[J.James]

A good friend of mine and I went out on our local river here. The water was just gorgeous, I mean great clarity, low turbidity, tons of mallards, ducks, geese, frogs, cardinals (had I a decent camera in me it would have been epic), the water temperature was likely in the high 40s-50s and that's after a week of 80degree days. The river is 30 miles long. It hasn't been stocked in a few years. I canoed a portion Thursday and only saw three fish. The level is actually medium low.

This river is known for its great fishing until a hurricane three-four years ago destroyed it. But it has recovered. The State no longer stocks it as the hatchery was destroyed in the storm

Yesterday a friend of mine and I went out and fished two thirds of the more productive part of the river. It was just amazing weather. We didn't have one bite, not one. He is a guide and we were both really stumped.

It's the first time I've never hooked up on this water. I fished three days last week and few prior, nothing

It sure was pretty though -

At one point we stopped in a neighborhood to ask for permission for access and not only did the home owner rudely and vehemently deny us, his neighbor cut us off as we were leaving and grilled us on our purpose. It was strange

Toward the end of the day my nearly new Orvis boots lost both their bottom of the boot and the screws leaving me on slippery rubber that nearly drowned me as I had to cross the water back to the vehicle. I'm going to call them this week, I was not impressed. It got my heart pumping

Anyone experience this kind of scenario? Regarding the fish that is

Thanks, hope you all are well

 

[J.James]

Oops, wrong picture

 

[J.James]

Glorious weather and water

 

[Jabrowning24]

I say it's fishing. I fish the rogue and although there were a lot of fish this winter I had a terrible time at it! Getting a grab it two about every other trip and haven't tailed a fish since October... Just goes that way at times is my opinion

 

[Snakes]

Sounds like fly fishing to me. Sometimes the well runs dry. I wouldn't take your lack of catching as a sign of poor river health though.

Now if the hatchery was the primary producer, and there were very few natives to begin with, you could easily expect a sharp decline in fish numbers. Maybe over the long term things will rebound to pre hatchery numbers but it won't happen overnight.

 

[glcaddis]

Same Problem

On Michigan's Au Sable right after opening weekend. Beautiful weather, clear water, Hendrikson and BWO flies on the water, and I caught one fish in three days. But that was the norm for everyone in camp. From reports since, the fishing has come back to more normal levels.

 

[bozara]

I think casting is difficult...

...when you are lying on your side.

 

[RobP]

If no fish days are a deal breaker then I sure wouldn't be swinging flies for steelhead. You're on a beautiful river with ducks. geese, frogs and cardinals. I'd say you have a lot to be thankful for.

 

[Bob Budesa]

If no fish days are a deal breaker then I sure wouldn't be swinging flies for steelhead. You're on a beautiful river with ducks. geese, frogs and cardinals. I'd say you have a lot to be thankful for.

Like he said!

Coulda been a gale force wind, coulda slipped and broke yer rod and poked yer eye out, coulda wrecked yer Jaguar on the way home, but no, aside from the two guys from the Outer Limits, you had a great day!

I'd have been happy anyway!

 

[Peteo]

I don't know if you're fishing for migrating fish like steelhead which are here one day and gone the next, but I'm kind of assuming you're after resident trout. One of my local rivers, the Metolius, was stocked for years. When they quit stocking the hatchery fish quickly disappeared and there were a couple years where wild fish were hard to find. Each year there were more fish, and it took about 5 or 6 years, but the wild fish repopulated the river in numbers that made fishing worthwhile. I hope that happens to your river, but it's dependant on spawning gravel, food, and a host of other conditions.

 

[J.James]

I don't know if you're fishing for migrating fish like steelhead which are here one day and gone the next, but I'm kind of assuming you're after resident trout. One of my local rivers, the Metolius, was stocked for years. When they quit stocking the hatchery fish quickly disappeared and there were a couple years where wild fish were hard to find. Each year there were more fish, and it took about 5 or 6 years, but the wild fish repopulated the river in numbers that made fishing worthwhile. I hope that happens to your river, but it's dependant on spawning gravel, food, and a host of other conditions.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Hurricane destroyed the hatchery and all the wild fish.

Thanks all. I'm very appreciative for the opportunity to be out there, I felt it was strange. I've never seen anything like it anywhere