While it has been a while since I have posted a report it is not due to lack of time on the water. We’ve been busy over the last month guiding over trout and scouting for pike. As is always the case with November we have had a wide range of conditions over the past month.
In Review:
The end of October provided a few opportunities to explore some new trout water and I was able to get one day on the water guiding for landlocked salmon. We were able to land one very nice hen and saw a few other nice fish come unbuttoned. A warmer than normal November has given us some unusually comfortable days for trout trips as of late. We’ve been happy to give people a late shot of vitamin D and bent rods over the last week. When not guiding over trout we’ve been exploring some of our local pike fisheries.
A landlocked salmon from this past season. We have good opportunities for these fish in April, May, and October.
Trout report:
Nymphing has been our most productive method when chasing rainbows and browns over the past few weeks. Mop flies, eggs, worms, prince nymphs and hellgrammite patterns have all been productive. Honestly any fly that has a high protein profile with good inanimate movement in the water seems to get the job done. Trout have definitely moved out of the fastest water and are concentrated in the larger pools, such as below dams and anywhere the river slows and deepens. Fishing the slower edges of bigger riffles and slow pockets near faster water has also been productive. Swinging streamers such as spruce flies, buggers, and zonkers has also been productive, especially on warmer days. With last nights rain fishing might be slow until flows start dropping. As flows drop nymphing with worms and eggs should get some eats as fish will be looking for these food items in the run-off.
A custom hellgrammite jig that has been deadly this fall.
A fine Bow from late October….view our instagram page for more recent pics!
Tom Pines with a nice brown from a mid-November float trip.
Kevin O’brien with a fine wild bow from an early November float trip.
Pike Report
While we’ve been guiding for trout, we’ve spent our research days focused on chasing pike on the fly. Many do not realize that pike are a cold-water fish and prefer water temps below 55 degrees. In summer months pike spend most of their time hunkered down in the deepest parts of the river. As fall arrives, and waters cool they move to banks and drop offs where they can ambush baitfish that winter over in these slower warmer parts of the river. Locating areas where there are good ambush points is key to finding pike. Aquatic vegetation, drop-offs and woody debris can all provide ambush points for pike. The challenge lies in determining which type of structure pike prefer on any given day, or time of year. Sometimes they will be tight to woody debris while other times pike will prefer to hold on drop offs, still other times they will concentrate in shallows and backwaters.
HCG guide Kevin Gordon with a thick Pike. This fish maxed out the 10wt with four blistering runs.
When it comes to fly selection, Pike offer a refreshing simplicity compared to trout. In designing flies for pike, the focus lies in producing baitfish patterns that kick, hover, and stall over the bottom. While trout flies are often designed to get to depth, pike flies are designed to suspend. A suspending fly Allows the angler to animate the fly with even the slowest retrieves. A fly that suspends well and has bulk up front to provide a good “kick” also allows anglers to slow twitch a fly when a picky fish is in pursuit. To facilitate the puppet mastery of presenting a pike fly, attention to rod and line selection is paramount. We have found that a stiff 9 or 10 weight rod, coupled with an intermediate or full sink fly line allows for the best control of pike flies, both when casting and retrieving. The Thomas and Thomas Exocett Predator rod was designed to deliver large bulky flies with control and ease while also providing the stiffness needed to twitch the fly and set the hook on a fish that has far more teeth than flesh. The Rio Costal Quickshoot intermediate line or Scientific anglers Sonar Intermediate lines are good choices for pike that are suspended in less than 6 feet of water. To fish deeper water a 400 grain Sonar or Orvis pro streamer line will get the job done.
HCG guides Nate Hill and Kevin Gordon with the rewards of a day hunting for pike.
The art of hooking and fighting Pike is a challenging one to master. For one thing pike will often swipe at your fly multiple times before inhaling. It is very common to set the hook too quickly on the first bump, moving the fly out of the strike zone. When a fish is in pursuit try slowing the retrieve and impart small twitches to trigger a strike, rather than the erratic jerky retrieves that you would use to entice a trout. Sometimes the act of simply stopping your retrieve is the key to getting an eat. Detecting the eat is obvious when the fish is in sight but sometimes surprisingly subtle when the fish is out of visible range. Pike often take the fly coming straight towards you, giving the feeling of zero resistance on the retrieve. If you feel any change in resistance take a deep breath to give the mouth time to close and then strip HARD. Once a pike is hooked a low rod angle and hard pressure are key to keeping the hook set.
An average sized pike is in the 26”-30” inch range.
When landing pike a very large net, a pair of long pliers and hopefully barbless hooks will allow for a safe release and “fewer” teeth wounds to the angler.
For the best bite windows look for calm cloudy days during minor moon phases. Fortunately, even on sunny days it is common to get at least a few pike to eat, especially as the sun begins to dip in the afternoon. If you’d like to take a shot at chasing pike this fall, we still have a few dates open. We will guide these trips right up until the waters freeze in December.
UPDATED COVID 19 Protocols:
With covid-19 case numbers on the rise we will continue to follow our covid guidelines. We ask that all clients wear masks when in vehicles. We are now requesting that all clients bring masks on the boat and wear them for the duration of the trip. We have previously allowed masks to be taken off when outside but feel that the nation wide rise in cases over the past few days warrants further precautions. Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions about our covid protocols.
Tight lines,
Nate