Hopper Time

It be hopper time y'all. Wow, that sounds dorky, but it is true. The weather is warming up and all manners of terrestrial insects are finding there way into the bellies of hungry trout. So far most of the action has been on ants and beetles, but this week fish have started to take hoppers.

Terrestrials provide some of the best action of the year. Fish ant, beetle, and hopper patterns near the banks and get ready to see some impressive takes.

My top five patterns for summer terrestrial fishing are:

1) Logan's Hopper (pictured above)- these take awhile but the float like crazy. Let me know and I can tie some up for you.

2) CDC Beetle- not pictured but we have them in stock at the shop.

3) Dave's Hopper- A classic pattern. It has always been a top producer

4) Chernobyl Ant - I was doubtful the first time I saw these, but they are killers.

5) Brown Fur Ant- Not a fancy pattern, but it always works.

Bighorn Fly Fishing

The Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming offer a great summer get away for Black Hills residents. An easy 3 hour drive from Rapid City, Buffalo, Wyoming, makes a perfect jumping off point. From Buffalo it is roughly an hour and a half to the northern Bighorns or the southern Bighorns.

My wife Christine and I have made it a point for the last 3 summers to spend a weekend or two in the Bighorns. This past weekend we traveled to the West Tensleep trail head for some camping and fishing. We usually pack in and spend a couple days at a mountain lake. However, on this trip we opted to stay near the trail head and make day hikes into mountains.

The bugs were terrible again this year, but we had a great time hiking into Lost Twin Lakes. The wildflowers were in bloom and views were spectacular. Here are a couple photos from the trip.

Hatch Time

It is hatch time- or one of them anyway. It may be hot or warm, definitely not as hot summers past, but the caddis, myriad yellow mayflies, and little yellow stones are hatching. Fish feeding on top is what keeps us throwing sloppy nymph rigs the rest of the year.

I like fishing the Sulphurs, PMDs, and PEDs that we get this time of year. The fish below Pactola are picky, but fooling one of them on a size 16 dun or spinner pattern is an annual highlight. I need to dig into my entomology books and find out what genus these bugs are below Pactola. I keep calling them PMDs or whatever. I know it doesn't matter, but I am the guy who is supposed to know. There are several species hatching daily and they last for several weeks. I usually opt for a CDC dun with a pale yellow or tannish yellow body in sizes 16-20. The fish generally take this pattern, or at least they did last year.

Well, I will quit rambling about yellow mayflies. Get out there and enjoy these hatches. The yellow stones have been fun, tricos have started in town and on Spring creek, and the fish are starting to eat terrestrials. Don't miss out on some of the best opportunities of the season

The same fish?

Tony Rhodes, a guide for the shop, shot this photo one snowy day. He sent me an email after seeing the rapid creek rainbow post (see a couple posts back). This might be the same fish. It is much brighter colored here, and a bit more orange. Take a look at the photo from the previous post and take a close look at the dorsal fin. They have the same irregularity. Nice eye Tony.

Shop Tying Part 1

Not the best photo, but I thought I would put up a photo of one of my latest shop down time killers. This is a PMD emerger with a CDC parachute hackle. Better photos coming soon. PMD's hatches aren't too far away. I know I need to fill up my boxes with emergers and duns.

Rapid Creek Brown

Rapid Creek can make a pretty mean looking brown trout if it wants to. This photo hopefully illustrates that point. I found this on the camera tonight (these 2gb cards can hold a bunch of photos) and I don't know when it was caught or who caught it. It doesn't matter. This is a fine fish.

I couldn't post a rapid creek rainbow photo and not through in a brownie too.

Beautiful Basin Rainbow

This is a picture I had to post. It was taken earlier this spring down below Pactola. This fish was gorgeous. Not the biggest of the day, but it won out in terms of looks. I love the leopard spots offset by the golden olive of the body and the rose red stripe. I look forward to finding this fish again. Hopefully it will be in the same spot lazily sipping in baetis emergers. We shall see...