| Fishing Seasons
Even though the waters of Bailey
Creek are rich with insects and filled with trout it is surprising
how selective its trout can be at times. It is not that you
might have a hard time catching the ranch's many fish, it's just
that one would think that they would jump all over any fly you offered
them. Not so- you must do some things right and we think that anyone
going to any private ranch should be aware of this point. Knowing
why trout do what they do will go a long way in helping your catch
rate on any body or water. You will find a few tips and why certain
flies work at certain times described below. There can be slow fishing
days on any body of water, but at Bailey Creek Lodge even the rare
slow days can bring you fish that will really put a bend in your
rod. These quality, deep bodied trout will take you more than a
moment to bring to hand, and will result in memories that will last
a lifetime. Information on each of the seasons at Bailey Creek is
presented below, and you will find a very complete fly list under
equipment & flies.
Spring Time- March, April &
Early May
Cold & high water is the norm for this
early part of the season. You can be fishing in rain and
occasionally snow, or in beautiful sunny weather. It will be cold
to cool at night and you may need to dress warmly during the day,
although sometimes all you will need is a light shirt, and this
can be especially true as you get into late April & May. Usually
hatches, especially in the first month or two, will be few and far
from prolific. None of this means that the fishing will be poor;
on the contrary, some of the best days of the season come in these
months. The fish are coming off of a long, cold winter and are ready
to take on some calories. They are hungry, this hunger making them
gullible at times, enough to make even novice anglers feel like
a pro. They can be tough at times as well, and knowing a few techniques
for lake and stream fishing will really pay off during the early
season.
March will mean off colored, cold water and only the lakes can be
legally fished. Anglers may not see many rising fish, though the
trout are often aggressive towards streamer type flies so
you will want to have a good supply of various buggers and baitfish
imitations. The larger sizes (#6-#8) can work at this time, but
be sure to have some of the smaller patterns as well. Midges seem
to be a factor every month of the season, so having midge nymphs,
emergers and some dries will be necessary. Something to remember
is that when you are faced with cold water situations a slow to
slower retrieve can be the ticket. That can be true when using these
streamers and also with some nymphs. You can get away with heavier
tippet in off colored water, but keep that slow retrieve in the
back of your mind.
By late April and May the Callibaetis mayflies
begin to hatch, so you will want dries, nymphs and emergers of that
large mayfly species. Crippled patterns seem to out fish
dries by quite a good margin. There can be other mayflies hatching
and usually these will be small (#16-#18) and light yellow, tan
or sulfur in color. There is one insect event you could see in May
and that is an ant or termite flight. You will know it is going
on because every fish on the ranch can be feeding on the surface
and you will catch more trout during the flight than at any other
time on the lake. Carry winged ant patterns in May!
The stream opens to legal fishing starting on the
last Saturday in April. Bailey Creek has a good population of Golden
Stones and Green Drakes. You may have action on Stonefly drys and
for certain of the nymph patterns of both. Big attractor dry flies
such as yellow humpies and stimulators work well, too.
Summer Time- June, July &
August
Summer is always associated with warm to
hot weather which means light weight clothing while on the
water and maybe a warm jacket or shirt for the evenings, which are
usually cooler. This warmer weather also means that every kind of
insect in the lake and stream is becoming active. June is considered
Callibaetis month in this country, but you will see mayflies, caddisflies,
midges, dragonflies, damselflies & the terrestrials (beetles
& ants) throughout the summer season.
June and a good part of July can bring an
amazing cast of insects doing their thing at Bailey Creek
Ranch. We left off with a tip on the early season about always carrying
winged ant patterns & that goes for the month of June as well.
We have found that using callibaetis cripples is the best dry fly
pattern for the callibaetis hatch. Midges are active every day of
this season and here is another tip- watch carefully during this
hatch and you will see that the trout are most likely taking the
midge before it comes to the top of the water. They will almost
always eat the midge when it is stuck in the bottom of the surface
film (meniscus) and will ignore anything sitting on top of it.
Fishing mayflies and caddisflies
in the surface film (using cripples or emergers) can sometimes mean
the difference between success and failure. Streamer type
flies will work, especially those that mimic damselfly nymphs, but
you must use the smaller patterns. This season is terrestrial time
and you will want to have beetle and ant patterns in your fly box.
Beetles in size 14 and ants in size 16-18 seem to produce the best.
These patterns will take fish anywhere, but all terrestrial fishermen
know that these insects seem to like to fall off of trees and bushes
that hang out over the water- enough said! One last thing you might
keep in mind is to use a loop knot to attach your streamers or nymphs
when fishing the lake, since it will help keep the fly looking natural
and you can use a size larger tippet. Many anglers like to use a
dry fly and hang a nymph underneath it, especially on the creek.
Also, keep in mind that just going down to smaller size nymphs can
really pay off in the stream and lake as well.
Fall Time – September,
October & November
All the information above about summer time
fishing will hold true for a good part of the fall season.
As the nights get colder and colder the hatches will get fewer and
fewer, with the exception of the midges. They seem to hatch out
everyday, sometimes for just a bit and sometimes off and on all
day. Callibaetis will provide some action much of this season, but
the flies themselves will be a size or two smaller than the June
variety. Terrestrails will work in at least the first month of the
Fall. During the first part of this season you can almost always
get action early and late in the day. However, as the colder weather
comes you will find that midday fishing is great.
A great tip from our shop manager, Tim Fox,
is to always use fluorocarbon for your
tippet
when fishing any lake and just as your fly and leader settles
on the water give the whole thing a tug strong enough to pull the
fly under (if you are using top water flies), then pause and the
fly will pop up to the surface (if it’s been properly treated)
but the fluorocarbon will stay under and will be almost invisible.
Your refusal rate will go way down as a result.
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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