February has started with cold weather, including some very windy days, cold mornings and frisky trout!
Morning temps have been in the mid-20’s, warming to mid-50’s, which makes for a cool ride up river. Few things are as satisfying as a hot coffee or hot chocolate after a brisk start, unless it’s a fish on your first or second cast, which has happened on more than one occasion in the last two weeks!
Rainbows are spawning, and consistently choosing to munch the Oregon cheese glow bugs over other flies. Ginger scuds and red San Juan worms offer a little menu variety, but the glow bugs are definitely the preferred choice.
As always, a good drag-free drift is critical, and I regularly tell clients that it’s hard to be too sensitive to a take. If you even think you see your indicator pause or slow, set the hook! Worse case; you only have to re-cast. I see clients regularly miss fish as they wait for a more obvious strike.
I’ve had clients ask me, “how do you know it’s a fish, instead of the bottom?” I reply, “I don’t! … but there’s no down-side to setting the hook.” Almost daily, clients are surprised when it results in a hook-up. The strikes can be very subtle, so be extra sensitive, and catch more fish.
Spin fishing has also been good, with the standard lures; Panther Martin (in black with yellow dots), Castmaster and rubber worms. Don’t be shy about using glow bugs on a spin rig; add weight 18′-20″ above the glow bug and bounce it off the bottom. The key is to get the lures down to where the fish are. Big fish tend to stay deeper, and even if you regularly hook moss, the probability of getting larger fish increases with depth. The key is to fish where the fish are; this time of year, with less light on the water, fish where the sun is.
Spring is almost here, and my calendar is filling, so call or email to reserve your day on the most beautiful spot in the Southwest to catch quality trout! 602-510-5511 skelly@kellyoutfitters.com
Tight lines!
Steve Kelly
