| Equipment & Checklist
- Rods:
Recommending “the” rod for Bailey Creek Ranch can
open the proverbial can of worms. There is much disagreement on
what rod one should use for any kind of fishing. Here are some
thoughts on selecting a rod for Bailey Creek fishing. Using a
nine foot or even a 91/2 foot rod makes sense, since it makes
casting easier when sitting in a float tube on the lake, while
a shorter rod of 8 1/2 to 9 feet is ideal for the stream fishing.
- What wt of rod is another
issue altogether. Many anglers feel you should use a 5
or 6 wt rod when fishing for large fish which you will most certainly
encounter in the lake at Twin Creeks Ranch. They feel you can
bring those heavy fish to hand much faster when using the heavier
rods. This is certainly true when your tippet strength is in the
6 lb or heavier range. However, when using tippets of 6 or 7x
an argument can be made for selecting lighter rods to tame those
large fish faster. The thinking is that you can put much more
pressure on the fish with the lighter rod before the tippet will
fail. We have experienced this many times while using 3 to 4 wt
rods and 6x tippets on Bailey Creek fish. Landing fish of several
pounds usually takes no more than 5 minutes or so. Whatever your
choice please be aware that if you take much more than10 minutes
to land any fish you stand a good chance of killing it. It may
seem fine after reviving it, but chances are the lactic acid build
up will be too great and it will die the next day. Always try
to land fish as quickly as possible.
- Reels:
Most of the reels made today are fine for Bailey Creek.
A good, smooth drag system can be found on reels in almost any
price range. If you are buying a reel the most important thing
to remember is to buy at a reputable fly shop and trust what the
salesman is telling you. They will try to match you with a reel
in your price range and matched to the type of fishing you will
usually do. They aren’t about to put you into any inferior
product. In fact, that shop won’t even have any inferior
products, and if does, it is not the quality shop you should be
patronizing.. Other than that, just be sure the reel can hold
at least 50 yards of backing with the fly line you will be using
(see next paragraph).
- Fly Lines: Most
of the fishing at any of our private waters is done with floating
fly lines, however the variety of these lines available today
can be confusing. Once again, the best course of action, if you
are in the market to buy a line, is trust your chosen fly shop
to give you good advice. If your budget can handle it you might
give consideration to the new high priced floating lines. They
do float higher than the less expensive ones and this just makes
your fishing day so much more enjoyable. You will find it much
easier to lift your line off the water for a back cast and, when
in a float tube, this is a blessing. Weight forward versus double
taper is no longer much of an issue these days. Most shops carry
very few double tapers, since almost every angler wants to use
a weight forward line.
- Fly Lines (continued):
For fishing in the lake, an intermediate or full sinking line
(up to Type 3) can be beneficial, especially for fishing streamers
or damselfly nymph imitations.
- Leaders: If picking
out a fly line can be confusing, picking out a leader can be down
right frustrating. Again- trust your fly shop. Otherwise here
are some things to consider in choosing leaders for lake fishing.
Buy 10 or 12 foot leaders tapered to 4x if you will be using dry
flies or emergers or anything suspended in the top foot or so
of the water. Now have tippet material on hand of 4x to 6x and
make sure this is fluorocarbon. The tapered leader can be nylon
or fluorocarbon but the tippets should all be fluorocarbon. Attach
2 to 3 feet of tippet material to the leader and you are ready
to go. If you are fishing nymphs at deeper levels you can use
shorter leaders (7 ft or so) and longer tippets. The tippet length
to the first nymph depends on how deep you want that nymph to
be. If you are retrieving streamer type flies or nymphs at shallow
depths (2-3 feet) use fluorocarbon leaders and tippets. You want
the leader and tippet to be under the water.
- Leaders for fishing the
stream at Bailey Creek could be from 7 1/2 to 9 ft long. You
can then added a short section of the appropriate tippet material
for the size of fly or flies you are using. The bigger StoneFly
dries mean a tippet of at least 4x, but you can added a piece
of 5x underneath that and put on a smaller nymph as a dropper.
Remember in high water conditions you can use heavier tippet material
than you can later on in the season when the water is lower and
clearer.
Miscellaneous Tackle
The only other tackle needs one might have
for lake fishing is some type of indicator,
if you use such things. Many anglers shun indicators and will use
a dry fly instead, suspending nymphs beneath the dry fly. If you
are fishing at depth much greater than 2 or 3 feet you will find
this method unwieldy. You will need an indicator to hold up those
nymphs, since most of the time you will be using 2 of them along
with split shot weights. The type of indicator is really not important,
but the size is. We would suggest using the smallest size possible
that can hold up those nymphs. Tiny split shot can be a help, especially
if you are fishing with tiny nymphs such as midges, etc. You may
not need shot when using the larger nymphs. When fishing the stream
the information for indicators on lakes holds true, however using
that dry fly for the indicator is really a great way to go.
Other items to consider bringing
*Hat *Sunscreen *Polarized Sun Glasses *
Clippers *Hemostats *Camera
Flies for Bailey Creek Lodge
As is the case for almost any fishery the
most productive flies for Bailey Creek can change throughout the
season, and sometimes what works one year doesn’t seem
to produce as well the next. The patterns listed below are ones
that have proven themselves over the course of time. These are not
the only flies that one can ply the waters of Bailey Creek with,
but the chances are if you have those listed you can catch fish
on any lake or freestone stream anywhere. For the most up-to-date
fly suggestions, give us a call at The Fly Shop at (800) 669-3474.
STREAMERS
Richard’s
Seal Bugger, #8
Crystal
Buggers, (olive,blk,olive), #8-12
Beaded
Micro Bugger, (blk,brn,olive), #12
Zacks
Zugger Bugger, (all colars), #8
NYMPHS
Zack
Attack Damsel, (olive), #14
TFS
Damsel, #14
Zacks
Zallibaetis, #14
Poxyback
Callibaetis, #16
PT
Nymphs, #14-20
CB
Micro Mayfly, (blk), #18-20
Red
Copper John, #14-18
GB
Frostbite Midge, #16-18
Chromie,
#16
Mercer’s
Gidget, (olive,brn), #18
Mercer’s
Zebra Midgeling, #18-20
Mercer’s
Poxyback Golden Stonefly #12-14
DRIES
Parachute
Adams, #16-20
Callibaetis
Cripple, #16
Griffith
Gnat, #20
Quigley's
Spider Midge, #20
TFS
Foam Beetle, #14-18
Oswald’s
Parafoam Ant, #16
Black
Flying Ant, #14
Chernobyl
Ant, #10
Stimulators
(yellow), #10-12
Yellow
Humpy, #12-14
Elk
Hair Caddis, tan #12-14
To make a reservation,
please give us a call at 800-669-3474 during business hours
any day of the week. We can give you the answers you need or the
detailed explanations to questions you might have, or check on guide
availability and confirm your guide reservation in minutes.
If you prefer to correspond
on-line simply e-mail us at info@adventuresinflyfishing.com
and we will respond promptly.
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