldn't appreciate it. It may take me 3 more years, but I'm going to Lancaster every trip until I catch a fish. That's not stubborness, I just know that if I learn to catch on there, I will have learned something. Now if I can just learn to pull money from the mutual funds in my 401K and get them into cash before the bottom drops out like it did today...but that's another story.

[BlueRaiderFan]

Gerry,

Please don't think of it as whining. I'm just trying to gather information and to be honest, yes I am frustrated, but that's o.k. I love to learn new things. I think people have to remember; I'm not in a boat. In my opinion, it is much easier to get a good drift on a fly in a boat with a slack down stream cast close to the bank, than it is while wading. I also don't cover NEARLY as much ground as a person in a boat. Having said that, it's clear I have a lot to learn. For some reason I can see a couple hundred bucks of my money in Grumpy's pocket come next Spring.

Dwayne

[BlueRaiderFan]

Trey,

Glad to hear you chose the premier state university in Tennesee to further your education. We also have a nationally ranked Recording Idustry Management program. Don't become close friends with any one that parties a lot. They'll just drag you down. I could have gone to medical school, but I wanted to party too much and now I work in a lab. It's a good job and pays o.k, but it doesn't pay what a doctor makes, that is for certain. Just think; When all the heavy partiers are sleeping it off, you'll be on the river living the good life!

Dwayne

[Gerry Romer]

Grumpy says thank you... but why wait til spring??

Hang in there.. it'll all make sense shortly. Just ask Trey

[BlueRaiderFan]

Ha! If I'm paying good money, I'm waiting until the fish are biting!

[BlueRaiderFan]

Trey,

You may as well get that avatar changed!

Go Blue Raiders!

[Worrgamesguy]

Originally Posted by BlueRaiderFan

Trey,

Glad to hear you chose the premier state university in Tennesee to further your education. We also have a nationally ranked Recording Idustry Management program. Don't become close friends with any one that parties a lot. They'll just drag you down. I could have gone to medical school, but I wanted to party too much and now I work in a lab. It's a good job and pays o.k, but it doesn't pay what a doctor makes, that is for certain. Just think; When all the heavy partiers are sleeping it off, you'll be on the river living the good life!

Dwayne

I've known I was going to MTSU for over 4 years, I love everything about it. And being 20 minutes from my house is a plus.

Originally Posted by Gerry Romer

Grumpy says thank you... but why wait til spring??

Hang in there.. it'll all make sense shortly. Just ask Trey

Haha don't get too confident in me, now. I'm gonna have my fair share of questions that will develop later, but I think now that I have my new setup and leader/tippet knowledge coupled with the right fly selection I will do just fine until one arises. But I appreciate the ego boost