Monday, March 14, 2016
Fishing Report - Bighorn River - Thermopolis, Wyoming
Flows out of Boysen Reservoir are 590cfs. Kinda bony out there. Fishing overall has been good, not as electric as it was 2 or 3 weeks ago, but still good. Nymphing with scuds, sow bugs, worms, midge pupa and even a few baetis nymphs. There have been a ton of midge on the surface and a few fish eating on top, but daily afternoon winds have been putting the kibosh on dry fly fishing. Got some nasty weather rolling in this week and that really should get those BWO'S hatching. Still seeing a couple dudes here and there targeting rainbows on redds, you know who you are and you're not cool.. give em a break.
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You know what I like about you guides, the fact that you are trying to make a living on a public resource and think you have the right to tell people how to fish. If what someone is doing is not illegal then you should keep your opinions to yourself. Furthermore, all of the big western tail-waters are 100% artificial fisheries. If you think someone taking a fish here and there off of a a redd where there is 600 fish per mile is more detrimental than someone fishing it hard 250 days a year you are delusional. I hope you are not one of those guides who rips on spin casters also. There are a lot of young guides who think they know it all. Unless someone is doing something illegal according to the regulations you don't tell someone else how to fish, period. I might not agree with someone dunking crawlers with a spin rod but it is legal and it is their choice. Some people fish for fun, some for food and some like yourself, for profit. The reports are much appreciated, but the opinions are not.
ReplyDeleteJust because the state doesn't regulate it doesn't make it right. I also have no problem with spin fishing, but I do think treble hooks are very hard on fish. I've handled thousands of fish on this river and have never torn off a mandible. If you're fishing redds to get a couple fish for dinner, fine whatever, maybe you yank on a spawner as you pass by in the boat, but I've been seeing people seek out redds, anchor on them, walk over them and fish for hours. These fine western tailwaters may be fake, but the trout that live in them are real and wild and if we can't take care of this public resource we will all lose it. And if you don't like my opinions it is your choice to read this blog.
ReplyDeleteI will admit anchoring on Redds and walking on them should be avoided, that seems obvious. Unfortunately this states water access laws do more harm than good. It forces and concentrares people to hammer the same areas and the same fish over and over again. With such limited access I think people take liberties with spawning fish that they might not take elsewhere. Why they don't just close side channels off during the spring and fall is beyond me. To the person who can start the monumental task of revising the stream access law to the high water mark, good luck. I think there are more and more people who would back that sort of movement, myself included.
ReplyDeleteI agree. But what is obvious to some doesn't mean it's obvious to everyone and a little education and peer pressure can go a long way. I'm usually of the "fish and let fish" mentality but at some point a man has to stand up and say something. And another outfitter here, John Schwalbe, has had in depth conversations with WG&F about closing spawning channels, but again it's not illegal, so there's nothing they can do. We've talked about roping them off ourselves, and in some states redds are tagged. However this makes it very obvious to those who seek out spawners. And a lot of the spawning grounds are indeed on private property which then of course makes the act of walking and anchoring illegal.
DeleteThis is a very touchy topic that always comes up this time of year. Both sides have valid points.
ReplyDeleteHonesty has a good point about guides using our public resources to make money. They then shouldn't be telling others how to fish.
But in Neil's defense....... Picking up fish off a redd is an extremely unethical way of fishing. Fish on redds have zero interest in feeding and will often slash or swipe at intruders into their nest. Dragging flies or lures across a redd triggers this response and the fish is not willingly taking the lure into it's mouth. Which in fact is very definition of snagging by the game and fish and is illegal in the state of Wyoming. Let's be honest here how many fish that you catch off a redd are actually hooked in the mouth????
That being said. If you want to fish below a redd in the deep water where the other fish are gorging on eggs that are washing down go for it. Nothing unethical about that.
If you can't manage to catch fish not on a redd and have to fish the redds themselves then maybe you should re-evaluate your ability as an angler and work at getting better at reading water, your knowledge of bugs and trout behavior and work on your presentation. I see too many people come fish these tail-water's this time of year and it's the only time of year they manage to catch many fish. Funny how that works.
If you are fishing because you need to feed your family and fishing a redd is the only way. Then go for it. Hell, i'll walk out there with you a just net a few for ya.
Cheers